EAC plans trip to join Washington, D.C., protests against Keystone XL: Club members continue to voice their opinions despite previous arrests

Posted by Julia Leef

In step with the nationwide environmental movement, the Environmental Action Club is organizing a trip to join the thousands of protestors campaigning against the Keystone XL Pipeline on Nov. 6 in Washington, D.C.

This event is part of a series of protests that have been occurring in the last few months. People have been gathering in Washington, D.C. to speak out against the new Keystone XL Pipeline, a project that would bring oil from Alberta, Canada to refineries in Texas, passing through the Sand Hills of Nebraska, location of the Great Plains ecosystem.

"This is the next civil rights movement," said Eliza Sherpa '14, vice president of EAC. "This issue isn't going away."

On Sept. 3, Sherpa and Margot Reisner '14, president of EAC, who were on campus early for S-rep training, went down to D.C. with three other S-reps to join the last day of a two-week protest.

The police arrested 1,253 people during those two weeks, including Reisner and Sherpa, as well as Jane Li '14 and Joe Marto '14. Sherpa said the arrest really affected her.

"I felt more empowered than I've ever felt. I was giving everything that I physically possibly could to the issue," she said. "It was very inspiring to have so many people around you and just know that this is what our future is - we're making our future right now."

These protests are directed at President Barack Obama, who will make his decision about the fate of the pipeline project at the end of the year, Reisner said, adding that staging a protest on Nov. 6 places it exactly one year before the 2012 presidential elections. Obama's position regarding these environmental issues may have a great impact on his re-election chances, Reisner said.

"There's a problem in our society where we don't exercise our rights to democracy," Reisner said, adding that this is an opportunity for the people to make their voices heard, instead of relying on representatives to do so for them.

The potential pollution the pipeline could cause is not the only issue at hand, however. Sherpa said the original Keystone pipeline, which carries oil from Alberta to Cushing, Oklahoma, has had 11 spills at pumping stations in the past year.

Reisner doesn't agree with the government's claim that extending the pipeline to Texas will create jobs and reduce our dependency on foreign oil. She said that not only is this latter statement untrue, as the oil will be imported from Canada, but the number of new jobs will reach a peak force of only 4,500 outsourced, not local, jobs during construction.

"It's really just the government leaning toward corporate profit over community health," Reisner said.

Reisner and Sherpa both hope that involving students will assist in spreading information around and bringing these controversies to light. The EAC has enough funding to bring 50 to 100 students to D.C., and it offers other ways to get involved locally.

Students may contact either Reisner or Sherpa to be placed on an interest list, which currently has 120 students, after which they will receive emails with information on the issues, petitions and other ways to get involved.

In addition, the EAC will be arranging carpools to attend a hearing on Nov. 21 in Trenton, New Jersey held by the Delaware River Basin Commission. This hearing will determine whether to allow hydrofracking in the Delaware River Basin, and there will be a large gathering of people to protest an affirmation of this decision.

The environmental issues behind hydrofracking, a drilling process that threatens to pollute public drinking water, are connected to the Keystone protests in that both are important events relating to public health and environmental progress, Sherpa said.

"This is one of the issues that will define our future entirely," Sherpa said.

Students who are interested in becoming involved should contact Reisner and Sherpa for more information, or speak to other members of the EAC, who will be in the atrium in the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall during dinnertime in addition to their weekly meetings at 9 p.m. on Mondays in Ladd 207.

Those who wish to attend the protest in D.C. must come to an info session hosted by the EAC at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30 in Gannett Auditorium. At the meeting students will learn more information and must sign a liability form and an emergency contact list to attend the trip.

Students will leave from Case Center on Nov. 5 around 1 p.m. and will stay overnight at St. Stephen's Church in Washington, D.C. The following afternoon, students will join the protests in front of the White House for an hour or two before returning to the college on Sunday night. Although housing will be free, students should bring money for food and metro cards.

"This isn't something that's going to happen without the people going and taking action," Sherpa said. "It's a good way to bring together, not just the environmental community at Skidmore, but other members of society as well. This is a turning point in our history."

This Week's Cat Horoscopes

Posted by Max Salat and Sam Richardson

Aries: Don't discount the ordinary. Even a phony mouse can have a heart of pure catnip.

Taurus: A leap through the kitchen window will open new frontiers, but beware of the outsiders.

Gemini: A nap on the top step may have dire consequences.

Cancer: Lick your friends clean and they'll do the same for you.

Leo: A pleasant surprise will scuttle blindly from the shower drain. Catch it and you will receive a handsome reward.

Virgo: Never look a gift horse in the mouth, unless the gift is not a dead animal, in which case you may disregard it entirely.

Libra: Keep the promises you've made, or expect to be locked in the shower

Scorpio: You will find luck in the form of soft stuffing beneath a treated leather exterior

Sagittarius: You may find your pain stems from sitting too close to a rocking chair

Capricorn: HEY WHAT DID YOU SEE THAT ON THAT WALL WHAT HEY

Aquarius: You will encounter more Kibbles than Bits this week. Plan ahead accordingly.

Pisces: Stay alert, you never know when you will find litter between your toes.

Extra Credit: Dorm-sized workouts: Staying fit and having fun with short, creative exercise routines

Posted by Siena Tugendrajch

There are a few reasons why I've stayed healthy at college. The first, most basic and luckiest explanation is my genes. Second, I really like vegetables, fruit, lean protein and whole grains like quinoa and barley. Maybe I just like the word quinoa. But I would say that the best reason I'm in relatively good shape is because I use my free time to work out in my dorm room.

Anyone, even you freshmen loving your triples, can do most of these exercises in your dorm. Granted, they are least embarrassing in singles, but definitely still doable in doubles or triples. I find time to exercise every day, and so can you. There is always time for a 20-minute workout or two 10-minute workouts.

How? I'm glad you asked. Set your alarm 20 or 30 minutes earlier than usual. Then you can get your sweat on and still have time to shower before class. If you're not a morning person, work out when you finish class in the afternoon - it's a great break between lectures and homework.

