Re-evaluating the Sexual Assault Policy

Posted by Alex Brehm

Why does anybody rape anybody else?

Why would one Skidmore student rape another?

"I think there are different levels of sexual assault, and I think it's because we have sick people—people who want to cause harm, they get something from that," said Joe Yanks '11, Head Peer Advocate of the Center for Sex and Gender Relations and member of the Sexual Assault Task Force, the committee charged with drafting a new sexual misconduct policy for the college. "We also have a culture of sex, a United States culture that promotes disrespect…and a lack of communication."

"I agree," Dean of Student Affairs Rochelle Calhoun, said. "There are sexual predators on college campuses, likely serial predators."

She described a culture where college men seek out vulnerable women as targets and sexual objects. "We're trying to change the culture. We want to create a dialogue that equalizes responsibility for respect. We want to get to a culture of zero tolerance."

"We know that this happens," said Calhoun, "now let's prevent it as a community."

The Sexual Assault Task Force, the Center for Sex and Gender Relations, Health Promotions, Residential Life, and other campus organizations have all released new programming on the upcoming enforcement of the revised Sexual Misconduct Policy, slated for adoption on Oct. 18. On Wednesday, Oct. 6 there was a discussion between the Task Force and other members of the college community. Calhoun addressed the audience, which was made up of students and a handful of staff members, outlining the recent development of the policy.

In Sept. 2009, the Student Affairs subcommittee of the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee called for a group to review and revise the college's sexual assault policy. The Task Force met every other week for the fall and spring semesters of the 2009-2010 academic year.

In April 2010, an article in the Albany Times Union criticized college policies regarding sexual abuse, and featured the case of a former Skidmore student who was allegedly sexually assaulted on campus during the previous summer.

The news rippled through the campus and the Task Force held an open review of the sexual assault policy with the college community. Students and professors packed Davis auditorium, many voicing rage that the sexual assault policy was re-traumatizing survivors of sexual assault and letting their rapists and abusers go free, holding victims up to a standard of evidence they could not possibly provide.

A few weeks later, students taking a Feminist Theory and Methodology class staged a rally on Case Green calling for more attention to revision of the policy and confrontation of sexual assault on campus.

But if the meeting last Wednesday was any measure, many students have lost passion with the issue. The crowd of 75 students in Gannett looked sparse, and was mostly made up of members of associated organizations—Peer Advocates from the Center for Sex and Gender Relations, mediators from "Fight Club" Conflict Resolution, and members of Pride Alliance.

"How will you track effectiveness, and how will you educate the community?" Fight Club Co-Chair Nick Hara '11 asked the Task Force, "because I don't see everybody here."

The Task Force has a tall order in envisioning a complete college community that is active in preventing and decrying sexual assault. "Certainly the cases from last semester made everyone get out in the streets," Calhoun said, "but the kind of cases where someone did not give effective consent, where someone wasn't willing to have sex and then ended up having it, those don't get people out in the streets. But guess what? That's rape."

"Effective consent" is the dictum students will be seeing in the coming weeks and years, the central idea of the new college policy. Students received cards in their school mailboxes defining effective consent as "freely and actively given, in which both partners are equally informed through mutually-understood words, body language, and actions."

"We like this policy because it no longer takes the victim and asks ‘What did you do to say no?'" says Dr. Julia Routbort, director of the Counseling Center. "Instead it asks the accused ‘What did you hear, to hear a ‘yes?''"

The Task Force expects that the idea of effective consent will not only serve as a disciplinary criterion, but also as a tool for teaching. Effective consent was the message of sexual education programs for students this past summer, has become part of first-year orientation and will continue to spread through programming from campus organizations involved with sexual issues.

Other important changes include the widening of the policy from sexual assault to sexual misconduct, including behavior such as harassment and inappropriate touching under the new policy.

The new policy adds the roles of Advocate and Advisor, aides for alleged victims and perpetrators of sexual misconduct. An Advocate provides support and facilitates options for dealing with the problem of an abuser on campus—changing residence halls, classes, or pursuing a disciplinary hearing about the abuser. The Advisor helps the alleged abuser in navigating the hearing process and other disciplinary issues.

The Task Force also wants to stress the new change in evidentiary requirements. Sexual misconduct cases will no longer be held to the standard of "clear and convincing evidence," as they once were, but "preponderance of the evidence." The phrases are legal terms, and the change means no longer laying a large burden of proof on the victim, but instead relies on a majority of evidence from either party to decide whether an instance of misconduct occurred.

At the discussion, one student asked why there was no clear description in the new policy of punishments for violators. The college refers to punishments as "sanctions" and outlines them in the Student Handbook.

"There's actually a range of possible sanctions in there," said Don Hastings, director of Residential Life and chair of the Sexual Assault Task Force. "It ranges from an apology to expulsion from the school." Students sanctioned for sexual misconduct may be made to write essays about the harm they have caused, perform community service or face temporary suspension.

Yanks added that there is a potential for fraudulent reports. Students who lay false accusations of misconduct will face sanctions.

Other students at the discussion wondered whether an alleged abuser's past accusations and hearings would affect the decision in a new sexual misconduct case. If a student had been accused twice before of sexual assault, would that be allowed as evidence in a new case?

Dean Calhoun explained: "We consider each case independently. Unless those cases are very similar to the case being heard and describe a pattern of behavior, they would not be allowed in as evidence. However, if the panel decides that a violation of the policy has occurred, then there is a sentencing stage of the hearing and those cases would be considered."

The Task Force stressed the two stages of a hearing—evaluating whether an event occurred, and deciding the severity of the punishment. Past accusations, members of the Task Force said, would generally not be necessary to decide whether an instance of misconduct occurred as the complainant described.

Jen Burden of Health Promotions, compiled statistics about assault at Skidmore based on student surveys last semester. Skidmore is an anomaly among colleges in that most incidences of sexual misconduct occur on campus: 80 percent of cases, according to Burden's report.

Burden's statistics estimate that 3.9 percent of Skidmore students have been raped at Skidmore, and 83 percent of them were female. But members of the Task Force emphasized that they consider sexual misconduct and assault a problem that affects people of any sex, gender, and orientation.

"That's why we included gender-neutral language in the policy," said Calhoun. Yanks took particular care in articulating that the Center and the Task Force see sexual abuse as a problem that affects everyone. "It's not just girls getting raped."

There are resources on campus for survivors of rape and sexual misconduct. The Counseling Center, college chaplains, and Health Services are groups that listen and treat cases confidentially. The Center for Sex and Gender Relations' Peer Advocates, "Fight Club" Conflict Resolution, First-Year Experience Peer Mentors, Campus Safety, Residential Life staff, and college faculty are also available for student support.

Theater of war in a house of peace

Posted by Tegan O'Neill

"Theater of War in a House of Peace" signals the first attempt at a year-long initiative on the part of the Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Rick Chrisman to foster a campus-wide reflection on war.

The exhibit, as the title suggests, is located in Wilson Chapel. Chrisman procured art for the exhibit from Jason Blue Lake Hawk Martinez with the intention of sparking conversation about America's wars. The exhibit opened on Sept. 21 and runs through Oct. 11.