I wish I could say that there are many exercise-based websites that I frequent. Sadly, I am shamelessly addicted to Exercise TV online and when I'm home I use Exercise TV On Demand. With time, I'm sure you'll learn to love it, too.

Sometimes you'll have only 10 minutes to work out. Not a problem! Exercise TV online has many mini-workouts from which to choose. When I'm pressed for time, I gravitate toward videos that target key areas like legs or abs. Brief lower body workouts are usually a combination of lunging, jumping and kicking. Roundhouse kicking may be my favorite form of exercise. On the other hand, the short abdominal videos incorporate standing and twisting moves with traditional crunches. This approach can be challenging but is definitely more interesting than typical abdominal exercises. These quick workouts are intense and, therefore, pretty darn satisfying after just 10 minutes.

When you find yourself with 20 minutes to spare, grab a yoga mat or a towel and check out some longer workout options. With a little more time, you can really stretch out your body from head to toe with yoga and Pilates. Yoga can make you feel inches taller while Pilates helps build core strength and long lean muscle. Can't argue with that.

If you find yourself with 30 minutes of free time, you should try my favorite exercise video on Exercise TV online: Bridal Body Burn. A few times a week, Violet Zaki, a wonderful Australian trainer, tells me to stop thinking about my in-laws and to start focusing on how great I'm going to look in my wedding dress. This workout is a half hour of incredibly fun cardio and strength moves, including roundhouse kicking and twisting abdominal moves.

Working out is the best thing you can do with your free time, assuming that you're not too busy curing cancer, finding dinosaur fossils or curing dinosaur cancer. Find time to work out every day, or maybe a few times a week, and you will be happier. How do I know this? Because of a quote from everyone's favorite sorority girl turned lawyer, Elle Woods: "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands."

Siena Tugendrajch is pursuing an English and psychology double major. Her interests include epic similes and personality tests.

Skidmore Shop continues to host local restaurants: Esperanto and Plum Dandy to hand out free samples to students

Posted by Max Siegelbaum

Esperanto, the downtown restaurant known best for its brick of cheese and crust, the doughboy, and local frozen yougurt shop, Plum Dandy, will be handing out free samples of its products at the Skidshop this week.

Esperanto will be visiting on Friday, Oct. 21, from 5 to 7 p.m, while Plum Dandy will visit Saturday at the same time and location.

These visits are part of a larger ongoing promotional program established by Bob Carlton, technology sales and social program administrator of the Skidshop, and the rest of the staff at the store. For the past two years, Carlton has opened the doors to local restaurants, stores and community organizations.

"Last year we had an event for the golf team," Carlton said, "we cleared out the store and set up a driving range." Along with the driving range, the team sold related products as well as provided golf instruction and various prizes. The team used the event to promote its existence and raise money for travel and other expenses.

"We try to showcase the restaurants as well as promote the later hours of the Skidshop," Carlton said. The participating restaurants receive publicity with minimal costs, while the Skidshop receives higher foot traffic at the slower, later hours of operation.

The program was largely created to publicize the Skidshop's late hours of operation. The shop extended its Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday hours from 9:15 a.m. to 7 p.m., a change Carlton said would provide students with an opportunity to pick up any last minute materials they may need.

"We understand that most students do their work later in the day. Students working will realize that they need something, but will be unable to purchase it. Longer hours give these students an opportunity to purchase what they need to finish their work," Carlton said. He added that the shift in hours is directed toward art students, in particular.

Carlton intentionally chooses establishments that have a close relationship with the college, "All restaurants that visit the store take the Skidcard. Once they register with the college, we approach them and invite them to the shop. It allows them to promote their product without having to spend money on something like an advertising campaign," Carlton said.

A schedule of upcoming food vendors can be found on the store's website. Upcoming vendors include Spring Street Deli, Legends Café and Pizza Works. All events will feature free samples and will take place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Union workers no longer demonstrating at Skidmore College

Posted by Julia Leef

At a meeting this week between the College's construction services management firm and the union leaders from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America-Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters, the union leaders revealed that there will be no further action at the college, said Mike West, vice president for finance and administration.

West said that the management firm provided carpenters with additional information regarding their contract with the College, and he hopes that this will help to resolve the differences between Local 291 union and Niatrust Drywall Inc., the private cooperation contracted for the construction projects in Northwoods and Scribner Village.

More information on the union's previous protests at the college can be found here.

Todd Banks, leader of the picketing effort for Local 291, confirmed that, for the time being, the union would cease demonstrations outside of the College. "For the time being, we're going to hold off there as part of a good faith effort," he said.

However, Banks said that the union still has issues with Niatrust, as well as other non-area standards contractors, such as Commercial Interiors and Landmark Flooring.

"Our agreement to not do action up there [at the college] has nothing to do with our disagreement with Niatrust," Banks said. He added that the union will continue to protest wherever Niatrust is employed, so long as it continues to pay substandard benefits.

"We're just moving forward and doing what we have to do when companies like Niatrust come around," Banks said.

Banks said that if the College contracted a non-area standards company for future work, whether Niatrust or another company, the union would demonstrate again. 

Restaurant Review: The Wine Bar

Posted by Tegan O'Neill

The Wine Bar has the opulence of Saratoga Springs stamped all over it. Diners sip from glistening globes of wine in a dark and warmly lit dining room. A strand of lights twinkles like fireflies in the large bay window overlooking Broadway. It feels like the town of horses and money that the postcards of Saratoga purport it to be.

All three sections of the Wine Bar's menu - earth, land, sea - offer intriguing selections. The option to order either a small or large portion of many of the entrées exists, and, in the interest of saving money, it is wise to take advantage of this choice.

From the earth, we chose the pizza with Gruyere, onion confit and roasted pumpkin. The Gruyere strung beautifully from the pizza as we divided its slices. A thick layer of succulently sweet onions glazed the crust. The pumpkin was wonderful and autumnal – its rich, orange pigmentation bestowed a beautiful color to the pizza. The crust, however, was no match for the toppings. It lacked both structure and flavor and came off tasting rather flat.

Ordering the wild boar bolognese with fresh pasta rags was an opportunity too tempting to pass up, but unfortunately upon trying it my hopes came crashing down. I expected a dish that would snarl back at me. I envisioned a snout covered in coarse bristles of fur. Instead, the plate of wild boar bolognese was disappointingly tame. I would not have guessed that the mild meat sauce was something other than beef.

The oil poached halibut with squid ink risotto and fennel purée blew the other two dishes out of the water. Each bite was a thrill - the halibut was light and fresh. Equally refreshing was the fennel purée pooled upon the plate. It tasted like it came out of a spring garden. The squid ink risotto did nothing to enhance the dish other than to provide visual contrast. Albeit appealing to the eye, it had little flavor and no memorable taste.

The rich, juicy duck was utterly superb. The brussels sprouts, turnips and carrots served with the confit leg seemed superfluous. How can you care about eating carrots when the succulent meat of duck awaits your palate? Additionally, the drizzling of apple mustard gastrique also seemed nonessential. The duck was the shining star of the dish and it did not need any backup dancers. I wish the chef had just left the duck to steal the show.

Speaking of stealing the show, the chocolate cake deserves some time in the limelight. The Wine Bar's chocolate cake was the best chocolate dessert I have had in a very long time. It was rich without being too rich and sweet without being too sweet. The texture of the token-shaped dessert was hard to pin point; it was almost chalky yet also almost moist. A simple scoop of sweet vanilla ice cream atop was a perfect compliment to the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate cake.

The portions at the Wine Bar leave you wanting just one bite more. Not because they are too small, but because they are too good. I wouldn't mind having just one more gnaw at the duck or another nibble of chocolate cake. I guess that means I'll have to go back.

Read More of Tegan O'Neill's outings at her Blog

Swim team has high expectations for new season

Posted by Jesse Shayne

After last year's seasons that would look sub-par on paper to most, Skidmore's Men's and Women's swimming and diving teams are looking to improve this year.

The men's team went 2-6 last year, beating Vassar and Utica, while the women's team went 1-7, beating Utica. However, the records do not show the whole story.

"The team has always been more focused on the championships and end of season times. Dual meets are more of a stepping stone...If you look at the record and see 2 and 7 you think it's not very good, but we lack depth and a core foundation and we are working toward that," Peter Quattromani '14 said.

Skidmore's teams lacked quantity last season, and while they did not lack quality, having such small teams made it difficult to compete against larger schools.

"There are some teams that are huge so no matter how well we swim we could not beat them, especially at the big meets where there are so many teams. We try to compete against teams that are similar to us," said captain Carrie Kosch '13, who was the women's team MVP last season.

While the dual meet records may not indicate success, the teams did set a lot of records and improve on times.

"I think swimming is an individual sport so we are looking for as much progress as an athlete can make over the season...[last season's] dropoffs were outstanding and the college breaking 15 records shows our hard work paying off," said Coach Jill Greenleaf, who will be entering her 10th season at the helm of the Thoroughbreds.

Only one senior graduated from the women's team last year and two from the men's team. This season the women's team has seven new members, six freshmen and one sophomore, and the men's team has five new members, four freshmen and one sophomore.

While Head Coach Greenleaf is returning to complete a decade at Skidmore, the diving team has a new coach. "Our old diving coach retired last year, so that made it hard to recruit new younger divers," Coach Greenleaf said.

Neither diver from the men's team will be returning this year because one graduated and one is away for the year. While there are no freshmen divers joining either team, Doug Pilawa '12 will be returning from a year abroad to improve upon his 2009-2010 season in which he was the Liberty League diver of the year and qualified for nationals, and Kristen Stearns '13 and Krista Pelton '14 will be returning for the women's team after successful seasons last year.

"All three will be able to compete at the top of the conference this year," Greenleaf said.

Both teams have an identical schedule to last year. They will be starting out against St. Lawrence tomorrow, Saturday Oct. 22, and finishing the dual meet season against RPI Jan. 28.  

Skidmore's Distinguished Visiting Scientist speaks to student body: Lecture addresses issues of world hunger and biodiversity

Posted by Julia Leef

More than 100 students, faculty and community members attended Distinguished Visiting Scientist Wilhelm Gruissem's lecture, "Can We Still Feed the World in 2050?" at 8 p.m. on Oct. 19, in Gannett Auditorium.

Gruissem is one of the world's leading plant biotechnology experts, and has served as a plant biotechnologist in the Department of Biology at ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) since 2000.

The lecture addressed issues of global food security, water availability, bio-energy and climate change. "A Bio-Based Economy must be a part of the solution!" the title page of his presentation stated.

With the growing world population and rising cereal demand (MMT), humans must produce more food than ever before. But, we are producing less food than we did 20 to 30 years ago. More than one billion people in the world are suffering from starvation and increasing malnutrition, and, despite previous predictions, this number has steadily risen.

"We have to produce food where it's needed," Gruissem said. "We have to come up with solutions to help those people who develop agriculture in a way that it is sustainable and can support their lifestyles."

Gruissem also discussed the surge in cereal and oil prices, as well as the major bottleneck that sustainable food security faces. Humans have cultivated 7,000 plant species since the beginning of agriculture. However, only 10 plant species are cultivated today to provide 95 percent of food and feed.

This spreading monoculture is another major threat to food security, Gruissem said. He proposed his own solution to the issue of biodiversity, saying that a select number of genotypes (roughly 10,000 per crop) should be taken from a crop share of more than 100,000 ancestral genotypes per crop. These select genotypes should be characterized and studied at $1 million per genotype. He estimates that the cost of the entire operation would be $30 billion, which is $2 billion less than the 2010 budget of the National Institute of Health.