"We have been a nation at war for eight years and it is unthinkable that we have pushed it to the back of our minds. We read the paper and we see clips on TV, but nobody asks us to really think about the war and express what we feel about it," Chrisman said.

The project was partly inspired by a touring production called "Theater of War," which presents readings of Sophocles' tragedies "Ajax" and "Philoctetes" to military communities in the U.S.

The exhibit includes a series of 14 paintings titled "Stations of the Crass" as well as a sculpture titled "Kiva." Martinez incorporates elements of Native American and Roman Catholic traditions to represent the effects of war on humanity. According to a statement written by the artist, "Each painting corresponds with the traditional Roman Catholic Stations of the Cross combined with Pueblo and Judeo-Christian end time scenarios."?

Martinez uses the image of the Kachina doll, a symbol in Pueblo culture, to represent the suffering of Christ prior to his crucifixion. "The paintings represent the pain that humanity feels because of war. Christ stands for humanity. Humanity is being crucified by war," Chrisman said.?

In his paintings, Martinez depicts party balloons on the cross and uses a light color pallet. "It is lovely when you first look at it but frightening and disturbing when you examine the content," Chrisman said.

The sculpture, "Kiva," is also an unconventional religious depiction. A Kiva is an underground meeting place used by the Pueblo peoples for spiritual ceremonies. In the bowels of Martinez's "Kiva," a tape-recording plays the sounds of an atomic bomb going off.? "Basically, it forces us to get down on our hands and knees and think hard about destruction — something that we generally just gloss over," Chrisman said.?

Chrisman also hopes that the exhibit will shed light on what he believes to be the injustices of the recruitment policy. "We place the costs of war on very few people. Just the other day, Secretary Gates warned that we are slipping into this state of having a professional fighting class, which is contrary to our country's founding principles," Chrisman said.

Chrisman advocates a Universal National Service that would require all citizens from the ages of 18-22 to serve in the military, the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, hospitals, urban schools, etc.?? Chrisman feels that the Universal National Service would alleviate the burden of war that befalls a small portion of the population.?

On the closing day of the exhibit, Oct.11, there will be a round table discussion with Martinez in the Chapel.

Upcoming exhibits include a series of photographs taken by an Iraqi student who rebuilt a school in his community, a short ballet piece produced by the dance department and a play presented by the classics department, among other events and installations.?

"It is going to take the entire year to build up a body of expression for the community to be able to reflect on war and articulate what it means to be a nation at war," Chrisman said.

Sports wrap: Men's soccer defeats Southern Vermont: Field hockey ranked No. 9 in nation

Posted by Audrey Nelson

The men's soccer team won 4-2 against Southern Vermont College on Oct. 5, improving to 5-4-2.

The Thoroughbreds landed the first two goals of the game by the 36 minute mark with rebound shots from sophomore Joe Phelan and senior Matt Kelsey.

After a SVM goal at the 41st minute, Kelsey beat the Mountaineer keeper one second before the first half final whistle, securing the score at 3-1.

After the Mountaineers second and final goal, senior Doug Yeates took a cross in the box from junior Diego Reinero and deflected it in for the last goal of the match and his first of the season.

Skidmore maintained a strong advantage in shots on goal of 38 to SVM's 4. The team will travel to play St. Lawrence on Oct. 8.

Thoroughbred Society

On Oct. 6, the Skidmore College athletic department held a ceremony in the Sports and Recreation Center recognizing 109 student-athletes as members of the Thoroughbred Society.

Each semester, the Thoroughbred Society honors student-athletes who achieve a 3.67 GPA or higher as well as teams who compile a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. This semester's group of students also includes five two-sport athletes and 19 student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA.

Field Hockey

Moving up from the No. 10 to the No. 9 spot in the most recent Kookaburra/NFHCA Division III National Coaches Poll, the Skidmore College field hockey team earned two 3-0 wins over No. 17 Middlebury and Utica.

Skidmore is 8-1 overall and 3-0 in Liberty League stats for the season and has won seven straight games.

Salisbury (8-1) holds the top spot in the poll followed by Tufts at No. 2 and Messiah is 3rd. The Thoroughbreds return to league play at Vassar on Oct. 8 at 4 p.m.

Liberty League Recognitions

The Liberty League recognized six Skidmore student-athletes for their performance within the past week.

First year men's tennis player Oliver Loutsenko and first year Melissa Hirsche of the women's tennis team earned Rookie of the Week honors.

Keeper on the women's soccer team, junior Meghan Sleezer was named Defensive Performer of the week, while first-year teammate Christine Bellotti '14 earned Co-Rookie of the week honors.

Defensive Performer of the Week honors in field hockey went to senior goalie Liz Catinella. Meredith Palmer, senior volleyball player, was named Performer of the Week.

Women's volleyball

The Skidmore women's volleyball team has stepped up for Breast Cancer Awareness month by participating in Dig Pink, a nationwide event that uses volleyball as a way to help raise awareness and accept donations for breast cancer victims and survivors.

This year, the official event will be held on Oct. 12 at the Skidmore vs. Middlebury match. The team will also collect donations at both the Skidmore Classic on Oct. 22-23 and the Skidmore Invitational taking place on Oct. 29-30.

Last year, Skidmore raised $3,350 contributing to the organization's $420,000 in total funds raised.

Request for budget rollover denied

Posted by Kat Kullman

On Tuesday, Oct. 5, the Senate of the Student Government Association discussed a resolution to allocate funding from retained funds to the Drastic Measures a cappella group, as well as a resolution to establish Willingness-to-Serve operating codes.

"The Budget Rollover section of the financial policies states that ‘it is not permissible to roll over revenue if it has been in the club or committee's revenue account for longer than one year...'" Jono Zeiden, vice president for Financial Affairs, said.

However, the Drastic Measures approached the Senate in order to request that the group be given funds it had raised at the end of 2008, but had lost due to an error in a loan and miscommunication with SGA.

The Drastics had earned a total of $1,149 worth of CD sales and fundraising by the end of 2008 and much of that money was intended to pay back a loan it had taken out in order to create the CD. However, the loan was denied at the end of 2008, but the group was never notified of this. It was not until this year that group realized that the money had not gone through to the loan and instead had been absorbed back into SGA.

Bryce Klatsky '11 and Emily Conner-Simons '13 addressed the Senate body to request that the funds be returned to the group despite the SGA policy.

"We're only about $400 short of paying back our loan. We're asking for the money we earned. We understand that this sets a dangerous precedent, but it's important to understand that we applied correctly and that this money was lost due to miscommunications," Klatsky said.

Zeidan spoke to the rationale behind the policy and explained why letting even one club receive a rollover fund is dangerous. "We budget for each year. If we allow rollover, it creates incentive for clubs to save their money instead of spending it and it becomes a slippery slope. This situation isn't about whether the money should be applied to the Drastic's loan or not, it's about whether it fits into our policy," Zeidan said.

After a long discussion about the policy and the situation at hand, the Senate voted to uphold the policy and to deny the Drastic Measures the funds.