Much of the lecture promoted the use of gene manipulation technology, such as phenotyping (measuring allelic variation) and marker-assisted selection (MAS) to breed new varieties of plants and to identity those genes that are best suited to maximize yield gains.

Several requirements for this method of improving crops, Gruissem said, include being cost effective and sustainable, as well as making no net contribution to greenhouse gasses and avoiding directly increasing food costs.

The true benefits of genetically modified technology are often either unknown or misrepresented to the public, Gruissem said. European consumers are especially opposed to GM technologies, and certain non-government organizations have declared gene technology a danger, and have even attacked private property. Gruissem's own home has been graffitied.

Several newly improved crops in the market include Anthocyanin-enriched GM tomatoes, which can reduce the high risk of coronary heart diseases, and Beta-carotene enriched Golden Rice, which can reduce vitamin A deficiency.

Gruissem's own lab is working to increase iron concentration in polished rice grains in order to aid the two billion people who suffer from iron deficiency. Currently, his lab has increased the iron concentration with gene technology to 55 percent of the recommended daily intake, and is looking to improve it further.

He also stressed the importance of making plants resistant to environmental stress and able to combat such parasites as the African Cassava Mosaic Virus (CMV), which is responsible for a 24 percent loss of the total production of cassava in Africa each year.

Gruissem concluded by stressing the importance of breeding new crop varieties with a high and stable yield and improved nutritional qualities in order to create a sustainable agriculture. He encouraged using innovative research, efficient breeding and gene technology to ensure a phenotypic diversity of crop plants.

"We have to make sure that we grow food where it is needed," Gruissem said.

Gruissem will remain on campus to meet with members of the college's science faculty and to present to several biology classes this semester. 

Healthful Hints: Self-esteem: Staying positive through the Skidmore Winter

Posted by Zoe Silver

It happens to the best of us: we wake up in the morning and try on five different outfits before we find the one that will work, we look enviously at the girl with the great hair or the guy with the bulging biceps and we diss ourselves for our appearance, grades and so on.

Because bouts of low self-esteem are unavoidable for most of us, we have to pay special attention to ensure that we care for ourselves and don't stay in a "funk" for too long. On occasion, it is important to look in the mirror and think, "I love myself for who I am; I accept my body, I am confident and I will succeed."

But this doesn't come easily to everyone. I know it can feel silly to think those things about yourself, but low self-esteem can be detrimental to your mental and physical health, so it is important to develop some tactics to avoid it. If talking to yourself in the mirror isn't your cup of tea, try taking a day to focus on the positive. Make a list of what is going right in your life and what you like about it. Set goals for yourself and try to achieve them one by one. Accomplishing each of them should give you a great sense of encouragement and confidence.

Be sure to surround yourself with people who support you and the goals you have set for yourself. If it is frustrating for you to watch others succeed at things that you find difficult, increase the amount of time you spend on things you do well. Try to work them into your daily or weekly routine so that you can experience a positive boost of confidence regularly - and keep in mind that you can't be good at everything. Instead of being envious of others' abilities, share what you can do with them in exchange for them sharing with you.

While we may feel untalented at times, during college one of the most common manifestations of low self-esteem is in poor body image, which can be difficult to overcome. My first piece of advice would be to turn off the TV, recycle the magazines and stop browsing celebrity websites. The representations of male and female bodies in the media are distorted. Your goal should not be to look like the model on the cover of Cosmopolitan or the ad for Calvin Klein.

Remember that the photographs of models are edited on a computer. Their necks are stretched, eyes enlarged, skin smoothed, so on and so forth until the image that appears is not a person, but a culturally-created image of "perfection" and "beauty." Next time you see an ad on TV that makes you question your self-worth or beauty, talk back to it. Say, "I like myself just the way I am. I don't need you to tell me how to be or what to look like." Tear out the pages of your magazine, which send degrading and negative messages, or stop buying them altogether.

But even if we try to limit the messages we receive from the media, many of us might still struggle with body image issues in our everyday lives. To defeat this, try to avoid comparing yourself to others. Every person has a different combination of genes and is beautiful in his or her own way. The only "standard of beauty" is one that we create as a culture, so we can just as easily change it if we wish to do so. In public, avoid walking with your head down and shoulders hunched; stand up straight and make eye contact with others. This will send people the message that you are confident and, in turn, will increase your confidence in yourself.

Embrace your own style; wear clothes that are comfortable and that you like, even if it isn't necessarily the latest fashion. Lastly, I suggest that you stop and think about all of the relationships you have in your life. Do your close friends and family like you for the way you look, or the way you are? It is most likely your personality that draws them to you, so do yourself the same favor and appreciate yourself for who you are, not how you appear to be.

As the weather gets colder and wetter and we find ourselves going about our days without much zest or excitement, it is typical to also start "hating" on ourselves. So try some of the tactics I discussed above to avoid low self-esteem. If you do, I bet that your winter experience at Skidmore will be much more enjoyable and positive. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy and smile.

Editorial: Preoccupied with occupations

Posted by the Editorial Board

It was hardly surprising that nothing much came of last Thursday's aborted effort to "Occupy Skidmore" The planned demonstration was a confused and muddled attempt at youthful rebellion.

None of the slogans on the picket signs or in SGA's complimentary email explained exactly why Skidmore is part of the (also undefined) big problem, why the college itself must be occupied, or why our Student Government was organizing a political rally from the top down.

There is, however, something worth salvaging from the demonstration: we as a college must look out from the Skidmore bubble and engage in the wider political arena.

Amidst an economic malaise, with a divided government that tussles over any and every new piece of crucial legislation, those of us fortunate enough to attend college cannot afford to waste our civic efficacy while Rome burns. Last Thursday happened to be an example of how not to organize politically, but perhaps we might start discussing the ways in which effective engagement in national politics is possible and achievable.

The first thing to emphasize is that we at Skidmore have the resources not only to organize politically but also to do so in an educated way. As it happens, what sounds good on a picket sign is not necessarily a well-informed, sound argument, as last week's attempted occupation showed. But what better place is there to achieve a firm grasp of social, economic or artistic questions than an institution of higher education?

Rather than simply shoo everyone over to the quad with a couple of banners and a vague sense of indignation, likeminded students can meet regularly to deliberate, debate and then finally articulate their stance on matters political in the form of an organized event. A tight grasp of the issues at hand is the difference between a disciplined picket line and Speakers' Corner.

One cannot rely, then, on nebulous consensus for legitimate organization. If indeed most students here sympathize with the wider ‘Occupation' movements cropping up around the nation – as SGA seemed to presume in their email advocating the protest – then the handful of demonstrators were clearly on friendly soil rather than enemy territory. Despite its contemporary misuse, the adage "preaching to the choir" connotes a pointless rather than a satisfying exercise.

Anti-war types don't demonstrate outside of Susan Sarandon's mansion; not many environmentalists choose to picket Ralph Nader's office; and so far this year the Tea Partiers have left the parking lots of Koch Industries alone. So what were the "occupiers" doing on the green? Even if our mad-as-hell peers could not make it to Wall Street, a trip downtown into conservative Saratoga Springs would have been enough.

For a positive example of Skidmore protesting where it matters, we need only look to this past February, when a group of students traveled to New York City to join the "Rally to Stand Up for Women's Health." From their own pockets in cooperation with Family Planning New York, the students organized the trip to protest the legislation threatening funding for "Title X."

Students read up on the nature of the conflict between the Planned Parenthood programs and the legislative agenda of Congress, initiated a grass roots movement on campus (think back to the filming and circulation of the "I Have Sex" video) and actually took themselves to a venue where their voices would be heard and perhaps challenged. Nothing could be further from the arbitrary noisemaking that SGA was trying to help "facilitate" last week.

Which brings us to what is arguably the most important aspect of real student organization: it is self-determined and spontaneous. SGA President Jonathan Zeidan said that the Student Government only intended to provide a space for anyone interested in the occupation movement. But when he told the Skidmore News, "I do not think it is the place of SGA to take sides on political issues," he tacitly admitted that this top down approach created obvious confusion about whether this was SGA fronting or supporting a specific political movement.

There is precedent for SGA having some involvement in political movements – both the Skidmore Democrats and the Skidmore Young Republican Assembly receive funding in the annual budget. Nonetheless, an SGA-organized protest is misguided. Encouraging community members to become involved in issues beyond the boundaries of our campus is a worthy goal, but such plans must be enacted judiciously. Protests ought to be held where they will be heard, not safely ensconced in a supportive college bubble.

"Occupy Skidmore," though well intentioned, was a conceptual failure. It presents, however, a valuable opportunity to reconsider how our community involves itself in external issues, both locally and nationally. There is a time and a place to protest, but as a college community we are uniquely privileged with the facilities to learn and to teach. These are our most potent tools in this tumultuous era. They should be used to their fullest extent, for the sake of our campus and the world at large.

The Long and Winding Road to Beatlemore Skidmania: The decade-old gig draws near and takes shape

Posted by Brendan James

Few events at the College stir as much anticipation as the annual tribute concert to Britain's Fab Four, Beatlemore Skidmania. This year's program has been published and preparations are under way for the shows on Nov. 11 and 12 in the Zankel Music Center.

From artistic direction to integration of new media, this year's concert will feature a host of new approaches toward bringing the Beatles' music to life. As always, Dr. Gordon Thompson of the music department oversees the organization of the concert, having founded and managed the show since its inception in 2001.

Thompson assigns his MU 344 Beatles seminar the task of organizing the concert. "I gave them as much of a say as I could in the planning," Thompson said. Because the seminar meets at 9:10 a.m., this has been the smallest group he has ever had, but he stresses their ambition to pull off a lively and complete show.

"It has been challenging to say the least, "said Jonathan Duennebier '13, one of the seminar students. "However, with only six students in the class, we all feel very closely involved, and are taking a great deal of pride with the process." Duennebier and his peers sat through 12 hours and 50 acts with a view to narrow them down to 20 for the program.

The interpretations of the Beatles catalog at the show are historically unique and diverse. One year saw two turntable artists with drums and bass backing a spoken-word version of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite;" another saw a rap version of "Give Peace a Chance."

"This year, we'll have the same kinds of diversity and yet still have something new," Thompson said. "You will hear interpretations of Beatles songs unlike anything you have ever heard in the past."

A novel aspect of the show's preparation has been the line of T-shirts and posters designed by Professor Deb Hall's "Communication Design II." Thompson brought the designs by Hall's class back to the Beatles seminar, which then spent more than an hour choosing the designs for Beatlemore Skidmania.

"In the end, we selected a great poster by Samantha Shneyer ('12) that we will print in proper poster size, along with the wonderful three runners-up. These we will raffle off at the end of the concerts," Thompson said.

"It's a very special, vibrant event, and with every year the buzz seems to grow. Judging from the acts we've selected, I think everyone will be blown away by the concert. We still have a lot of work to do, but it should be an incredible night," Duennebier said. "Who doesn't love The Beatles?"

Over the past decade the show has risen from obscurity to become a staple of the college's culture.

Thompson began leading a Beatles seminar in 1996, but in the fall of 2001 his students asked for the opportunity to actually perform the music they had studied. "The first event ran way below the radar. We held it on a study day in December, we invited friends and we did no advertising," Thompson said.

As years went by the concert swelled in attendence until the hall was full at every show. People drove from Boston and Newark to see the concert. Last year's concert in the 600-seat Filene-Ladd Hall of Zankel sold out of the non-student tickets in minutes, prompting Thompson to schedule a second show.

Thompson reflects on the surge in popularity: "No longer is this a small, in-house concert with music students and faculty getting together to play music. Now, lots of people want to be in the show. I've tried to preserve the idea of student ownership of the event, but much is new. For example, we're exploring a webcast in the hopes that we can give even more people access to the event."