"The Drastic Measures request for a budget rollover, albeit of revenue the club raised above its required revenue line, did not comply with the aforementioned financial policy. Consequently, the request was not recommended by the Budget and Finance committee, and ultimately not passed by Senate," Zeidan said.

The group was denied the money by a margin of four votes.

Next, Jenny Snow ‘11, vice president for Communication and Outreach, and Dan DeMartini '11, Northwoods senator, presented a resolution to establish Willingness-to-Serve operating codes. Willingness-to-Serve is an election process that allows students to sit on numerous campus committees after an interview process.

These new operating codes would create a solid set of rules for the process of electing the students and the purpose of Willingness-to-Serve.

"Willingness didn't have a definite role, and we were appointing people without clarification," DeMartini said.

DeMartini hoped that this would help get the student body more involved. "This set of codes will help us not just to advertise for Willingness, but to really reach out to the community," DeMartini said.

"It establishes Willingness-to-Serve as a subcommittee of the Communication and Outreach Committee. My thinking is that freeing up half of Communication and Outreach will help to open things up and allow Willingness to do a lot outside elections. It's nitpicky stuff right now, but it's very necessary," Snow said.

The resolution to establish the operating codes was passed unanimously.

EAC plants benefits of local foods

Posted by Robin Kronsinsky

The Environmental Action Committee hosted its third annual Harvest Dinner from 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2 in Falstaffs. Student volunteers and EAC members prepared the dinner with produce from the Skidmore Garden and donations from local farms.

The goals of the Harvest Dinner were to promote the value of eating local foods, spread awareness about the Garden and to create a delicious, healthy meal for anyone who wished to attend.

While the meal was free, there was a requested donation of $3 to $5. The EAC raised more than $500 in contributions — more than any EAC event has raised yet.

"It was really successful. Within the first 10 minutes the room was packed," Gabby Stern '13, leader of the Garden Subcommittee, said.

EAC members and student volunteers spent three hours on Friday night prepping food and seven hours Saturday in the test kitchen preparing fresh food for the masses.

The Skidmore gardeners support the local food movement and want to make members of the community aware of the importance of knowing where their food comes from.

"When you buy locally you know what you are eating. So much of our food is reshaped until it's unrecognizable," Stern said.

The migration from processed food to local, organic alternatives is becoming a more popular trend in the world of food and health.

Local foods typically refer to vegetables, fruits and grains that are farmed and harvested within a relatively small vicinity of one's home.

Purchasing local foods implies that the items are fresh, picked in season and grown without the use of chemical enhancers. It also eliminates the need to ship food long distances, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of the food industry.

If produce has to travel to reach its recipient, it has most likely been chemically modified in some way in order to ensure that it remains fresh during travel. These chemicals are inevitably consumed by whomever purchases the shipped food.

The Harvest Dinner was both a celebration of the produce grown by students, as well as an effort to inspire people to eat local foods. "When you know exactly where your food is from, it celebrates the art of making it," Stern said.

Stern hopes that the trend of eating locally grown foods from the college's garden will catch on.

"A lot of people are aware of the garden and I can't wait to see how it will grow," Stern said.

Any student who would like to work in the garden is welcome to join. For the next few weeks student gardeners will be re-composting the beds in preparation for winter. Work on the garden will resume in April. Anyone who would like to get involved should email Gabby Stern at gstern@skidmore.edu.

Photos from Oktoberfest Weekend 2010

Posted by Lauren Elsner and Melissa Cohn

Professors talk majors at faculty meeting

Posted by Alex Brehm

Professors convened the second college faculty meeting for this academic year Oct. 1, during which an amended faculty handbook was adopted, grouping departments by academic discipline was debated and the recently released sexual misconduct policy was discussed.

There was a brief report on the Biology-Philosophy interdepartmental major, which is being dissolved. Almost all interdepartmental majors are ending, or have ended within the last four years, because faculty have come to believe such programs lack rigorous grounding in either participating department.

The Biology-Philosophy major currently has one student enrolled and will end once the student graduates or leaves the major.

Next, faculty debated categorization of majors by academic discipline. Two lists produced by administration categorized majors by discipline — Art, Humanities, Social Science and Natural Science. However, there were major discrepancies between the lists, inspiring a long analysis of the differences.

The disciplines listed as Arts on the first list, such as Music, Dance, Studio Art and Theater, were listed as Pre-Professional programs on the second list.

In addition to showing some disorganization, the list also represented miscommunications between the department faculty and the administration: for instance, music does not offer a Bachelor of Science degree, which it must offer to be a true Pre-Professional program.

The discussion among the faculty concluded with indications that there would be better structuring of department-discipline categories in the future.

Finally, there was discussion of the new, and soon to be enforced, Sexual Misconduct Policy. Dean of Student Affairs Rochelle Calhoun and other members of the Sexual Assault Task Force outlined the training that will be offered to faculty and staff in the next few weeks.

EDITORIAL: Don't tolerate hate

Posted by the Editorial Board

A recent tragedy has reverberated around our campus and others across the world. On Sept. 22, Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old Rutgers freshman, jumped off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate secretly streamed a video of his sexual encounter with another man. This horrifying incident exposes the urgent need to reevaluate and strengthen our community's commitment to abolishing intolerance.

We know Tyler's story, because it's everywhere. Celebrities released video tributes, legislators pushed for new criminal penalties and newspapers across the globe covered the incident. But discussion of Tyler's death on campus took a turn when Jen Burden, Skidmore's director of Health Promotion, sent out a campus-wide email about the tragedy.

"I would very much like to believe that the sort of cruelty that Tyler experienced would not take place on our campus," Burden said in an email that expressed the anger and frustration that we all felt at hearing his story. "Unfortunately, my desire to believe these things does not make them so."

With her thoughtful and impassioned letter to the student body, the conversation changed. It was no longer, "How could something this terrible happen?" but now, "Could something this terrible happen here, at Skidmore?" And the answer, unfortunately, is a frightening and undeniable ‘yes.'

We are living in the beginning of a new millennium where technology has overshot morality. The growing pains inherent in this transition have left us communicating in a thousand different ways without yet understanding the responsibilities involved in their use. We live in a time of instantaneous communication and, simultaneously, continuing prejudice and hatred: Tyler Clementi's death is an expression of how dangerous this can be.

This tragedy further resonates with the hopes and disappointments we all felt upon coming to college for the first time. As freshmen, we arrived at Skidmore expecting college to be a safe space of progressive understanding and open-armed acceptance. Unburdened by the expectations and disappointments we might have suffered at home, we looked forward to the freedom of discovering ourselves in a community that, everyone assures us, will embrace us for who we are.  

We love our campus, but no school can live up to the expectations of a wide-eyed first-year. That's why the college spends weeks training RAs and peer advocates, holds lectures on diversity and combating prejudice and equips a Counseling Center that allows students to make appointments free of charge. A student in Tyler's situation would have many avenues to seek help, we assure ourselves.

But Rutgers offered a Counseling Center, campus diversity initiatives and RAs who spoke with Tyler days before he jumped off the George Washington Bridge. Policies and training can only go so far: it falls to us, as members of the college community, to make up the difference by refusing to tolerate cruelty and prejudice in our fellow students.