Now that his project has grown from a small recital to a sold-out event, Thompson remains pleased with the originality that Skidmore students bring to the arrangements and spirit of the music.

"This is our event and it's unlike anything else out there that I know," Thompson said.

Gunshot wound at Falstaffs revealed as false alarm: Police and Campus Safety respond to a drug-fueled call for help

Posted by Andrew Shi

At 10:30 p.m. last Wednesday students near Jonsson tower overheard an unexpected commotion as several police squad cars and an ambulance rolled into the parking lot. The authorities were responding to a call about a man said to have been shot at Falstaffs.

The caller was the girlfriend of the man but police have abstained from disclosing the names of either.

According to SSPD Lt. Gregory Veitch the man who claimed he had been shot called his girlfriend who then called police. Lt. Veitch did not know if the girlfriend was a Skidmore student, and she was not present at the scene when police arrived.

"When the officers arrived and talked to the man, they found that he had smoked some type of substance and suffered from hallucinations that he had been shot in the leg," Veitch said.

Director of the Department of Campus Security Dennis Conway who helped direct the police and emergency personnel to Falstaffs says that police found the man alone in his vehicle.

The man, 25, is a former Skidmore student according to Conway. He received medical treatment but was not arrested.

In New York State in order for someone to be arrested for falsely reporting an incident they would have to have the intent of causing a public alarm by making the false report. "In this case the officers were unable to prove that the person intended for a large emergency response to be initiated," Lt. Veitch said. "Although that did in fact happen, the intent was missing."

As to what caused the hallucination, Veitch says that "we believe that he had been smoking bath salts." Bath salts are banned in New York.

The banned bath salts — not be confused with mineral bath salts used for bathing — contain MPDV, a psychoactive drug and is compared to synthetic marijuana.

Although no arrest was made, according to Conway there may very well be consequences from the school for the man. Conway and several other school officials are currently deliberating the situation. According to Conway they are in talks about banning the former student from Skidmore.

Mountain Quickstep brings country music to Zankel: Unique band delivers an energetic performance in Ladd Concert Hall

Posted by Olivia Powers

On Oct 13, Mountain Quickstep transported Skidmore to another time and place during their performance at the Ladd Concert Hall of Arthur Zankel Music Center.

The band combines elements of old-time bluegrass and influences of early country music from the Adirondack, Appalachian, and Smoky Mountain regions to create a folksy sound that melds the old with the new. The band members, who include Sarah Milonovich, Greg Anderson, and faculty members John Kirk and Trish Miller, were natural performers. They brought the country atmosphere to Zankel by telling stories of Louisiana fiddle camp and using words like "folks" and "fellas" with a slight country twang.

"[The band] is very good at keeping the old styles alive, but putting a new spin on them," said fiddle student Leland Martin '14.

Music wasn't the only thing brought to the stage. Kirk and Miller both broke out their dancing shoes and displayed an energetic performance of quickstep as the other two band members continued to play. Their enthusiastic smiles, impressive high kicks, and fast feet inspired the audience to clap, and even sing along at times. In a way, the music made a community out of the unacquainted audience members as they laughed together and raised their voices in a single chorus.

The performance was a special kick-off concert to celebrate Mountain Quickstep's selection for the "Rhythm of the Road: American Music Abroad" program. The tour will take the band to Eastern Europe in November. Put on by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the US Department of State, the tour will allow the group to introduce their traditional American sound to international venues.

"We're so lucky to be able to take this tour," gushed Miller. "We're going to be able to go around the world and make some friends."

The band is excited for the opportunity that the tour will give them in becoming more active world citizens.

"We'll go very close to the Middle East and hopefully meet some people there who will be able to say ‘we are friends with some Americans'," Miller said.

The audience responded to this hope with a resounding cheer.

The concert ended as the band brought student musicians from the College and Bennington College on stage to play two final songs. Kirk and Miller coaxed the students closer to the microphones, displaying the burgeoning talents of the younger generation in recalling a past time.

When the band returned to stage for a final encore, Kirk thanked the college's music department for supporting smaller instruments, like the fiddle and banjo, which are inherent to folk music. The audience's boisterous applause confirmed its gratitude as well.

For photos and videos of Mountain Quickstep's tour fans can visit the band's blog at www.mountainquickstep.com.

RPI wins Liberty showdown 2-0 over Skidmore

Posted by Skidmore Athletics

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Rensselaer kept its Liberty League men's soccer playoff hopes alive with a 2-0 win over Skidmore College, Wednesday night at Wachenheim Field.

The loss drops the Thoroughbreds to 1-4-1 in Liberty League play and 5-10-1 overall. RPI is 2-3-2 and 6-4-3.

Julian Coy got the Engineers on the board first with his second goal of the season at 22:40. The play started when Will Mignon moved past two Skidmore defenders for a breakaway, but Thoroughbred goalie Nick Peterson '12 was able to come out to make the initial save. Coy then put the rebound home for the 1-0 lead.

Adam Updegrove added an insurance goal for RPI with 3:41 to play in the game. He gained possession in the midfield, made two quick moves and found the net from 23 yards out.

Skidmore was whistled for 18 fouls to six for the Engineers. RPI had a 16-9 shot advantage, including a 12-2 difference in the first half.

Peterson finished with seven saves, while Rob Dewald had one save in net for his third shutout of the season.

Skidmore will host Clarkson at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Rensselaer is at Bard at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Skidmore Athletics

Skidmore College's Facebook page receives its 5,000th 'like' this month: Communications works to expand the college's online presence

Posted by Adrian Appleman

On Oct. 3, the college reached a landmark 5,000 "likes" on its Facebook page.

With 5,055 "likes" as of Oct. 20, the page is steadily growing in popularity. Though the Skidmore College Facebook page is the College's primary social media outlet, it is not the only social networking page affiliated with the college.

The College has been actively building its online presence since the summer of 2010, and Daniella Nordin, the college's online community manager, says there is still more to follow.

Through online efforts, the College has been able to connect with about one-sixth of its core audience, including alumni, staff, faculty, students and "friends."

The College has more than 20 Facebook pages affiliated with it, ranging from pages for academic departments to different sports teams. Nordin offers workshops titled "The Social Media Hour" for faculty and staff interested in becoming a part of the network on Fridays throughout the semester.

The College also has been branching out to other social networking sites, including Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as exploring new ground with Cappex and Zinch, two social networks geared toward connecting prospective students to colleges.

Hired in Feb. 2010, Nordin's main concentration is to spearhead recruitment efforts beyond simply inciting interest among prospective students, though her efforts do concentrate on that audience as well. She also works to achieve goals like the milestone reached a few weeks ago to recruit more fans and to obtain more "hits."

"Since I'm the first person to hold this position, I can really make it my own, " Nordin said, "I'm planning on doing everything from cradle to grave, so to speak."

Although the College's Facebook page was around prior to the formation of Nordin's position, there has been a noticeable spike in the College's online success and presence since she came to campus.

"Since Daniella arrived, it's been a steady growth," said Dan Forbush, executive director of communications. "We're one of the first colleges to have a social media manager, and, since making that decision, our online ratings have increased."

Forbush said he values social media as a platform for creativity. It can be used to showcase student creativity, and has been through postings of student films, music and photography. Also, the College's current "Creative Thought at Work" campaign originally grew out of a discussion board on the College's Facebook page.

This campaign has since been a recurring theme in communications. "Our goal is to try to generate as much student and alumni content as possible," Forbush said, "You can't fake someone's actual Skidmore experience."

Part of Skidmore's approach to online communications is to ensure there is a personal presence within all of the social media outlets managed by the College. Skidmore was one of the first colleges, Forbush said, to hire a student, Joe Yanks '11, to represent the College on a social media page.

"What we do is try to connect students," Nordin said, "It only makes sense, then, to have there be a presence, not just a social media abyss."

This online human presence manifests as both Nordin herself as well as a staff of student bloggers who answer questions submitted by prospective students. The new Skidmore Student-to-Student program helps put those curious about the college in direct contact with online student ambassadors.

The students also administer the Facebook communities for current students, acting as a live resource for questions to be answered, which Yanks started in 2007. "Why it's so exciting is because it's a whole new way to get a conversation going," Nordin said, "It's a whole new way to actually get a slice of Skidmore life."

"It's great that I get to be a part of something that is already having a successful impact on prospective students," said Emmeline Taylor '14, one of the student social media assistants. "The fact of the matter is that social media is very prevalent amongst the younger generation in our society, and it is how they find out a lot of information. If we can encourage more incredible young minds to look at Skidmore simply because they saw us on a social media site then that is excellent!"

Connecting is the primary reason the College has chosen to focus so intently on social media. "We want to engage our audience," Nordin said, "everyone from alumni to 'friends of the college' who live in Saratoga. It's difficult to pinpoint the payoff, but if there's a student who makes a connection of any sort, that's what I'm interested in."

The connections are also beneficial to the assistants. "My course load is extremely difficult this semester and it has been easy for me to feel disappointed with Skidmore at moments," Taylor said, "But then when I start answering questions for prospective students I realize why I chose to be here in the first place. This job is a great reminder of how lucky I am not only to have the privilege to go to college, but also to have the privilege to go to a college like Skidmore." 

Flip Phillips works toward the resolution of the arts and sciences

Posted by Jake Mitchell

Flip Phillips's presented his research on visual perception for "The Resolution of Art and Science, lecture series" on Oct. 4.

His presentation consisted of an overview of his research, the significance of his findings and the impressive technology he uses. The research connects artistic ability to the research of science.

As an undergraduate, Phillips was an architecture student, which Phillips said "was a nice melding of art and engineering." He didn't finish architecture school and instead earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in computer graphics in 1986. "Back in the day, Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator were still 10 years away. We had to make our own tools or find people to help us," Phillips said. To make interesting forms using computer graphics you also had to have some sophistication in engineering.

Also as an undergraduate, Phillips pursued brain-imaging research. He worked with psychiatrists and neuroscientists on taking pictures of the brain and putting them together in 3D. The research was performed at the same time that the first MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) was developed. "I was working with science guys on engineering problems in the art school," Phillips said. He also worked seven years at Pixar Animation Studios, where he developed and used his wealth of computer knowledge. After Pixar, Phillips went on to graduate school for psychology to continue his education.

So how does art help science? "We're trying to understand how the generic human mind works. Artists are able to depict the visual world in a specific way that we can interpret. We have to take advantage of these people who are good at that and try to figure out what information they are depicting and use it to help understand the generic problem of seeing," Phillips said.

Phillips is interested in how an artist transcribes his or her visual perception to art. How do artists have different visual perceptions than non-artists? "They [artists] know how to apply visual perceptions to depicting the world; people are different at figuring these kind of things out," Phillips said.

"Painting isn't necessarily optically correct - there's a lot of cheating and slop going on. How much slop can they get away with? That depends on what your brain is doing with the information. If your brain is tolerant to slop, then the artist can get away with not depicting things correctly," Phillips said.

In other words, an artist can get away with an unrealistic depiction of an object if the viewer can still understand what he or she is looking at. People judge distance differently but not enough to make a difference in art work.

Scales, such as measurements of distances, speeds, etc., have been made so that there is a consistent and universal understanding. Without scales, there would be no mutual agreement of distance because people perceive the world differently. When people see more or less depth it is called a scaling error. Phillips said that scaling error is not completely random; when we see a painting we can distinguish what's in the background and what's not, or what's light and what's dark. Humans perceive the visual world similarly enough so that we can function as a society.

When we see a painting, "we make up the 3D visuals space, it doesn't exist" Phillips said. "You can go to the other side and see it. You're making it up and it turns out we're reasonably consistent in what we make up in terms of that depth, otherwise art wouldn't work." Our vision is consistent enough so that we basically see the same features.