As she ended her email, Jen Burden said, "I would like to believe that we are not a community of silent bystanders." If we want to prevent Skidmore becoming a home to the same kind of tragedy suffered by Tyler Clementi, we can't be.

Sophomore brings development project to campus: Bicycles Against Poverty joins Benef-Action, promotes resource accessibility

Posted by Mariel Kennedy

Waiting on the world to change? Don't write a song about it — be the change you're looking for. This is the ideology behind Skidmore's hottest new initiative, Bicycles Against Poverty.

Started by a student at Bucknell University last year, Bicycles Against Poverty (BAP) is a student led nonprofit organization whose vision is to eradicate poverty in all forms.

All projects are aimed at achieving this goal through sustainable developmental projects, according to the club's mission statement.

The project is slowly but steadily spreading to other colleges and universities across the east coast.

BAP is also in the process of teaming up with elementary schools in order to interest younger generations in world issues and community service.

The main goal of BAP is to use bicycles to encourage community cooperation, and to improve accessibility of important resources. It also seeks to serve as a tool for economic development for low income families.

To do so, bicycles are purchased and delivered to people in low-income areas around the world.

Though focused on Uganda, BAP plans to develop and branch out to other areas. Its official website proclaims, "Thus, wherever poverty is, BAP will be there too."

Every dollar raised goes directly to the purchasing and shipping of these bicycles. Areas aided are then monitored for progress.

The club also promotes other sustainable development projects that involve "understanding obstacles and finding creative solutions to overcome them."

BAP was recently brought to Skidmore by humanitarian and student James Lyness, '13.

"I've always been interested in giving up time. I value giving up time more than just giving money and material possessions," he said.

When his friend began BAP at Bucknell, Lyness quickly became involved. After seeing how BAP functioned and the interest it was generating, Lyness took the initiative to try and generate curiosity and awareness at Skidmore.

Lyness hopes students here find interest in what he is working towards and become involved.

BAP at Skidmore is currently collaborating with Benef-Action, the college's award-winning community service club.

Lyness, a member of Benef-Action, went to the club's board meeting to spread the message of BAP.

"If people like to volunteer, you will find them at these meetings," he said. "Almost everyone at meetings volunteer time and hopefully share some of the same values."

Lyness considered himself to be in the right place at the right time with his promotional efforts.

BAP was marketed in front of over 100 people that night, generating excitement and attention.

Though technically not yet a club, BAP has been making a name for itself around campus.

The first meeting was described as successful, bringing in approximately 50 concerned students..

When describing BAP, Lyness states that the club promotes economic responsibility and provides aid in a sustainable way. The club is currently focused on development and raising funds and awareness.

Although still in a preliminary stage, BAP has hit the ground running. The club-to-be has already co-sponsored a bike fix-up day with the Cycling Club.

A table was set up to sell goods, raise awareness for the club, display pictures and have students sign up.

The documentary "Uganda Rising" was also shown on Thursday, Sept. 29. The film focuses on the political issues and relief efforts in Uganda.

BAP also plans to set up a table in Case Center on parents' weekend.

In addition, BAP is co-sponsoring the environmental studies department's keynote speaker, Jeff Olson.

Olson will lecture on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. in Gannett Auditorium. The lecture will focus on the bicycle as a solution to important global issues, ranging from climate control to an alternative energy resource.

A BAP table will be set up to sell bags and T-shirts and to generate interest in the club.

Lyness says it is important to co-sponsor Olson as a means for students who attend and are inspired by these lectures to channel their passion.

"While the idea is still fresh in their minds, BAP will be right there for people to help out," he said.

"To those who are passionate about overlooked human rights violations and important world issues, BAP is a way to combat those issues in a sustainable way," Lyness said.

"People throw money at issues to solve problems, but when people take time to think of sustainable approaches, they have long lasting effects. BAP encompasses that. It's a great way to directly help people."

Bicycles Against Poverty meets on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Spa.

Benef-Action meetings are held bi-weekly on Wednesdays at 8:45 p.m. in Ladd 106.

For more information on BAP visit http://www.bicyclesagainstpoverty.org/about.php

Senior employees lose perks: College, union agree to cut senior benefits to cover health insurance

Posted by Andrew Cantor

On Sept. 26, the Service Employees International Union Local 200United, which represents 144 college Dining Services, mechanic, maintenance, facilities, post office and stablehand employees, narrowly passed a labor contract with a vote of 56 to 55. Through the new contract negotiations, several benefits for senior employees were eliminated to cover owed health insurance costs. Thirty-four eligible employees did not vote.

In the previous contract, effective June 1, 2007 through May 31, 2010, unionized employees were personally responsible for increased costs in heath insurance. Their plan, the 1199SEIU Greater New York Benefit Fund, increased by 1.75 percent in the past year, which rendered an owed $150,000 from the union members.

Administrators in the health plan demanded the owed money in the next six months, and instead of each unionized employee paying monthly fees of $150 to $180, the union and college negotiated to eliminate several senior benefits to cover the deficit.

The senior benefits, a retirement allowance which pays retired employees of 25 and 30 years, 8 weeks and 10 weeks salary after retirement, respectively, was eliminated, along with a yearly $300 service recognition bonus for employees who have worked 25 years and more.

Approximately 18 employees were eligible for the senior benefits. Many of these senior employees are displeased with the negotiations.

"The senior people here gave up the most in the contract," said Jimmy Potter, Maintenance Mechanic Lead, an employee for 31 years. "It's unfair because if you calculate the new contract in dollar amounts, the seniors sacrificed the most."

"I just feel very disrespected," said Karen Stevens, an employee in Burgess Café who has worked at the college for 34 years. "We earned these benefits and now they're gone because some of the younger employees were afraid of losing their health insurance."

"The [senior] benefits have been in my contract for 31 years and they were here when the union started," Potter said.

The union chairman and negotiator on-campus, Chuck Ure, baker, an employee of nearly 33 years, was not pleased with the negotiations, but said he needed to sacrifice the needs of a few for the larger group.

"I don't know if it's the way I was raised or the values I've learned along the way, but I had to put everyone else's interests above my own," Ure said. "I was eligible for all the senior benefits, and I would like to see all of them come back in future contracts."

Ure mentioned he would continue to research options to restore the previous benefits in the new contract, which will expire May 31, 2013. He also said he would explore the possibility of amending the current contract to grandfather old benefits.

The college, however, will not entertain an amendment. According to Barbara Beck, associate vice president for Finance and Administration and director of Human Resources, an amendment to the contract would require renegotiation of every single clause in the agreement, which will occur anyway upon new contract negotiation in three years. Ure, conversely, said it may be possible to isolate a single clause in the contract to renegotiate.

Beck is also disappointed senior employees lost their benefits, but said the negotiations were finalized and the college respects senior employees.

"We did the best with the resources we had, and I believe we were creative with the outcome," Beck said. "We respect all employees, whether union, faculty or staff. We recognize employees with 25 years of service with a very expensive Skidmore chair or rocking chair … I do respect these employees."

Beck also mentioned that the college met the union pension and salary requirements.

"We were very generous with the pension and salary in relation to other, similar schools in the area," Beck said.

The new contract which has been signed by the college, will become effective immediately once the union business manager in Syracuse signs the contract.

"The negotiations were tough," Ure said. "The vote was the closest I've seen in my 33 years here."

T-shirt time in Scribner: The peril of getting ready with girls

Posted by Jack McDermott

Last Friday at about 6 p.m. I was sitting in my living room enjoying a nice bowl of barbecue chicken and a bottle of root beer (light on the "root" of course) while listening to some Janelle Monae. You know, nice and relaxing.

In a couple hours I would head upstairs, throw on some jeans and a button down, brush my teeth and pour myself a nice…steaming hot cup of fresh apple cider of course. But it was only 6 p.m., the night was young.

Meanwhile, my five housemates were all upstairs running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Or to be a little less graphic, like the spastic Skidmore squirrels in front of Case looking for acorns.

You think I'm joking, but my routine for getting ready to go out could not be more different than theirs. Not to mention about three hours shorter.

First they have to decide what clothes to wear. They're running back and forth between each other's closets, trying on a hundred different outfits. Also, other girls are coming in and out of their houses, borrowing, bringing, swapping and exchanging clothes.

When we were first deciding rooms there was some drama about what would happen if there was a room without a closet — who would get it. I really don't know why it was an issue, it's not like it matters whether they have separate closets or not.

One thing I've come to understand about girls is that when they live together, all of their closets become one giant department store without any credit cards or registers — all clothes are ripe for the taking.

There was one night when four of my friends, all from different Scribner houses, were each wearing outfits that belonged to just one of my housemates.

After they find clothes, they have to decide what shoes to wear. Yeah, we're back to shoes.

They have to pick out one pair of shoes from the collective 85, and it has to match their outfit. Good luck.

One time they even dressed me. I've never had to deal with so many clothing rules before. They had everything precise, from the color of the jeans to the specific amount of buttons I was supposed to leave open on my shirt.

I had to wear a plain white undershirt, which I had to borrow from the guys next door because the only white shirts I own have designs on them, and they said a colored shirt was not good, at least not with the specific button down shirt I wanted to wear.

I couldn't wear shorts because apparently when going out there is a type of shirt you can wear with jeans, a type you can wear with khakis and a type you can wear with shorts; all are very different, and not interchangeable under any circumstances.

And, they spent a good 10 minutes picking out my shoes….I only have three, remember? It shouldn't be that hard.

Last but not least, they have to "put on their faces". That process takes at least 20 minutes alone. They have to put on mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow. They have to curl their eyelashes, put on lipstick, foundation, concealer and blush. They have to paint their nails and, lastly, do their hair.

And then, finally, when it's all said and done, after they've spent all this time, they change into a completely different outfit.

Now, I can't lie, they look absolutely incredible once they are all dressed and ready. But I live with them, and have seen them when they wake up and when they are at their so called "worst," and honestly, they look just as good.

When you live with another person, you have to deal with his or her routines. People can have ridiculous, annoying, simple or funny ways of getting ready. All you can really do is adapt, and make the most of the differences between routines.

I always know that my Friday and Saturday nights will be extremely entertaining as I watch my housemates try to "sex up a turtleneck". And I must even admit, I once picked out an outfit for one of them.

Jack McDermott is from Mars, but he lives on Venus.

Letter: In Senate, converative thought matters too

Posted by Bryce Klatsky

Dear Editors,

Dealing with SGA is not a fun prospect. Anyone who has ever had to prepare a resolution and propose it in front of Senate knows this to be the case. Recently, I found myself having to do just this and, unfortunately, found myself feeling dejected when my efforts turned out to be for naught. Ruminating in my disappointment, it occurred to me then that SGA is a conservative body on this campus.

That is not to make any assumption about its collective political sentiment but to say that by virtue of its very function ([to] establish and maintain conditions of student life) it is tied to rules that limit its freedom of interpretation. This rigidness to Skidmore College policy was what ultimately doomed my proposal, and yet I understand why it had to be so.

What truly impressed me, and the reason I thought it necessary to write this commentary, was the creative thought that flourished on the Senate floor even within those rigid guidelines. Despite what might have been a clear "no" under strictly bureaucratic consideration, my proposal was able to evoke more than a few "yeses." Some of these even came from senators participating in one of their first Senate votes. Suggestions were made that amendments be considered in the future to make some of the SGA policies more flexible.

While I am still disappointed that my proposal was rejected, I applaud the vast majority of the SGA senators for approaching it with an open mind, a concentration on their role as a constitutional filter for the Skidmore community, and the inherent frustration in having to balance the two. Say what you will about SGA, but the truth remains that its serves the Skidmore community with good intentions and embodies the perhaps corny axiom that, "Creative Thought Matters."

–Bryce Klatsky, '11

Janelle Mon??e brings funk to Skidmore

Posted by Jenna Postler

This year's Fall Big Show on Oct. 1, featuring both Janelle Monáe and Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves, was more than just a show — it was a performance. The sheer stage presence of both acts was overflowing with excitement.

 Both Janelle Monáe and Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves thrilled students and community members with their interactive, experimental funk and soul show, which the Student Entertainment Committee brought to Skidmore College.

Openers Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves exuded cool, soulful energy as they performed for a small crowd. The group performed its single, "Come and Get It." Alex Orthwein '13 was thoroughly impressed by Eli. "Eli brings back such a unique style from the '60s. It's not a cover though. He puts his own spin on it," Orthwein said.

Although Eli is the face of the group, on Friday night he left the stage and let the True Loves showcase their talent. The horn section, guitarist and other musicians played their best and demonstrated that the True Loves can stand on their own.

Both acts performed energetically, which translated well to the crowd. Eli's drummer displayed a heartwarming grin throughout most of the performance, and playfully tossed his drumsticks into the crowd.

After a brief pause between acts, a member of Monáe's entourage stepped onto stage and invited the audience to the performance. Shortly after, Monáe appeared as the ArchAndroid on a video screen broadcast against the back of the stage. When the video ended, Monáe entered the stage wearing a dark cape over her traditional black and white ensemble.

From then on, the show adopted an air of unpredictability. Monáe's show was well choreographed, but still appeared spontaneous. The artist's antics for the night included her traditional dance moves: a fake seizure, a crowd-surfing stunt and an onstage painting to the mellow tunes of "Mushrooms and Roses." The show was far from placid as Monáe's surprises kept the mood upbeat.

Nick Santa-Donato '13 got up-close and personal with the songstress, when she dove into the crowd near him. "I saw the crowd surfing, and I pushed some girls to the ground. I helped to support her, but then she sort of fell into my face," Santa-Donato said.

The artist attempted to give her painting of the female form to a lucky spectator, but a member of Monáe's entourage took the painting back, due to struggles for it in the crowd, which left most of the front row covered in paint.

Monáe's set primarily included songs from her sophomore album, "The ArchAndroid." She also performed music from "Metropolis." Some of the highlights of the show included her performances of, "Cold War," "Faster," "Wondaland" and "Dance or Die."