To help himself and his students' research, Phillips has a 3D scanning system as well as a 3D printer. The scanner reads objects as if it were a MRI. The machine sends red horizontal and vertical lines all over the object to perceive its height, width and depth, and transcribes that to the computer.

On the computer you can manipulate the object any way that you want, testing your visual ability. The 3D printer prints objects made out of plastic and glue. Phillips uses these objects to see people's ability to remake the model out of clay, and see how close they come to the original object. Artists strive for this ability. They perceive and transcribe the visionary world as closely as possible, which is the meaning of "The Resolution of Art and Science."

Career Services discussion and Student Government elections held at SGA meeting: Director of Career Services receives feedback from SGA member, followed by SGA elections

Posted by Ani Lordkipanidze

On Oct. 18, Deborah Loffredo, the newly hired director of Career Services, came to the Student Government Senate meeting to receive feedback from SGA members.

Loffredo is new to the college, and wanted to hear ideas from SGA members about improving Career Services, as well as its relations with the student body. She asked SGA what level of involvement Career Services usually has in students' lives, as well as whether or not this involvement is enough.

SGA members suggested that Career Services become more involved with first years and sophomores. One of the ways in which this could be done would be placing the PowerPoint presentations that representatives of Career Services show to first years in their first semester online for later viewing.

In other business, elections followed the Career Services discussion for Willingness-to-serve positions. Candidates delivered speeches to the Senate, including William Romano '13 (Integrity Board), Sibo Gama '15 (First-Year senator), Laura Venner '14 (Speakers Bureau), Arissa Fram '14 (Parking Court and Traditions Committee) and Chantal Moore '15 (Traditions Committee). All candidates who spoke at the meeting were elected to their desired positions.

Student clubs addressed the Senate, requesting finances to sponsor activities. The Hispanic Awareness Club's President and Treasurer Jovany Andujar '13 asked for money to sponsor a comedian from New York City, who will perform at 10 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Spa.

Senators Raiza Nazareth '12 and Amanda Seres '14 presented changes made in Willingness-to-serve codes, which were amended to reflect current practices, as well as to provide more detail on the job of the Willingness-to-serve coordinator and to further clarify the Willingness-to-Serve process.

Student Government meets at 8 p.m. Thursdays in Ladd Hall 307.

Skidmore graduate murders family before killing himself

Posted by Brendan James

CROSS RIVER — In the midst of a divorce Sam Friedlander, 50, a graduate of Skidmore, fatally beat his wife and shot his two children in Lambert Ridge, an affluent suburb of Cross River, New York, according to police.

A divorce proceeding had been scheduled for this Thursday, according to state police. Friedlander had reportedly been acting differently for weeks and remained living in the same house with his family as his behavior became more erratic.

On Tuesday the bodies of 8-year-old Gregory Friedlander and 10-year-old Molly Friedlander were found in their beds. The children were shot by their father and then placed under the covers. Friedlander's wife Amy had struggled before he bludgeoned her with a leg of furniture on the floor of the master bedroom. Friedlander killed himself with a 12-gauge shotgun in the basement of the house.

A full report may be found at The Saratogian.

EAC discusses trip to D.C. to join protests: Students may join protests against hydrofracking and Keystone XL

Posted by Ani Lordkipanidze

Members of the Environmental Action Club (EAC) met to discuss the upcoming protest against hydrofracking and Keystone XL that will take place in Washington, D.C.

The protests are against hydrofracking, a form of drilling that, while financially beneficial, threatens to pollute drinking water and endanger public safety.

Thousands of people will likely protest against hydrofracking and the Keystone XL Pipeline Project outside of the White House from Nov. 5 to Nov. 6 as part of a series of protests that have occurred in the past few months.

The Keystone XL Pipeline Project is a proposed system to transport petroleum from the Athabascan oil sands of Alberta to refineries in Texas. This pipeline would pass through the Sand Hills of Nebraska, a Great Plains prairie ecosystem.

At the meeting, the EAC proposed traveling to Washington, D.C, to join the protests. Students are welcome to attend this event through buses provided by the EAC. Participants will stay at St. Stephen's Church overnight.

Transportation and housing will be free, although a $5 donation to the church is encouraged. Students will leave on Saturday, Nov. 5 and return on Sunday.

The EAC also discussed future lectures and debates on campus that will be hosted by guest speakers and will focus mainly on sustainability.

From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20 in Gannett Auditorium, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White and author James Howard Kunstler will invite the public to debate the need for a sustainable future, and whether change is possible in light of modern conditions.

Jeff Olson of Alta Planning & Design will moderate the debate, and there will be a meet-and-greet session an hour before the lecture.

The Environmental Studies Program is sponsoring this debate.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, EAC will meet in Falstaff's to clean up compost buckets from every apartment in Northwoods. Volunteers are welcome.

The Environmental Action Club meets at 9 p.m. every Monday in Ladd Hall 207.

Rough finish for Thoroughbred golfers

Posted by Skidmore Athletics CROTON-ON-HUDSON - The Skidmore College golf team ended the fall season with a disappointing fourth place finish in the six-team M Manhattanville/NYU Fall Classic, held on Sunday, Oct. 16 and Monday, Oct. 17 at the challenging Hudson National Golf Club.

The No. 17 ranked Thoroughbreds shot rounds of 321-319—640 to finish 18 strokes behind winner Manhattanville College (314-308—622). Middlebury was second with 319-312—631, followed by Farmingdale in third with 324-315—639. NYU was fifth (338-321—659) and Stevens sixth (349-346—695).

Manhattanville's William Tischler was first with 72-79—151. Scott Pinder '14 was the top Skidmore player, tying for sixth with 79-79—158. Anthony Dilisio '13 (85-76—161) and John McCarthy '13 (82-79—161) tied for 11th. Zach Grossman '15 (76-86—162) was one stroke back in 16th. Garrett Colgan '13 (84-85—171) tied for 24th.

Skidmore will resume play in the spring, working toward a 26th straight NCAA Division III tournament bid.

Skidmore Athletics