While some audience members may have been skeptical of the headliner's futuristic funk, the show was very danceable.

Monáe saved her single, "Tightrope," featuring rapper Big Boi, as her closing number, then treated fans to one final encore performance. After the show, the artist remained in the gym, selling and signing albums, T-shirts, and other merchandise.

Eric Moretti '13 thought the show was downright amazing. "After seeing Janelle perform live in the gym, the ‘ArchAndroid' will be the soundtrack of my fall semester," Moretti said.

There's no doubt that Eli "Paperboy" Reed and The True Loves and Monáe brought funk to Skidmore. The Fall 2010 Big Show was a performance that won't easily be outdone.

Weapons of mass reflections

Posted by Rick Chrisman

When was the last time anybody asked what you thought about the war. I mean our two wars. Our two eight-year-old wars.

"Leave me alone. I hate to think about it," you might respond. So you should, and so would I. We can't afford to think seriously about it because we would throw up. We see the mortality count (U.S. and non-U.S.). We see the wounded count. And we are now learning more and more about the emotional casualties and family fall-out. Recently, Bob Herbert of the New York Times called these wars a "meat grinder for service members and their families." Naturally we want to avert our eyes, and minds.

To avoid thinking about it, we play happy — eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow (or some day far down the road) we all die. Easy to say if you're not in a war zone. But that's one strategy we have to protect our consciences.

Another way is simply to say that the war policy is beyond our control. Which it is — corporate interests control it (see "Why We Fight," the 2005 award winning documentary by Eugene Jarecki). What's to be done about that? And after Afghanistan, there are other candidates in cue.

But, you know, as well as actually trying to change the situation, there is also such a thing as acting in a way appropriate to the situation — like, SCREAM.

To scream "bloody murder" would be, I believe, the perfectly sane reaction to the ongoing travesty and tragedy. It is only natural to grieve death and destruction — not to do so is unhealthy, inhuman. Whether one supports or opposes the war policy, keening over the maimed and dead is proper, mandatory really.

Is that realistic? There are so many casualties; they cease to have personal meaning for us. Now that's just the problem we must avoid — but we have slipped into it long since. What personal meaning do these casualties have for any American except for the families involved? That is the unfortunate, impious state of affairs about our state of war.

Three or four years into the Iraq War, when I was serving a church in Boston, I would be preparing for Sunday worship and feeling how lame it seemed to enter a beautiful sanctuary and only say the usual prayers ("for peace," "for our national leaders") and not also break out weeping for the exploded bodies and shattered souls strewn across the Mesopotamian sands.

In fact, I daydreamed, we should suspend "worship" entirely and just stage scenes from the Greek tragedies, say, scenes from "Iphegenia" (about a young woman sacrificed for war), or from "Antigone" (another young woman, pleading with the king to bury her rebel brother), or from Ajax (the Athenian general who killed himself upon his return home). Well, it didn't happen.

But my daydreams continued here at Skidmore. Actually, I acted one of them out at the Club Fair last month when I dressed up as Uncle Sam (did I feel silly? Yes.) and handed out questions for students to consider this year: "What are the costs of war?" "Who is carrying the burden of those costs?" "Do you realize what is being done on your behalf?" "Is it time to think about Universal National Service?"

So, too, I could just imagine Skidaiko members setting up their drums in the central quadrangle, interspersed with banners which read (in Japanese characters and in translation): "We are a nation at war," and "Consult your feelings."

Or, again, I can envision one of our students as a mime performer, like the ones you see in Quincy Market or Washington Square, all white and rigid and silent like a statue, in the costume of Mars, the war god.

Or perhaps a group of students might organize a staged reading from Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried." Already in the works, the dance department has choreographed Arvo Paart's "Da Pacem," a memorial of the Madrid bombings, to be performed in December.

Wouldn't it be a helpful exercise in emotional honesty, and a hopeful one, for our community to offer up occasional reflections about our wars in some expressive, artistic fashion? Or is that just another daydream? I'm open.

Rick Christman is director of Religious and Spiritual Life, teaches occasionally in the Religion and Philosophy departments and suspects art is the one true religion.

Apple and Agent Orange

Posted by Jack Ferguson

With the coming elections in November, and politicians running back and forth everywhere screaming like their shirts caught on fire, I am reading a lot about the apathetic (or at least ‘unenthusiastic') youths. Are we so apathetic? If so, how did we get here?

On a recent train ride up from New York City, I met and befriended a man who had grown up in our parents' generation. As we talked, I realized something about the modern day discussion on youth culture: comparisons of our society to that of the Sixties are everywhere. With nearly every mention of the Iraq War comes a correlation to the Vietnam War; the threat of global warming looms as large as the Cold War's specter of Mutual assured destruction; universities have an even stronger toehold on the liberal discussion than before.

It is not unreasonable, then, that my new friend asked me: why aren't all you more politically active? Why don't you take to the streets?

By a better comparison of the Sixties to the present day, I hope to draw better distinctions. Hopefully this will leave us better able to define exactly what we are. Drawing analogies to the overarching dilemmas (lies that got us into a massive war; potential planetary ruin) have some merit, perhaps, but the comparison between generations is erroneous.

MTV, video games and Facebook are not the causes of our hesitance and lack of action nearly as much as the historic moment in which we were born.

Our parents, of the picketing, protesting and pamphleteering generation, were born of the Baby Boomer generation, into a world of both U.S. prosperity and deep uncertainty. I think it is safe to say that by the time of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964 (after which Congress wrote President Johnson a blank check for the Vietnam effort) our parents were approximately the age that we are now. They lived in a divided U.S., wherein the Civil Rights movement was struggling to have its voice heard. Political activism and politically charged discussion pervaded their generation both abroad and at home. Moreover, the undercurrent of this generation was the threat of the Cold War, which started as soon as WWII ended – that is to say, started with our parents' birth.

They were born at the onset of the Cold War, and into a divided nation that did not know what to do with its prosperity, responsibility and rocky history. The nation's divisions were heightened all the more so with the draft and the economic and racial inequalities of the U.S. army.

Contrast this with when we were born – the median of which I will put at 1990. We were born into the pinnacle of U.S. prosperity and security. Our major, national moral confrontation (in the media, at least) was whether or not the president was the recipient in an instance of oral sex. When our parents saw the dogs and water hoses used in Montgomery, Alabama, they saw reflections of a system, perpetual and pernicious, eating away at the Bill of Rights. Our two political worlds defy comparison.

We – the children of the Internet boom and Walmart – were hurled into a world without precedent. The End-Game horrors of global warming present themselves in a thousand different man-made processes, not from a big red button at a distant missile silo. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were from without, and therefore much harder to grasp and rail against.

What does a ‘War on Terror' even mean? This war has no centralized enemy to confront, rather a proliferated ideology. Too: this ideology is abhorrent beyond debate; this was not so in the Sixties, with Communism.

So how do we become politically active? How do we go from a world of one huge enemy with one huge weapon to that of myriad possibilities and processes that potentially leave us vulnerable, or even threaten to destroy us? How do we open a debate on what political activism means when we cannot decide on what to confront first?

I suspect that this atmosphere contributes in a major way to the Tea Party and similar movements (which exist among environmentalists and liberals, too) that are so radical as to see the world in binary terms.

Surrounded by variables, we entrench into simplicity. Which is understandable. But we, the Young and Educated (like it or not), who are beginning to perceive nuance and contradiction, who balance variables and evaluate confusion, are hamstrung.

We search for something intelligible (that is also intelligent) and what do we find? Where do we go with our world of many threats, unschooled and under-nurtured from birth in the ways of political action? We need to form an active political consciousness and thrust.

I'm not about to propose that I know how to do that; I wish I did.You can start by voting.

Jack Ferguson is senior history and English double major from Philadelphia, Penn.

Discovering 'Bomber County': Professor Daniel Swift?s first book combines poetry and history

Posted by Sarah Barry

Professor Daniel Swift has accomplished a feat that many strive for: his first book was recently published.

The book, "Bomber County: The Poetry of a Lost Pilot's War," is a work partially inspired by Swift's own history.

"The book arises from the meeting of two curiosities, on a personal level, the fate of my grandfather, and in terms of literary history, the poetry of the Second World War," Swift said.

Swift's grandfather was a bomber pilot in World War II and the book began as a journey with Swift's father to recover some of the family's past.

Swift started writing the book in 2007 in the summer before he started teaching at Skidmore. He does not feel that the book is solely his own.

"The book is dedicated to my father. It is very much about my journey with him. I do feel that this is something he and I did together rather than something I did alone," Swift said.

During his book reading on Sept. 29, Swift explained that he and his father traveled together to the air base where his grandfather was stationed.

Swift conducted interviews with several veterans and civilians affected by the war.

He focused on one woman in his lecture who viewed the war as a love story about how she met her husband.

Her account was vastly different from those who were directly fighting.

"If you write a war story only about soldiers, you're getting something so deeply wrong," Swift said.

The book responds to the claim that there is little poetry of merit from the second World War when compared to the first World War.

Swift explains that poetry functions as an outlet for mourning in war times.

"Poetry as a type of writing does formal things differently than other types of writing, and that's why poems are so often read at funerals. Poem's are often an atheist's replacement for scripture, and are therefore deeply connected to all the work of mourning, and remembering the past" Swift said.

Swift incorporates and analyzes poetry from both veterans and poets about World War II.

"I think the poetry of World War II has much to teach us about strategic bombing, and that military strategy has surprisingly much in common with creative writing, both are imaginative projects."

Swift expressed a deep gratitude towards the many interviewees who contributed to his knowledge of the war.

"I've tried to repay the enormous debt I owe them in writing all of these things," Swift said. He explained that writing the book seemed to make people more willing to talk to him.

Professor Swift is on leave from Skidmore for the year, but he is currently working on several projects.

"I'll be writing a book about Shakespeare, as he is the writer I usually teach and worked on for years. I'm also exploring a currently undefined project: it will perhaps be about poets in mental institutions," Swift said.

"Bomber County" also sparked interest and contributions about current war conflicts.

"I'm at work now on a long magazine article about the use of unmanned drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the moral and legal debates about this new technology. It seems to me that history has much to teach us about current wars."

Despite the emotionally charged subject, Swift has attempted to remain unbiased in his views and representation of bombing.

"I've tried to present as fairly as I can both sides of the debate over the ethics of bombing, so I've tried to resist strong convictions of my own, except my strong conviction that it's important to consider, respectfully and carefully, the past as a way to understand the present," he said.

Upon request, Professor Swift offered some advice to both his own students in the English department and aspiring writers in general at Skidmore.

"There's an old joke about writing: change one letter in the word, and you get ‘waiting.' Writing involves a lot of waiting, an unimaginable amount of time and patience."

He continued, "I'm interested in the types of writing that are by definition rushed – journalism, written on deadline, is a useful discipline for all writers – but I'm more interested in the kind of writing that cannot be rushed, that refuses to be hurried. A good piece of writing, like a good painting, rewards a lot of slow looking; it absorbs time and patience, and pays back tenfold all the attention you can give it. So, in terms of advice for writers, you have to be patient, I'm afraid."

Music review: The Roots and Legend wake up N.Y.

Posted by Eli Cohen

On Sept. 23, veteran hip-hop group The Roots came together with R&B crooner John Legend and legendary director Spike Lee at Terminal 5, a nightclub located in Hell's Kitchen, New York.?

The concert was broadcast live and for free on Youtube to publicize the new collaboration album "Wake Up!" that was released two days earlier on Sept. 21.?

The partnership has allowed The Roots, a group known for playing its own instruments rather than having a backing DJ, to display a more rock 'n roll side to its musicianship. The group proves its worth with scorching guitar solos from Captain Kirk Douglas and powerful drum beats by the revered Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson. "Wake Up!" presented Legend with a chance to depart from his usual piano-backed ballads, and allowed him to play what some might consider more substantial, ambitious music.

The Roots, a historically outspoken politically charged group, and Legend claim that they were inspired by the 2008 presidential election to record this album. This vision lead the artists to re-imagine 1960s and 1970s soul music for the new record.

Except for the closing track "Shine," which was written by Legend, the record is composed exclusively of covers from classic songwriters such as Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye.? The show, however, integrated originals by both The Roots and Legend, combining smooth hip-hop, courtesy of Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter, with Legend's soulful brand of rhythm and blues.?

Guest appearances were made by celebrated Chicago rapper Common and R&B diva Jennifer Hudson. Both artists are featured on the new album. These two very different musical forces combined smoothly and effortlessly. Pure enjoyment emanated from every performer and there was no struggling for attention or reserve. Both The Roots and Legend threw themselves full-bodied into their performance.

They played with no opening act, and only one short break in the set. The amount of physical exertion was clear from Legend's sweated-through button down shirt.

The Thursday night concert, for which tickets were a mere $36, featured John Legend staples, including "Green Light" and "Ordinary People." The set list also included some less predictable choices, such as "I Can't Write Left-Handed," a song focused on the Vietnam War. They also played "The Fire," a cover of Canadian indie-rockers Arcade Fire, demonstrating the band's diverse musical interests.?

"Wake Up!" combines the Marvin Gay-esque heartfelt singing of John Legend with the funk rap that The Roots have become known for.

Bailiwick shows off diverse acoustic stylings

Posted by Samantha Skurdahl

The on campus hot spot Falstaff's has seen its fair share of DJs and dance bands over the years. More recently, however, Skidmore students are packing the place not only to dance to the newest hits, but also for the acoustic stylings of student band Bailiwick.

Sophomores Jane Esterquest, Brett Hartman, Colin Manjoney and Ned Porter formed the band last academic year. Since then, Bailiwick has made a name for itself both on campus and throughout Saratoga. The bands past performance spots include Virgil's Cafe and the legendary Caffe Lena.

While Bailiwick chooses not to lump itself into one specific genre, the group's mix of instruments, which include the guitar, mandolin, ukulele, and banjo, create a sound which violinist Esterquest terms, "crunk folk."

Bailiwick has found a large fan base in Skidmore music lovers of all types. "Obviously our friends are our biggest, most obsessive fans, but I think people's enjoyment of our music has spread pretty far across the student body," Brett Hartman '13 said.

The band cites its song "That Boy" as eliciting the most enthusiastic response, with fans clapping and singing along. "A memorable moment was when we played Virgil's Coffee House last year and people knew the words to our songs. Two kids gave each other high fives when we played ‘That Boy.' That pretty much blew my mind," Jane Esterquest '13 said.

Bailiwick hopes to have a full album recorded and for sale this year. The members also plan to continue performing and hope to widen their venues beyond Saratoga.

Bailiwick has Facebook page, facebook.com/pages/Bailiwick, and a website, Bailiwick.bandcamp.com, where its songs are available to download.

Krefting brings comedy to the classroom

Posted by MacKenna Lewis

Professor Rebecca Krefting of the American Studies department takes comedy seriously. While working towards her doctorate in American Studies at the University of Maryland, this new professor focused her studies on humor and laughter.

This semester, she's bringing humor to the classroom as she teaches Themes in American Culture: Diversity in the United States and two sections of Introduction to American Studies.

Skidmore News: Where are you from originally?

Rebecca Krefting: I'm from a lot of places. I was born in Germany. My dad was in the military, so I was born on a military base and then we moved around to Arizona, to Alabama, back to Germany and then back to Alabama again. My education path has taken me to Ohio, the Maryland and DC area and here. So a lot of different places, but if I had to isolate where my home is, it would be Alabama. That's home.

SN: Has it been a big adjustment to move from the South to upstate New York?

Krefting: It has. I love that sense of community that exists in the South, but there's also a conservatism that is so strong that it became difficult to be who I was there. Coming out in the South can be kind of difficult. It feels different to live in places like Ohio, Maryland and here. It feels more freeing.

SN: How do you like Skidmore so far?

Krefting: I hope it doesn't sound cliché, but I love it here. I love the atmosphere. The community here is so nice and everyone has been so helpful. All the students are friendly, they're engaged and they're interested in the curriculum, so it's kind of picture perfect.

SN: How does your background in stand-up comedy and improvisational acting play into your studies and your teaching style?

Krefting: Well it informs it a lot. Not only does it inform my teaching style because I joke a lot in the classroom, but I also try to deliver a lecture or present a discussion in an entertaining way so that we're all enjoying it and we're getting engaged in the topic.

I actually focus on humor when I do my own research, so humor is absolutely infused in so many different aspects of my life – my personality, my teaching and my research.

SN: You also have degrees in English, Psychology and Women's Studies. How did you become interested in American Studies?

Krefting: Well the only center for Humor Studies in the U.S. is housed at the University of Maryland, in the American Studies Department.

I grew to love American Studies. I really began to embrace what American Studies is about. I think it combines the best of all the disciplines. Not that it's superior, but I think it does a good job of pulling from the different approaches and ideologies.

SN: Have you incorporated your background in Women's Studies into your Diversity in the United States course?

Krefting: Yes, definitely. In any course where you're looking at diversity, you're going to have issues come up about categories of identity.

The way that the U.S. frames difference is by race and sexuality and religion.

Although I don't necessarily agree with how the world has cordoned all these different identity categories, I think it's important that we talk about how the U.S. is addressing them.

SN: Can you tell me about the book you're currently working on?

Krefting: Well I'm turning my dissertation into a book, and my dissertation looks at stand up comedy, but it looks at a particular kind of comedy.

I call it charged humor. It's humor that's used by the author or performer to mobilize, to activate, to inform, to educate, in some way to charge his or her audience with information about how to make their lives better or about how to make the world a better place.

I looked at specific comics who have activist agendas on stage, and I also looked at the young people who were in my youth comic theater program.

I talked about how they use comedy as a voice of dissent, critique and analysis of the lives that they're living, in a world where kids aren't usually turned to for information or advice about how to change the world we live in.

SN: Do you think you'll be performing stand-up comedy anytime in the near future, perhaps at Skidmore?

Krefting: I don't know. I usually work it into presentations, so I'll probably go and speak with Skidmore Pride Alliance and we'll talk about queer comedy and I'll do some of my jokes for them, but I don't know if I will seek out an official venue. I'm reserving all the jokes for the classroom.

Is there enough space in Zankel?

Posted by Jesse Shayne

As the Arthur Zankel Music Center enters its first full year in use, questions have arose concerning the rehearsal space system.

The state of the art facility offers a lot more than the old Filene Music Building but, at a college with a highly musical student population, there still may not be enough space to accommodate student needs.

With the number of ensembles, acapella groups and other musical organizations pushing well into double digits, reserving group rehearsal space is a tricky task.

Google Calendar has become the system used to schedule practice time. "The calendar is almost completely covered. The whole day is this dense network, sometimes overlapping," music department Chairman Thomas Denny said.

One problem with the scheduling is that the rooms in Zankel are also rented out to groups outside of the music department and sometimes groups outside of the college altogether.

Yet, performing music groups still get high priority in the scheduling process. "We have sometimes encountered that scheduling in these spaces conflicts with our offerings. Some of us worry that the College's eagerness to earn income by renting spaces might conflict with our educational mission," said Professor Gordon Thompson.

Meanwhile, students who are not enrolled in music courses are prohibited from using the practice rooms, due to the limited amount of space. The rooms require students to swipe their Skidmore ID card for access. Only the cards of students who are taking music lessons will open the doors. However, it's possible to get in without using them.

"Officially the rooms are reserved for students taking lessons. However, students do find their way to play instruments in practice rooms. Nobody is up there collecting ID cards. Students are resourceful. They have friends they can play with," Denny said.?

As far as the number of rooms goes, music students haven't had much trouble finding space to practice. "Everyone has their own class schedule and their own time to practice so it works out nicely. My experiences have been really peaceful," music student Lyndsay Stone '14 said.

Despite scheduling conflicts, the new building addresses many needs that Filene did not. The new concert hall offers acoustics that none of the other theaters on campus possess. There are more practice rooms, more classroom space and the rooms offer sound isolation. "We really just outgrew the old building," said Denny.???????????????

The final issue with Zankel is that it still doesn't address the need for a permanent place for unchartered student bands to rehearse. As with Filene, bands aren't allowed to practice at Zankel. "There's a long history of bands trying to play in the music buildings. There's a number of reasons why they can't: space, concerns with equipment, damage to facility, etc. The building is primarily an academic teaching facility and has to function as such," Denny said.

As of right now it's possible for bands to rehearse at the Chapel or Falstaff's, although clubs are given priority. Robin Adams, assistant director of Leadership Activities, along with the Student Government Association and various committees on campus, are still discussing the option of a permanent place for student bands to practice. A temporary solution is being worked out.???????

A soundproof trailer is most likely going to be put next to Falstaff's within the next month. Bands will get priority with renting the space. Denny was optimistic about the trailer. "It's a huge need for students to have some sort of facility for bands. It's a big student life issue," Denny said.????