In the field of computing, there is a paucity of people that do not identify as white, cis-gendered and male. This problem is most salient when we see how the the largest “minority” group, the female-identifying population, has been excluded from playing, studying and working with computers. The exclusion of women from profitable professions is […]
Reclaim Our Space: SPEAKOUT
You descend into the Mug and see students gathered in silence, facing the stage. The only objects on the stage are two empty chairs. You quietly take a seat in the back row. Suddenly, a student stands up, walks onto the stage, and hesitantly takes a seat. They take a deep sigh and begin telling […]
Bikini Atoll
The pen taught me about the artificial sun. Account—the perceived right to atomic murder: reporting from a city deli (open late), by cuts of meat hung like the silhouettes blanketing otherwise bare concrete walls. Lit, by the light of the sun: strips of word flesh, salted and raw. I read your testament with my eyes […]
Erlenmeyer Flasks and Lip Gloss: Experiencing Femininity in the Biomedical Sciences
In class, I am often viewed as a “Science Barbie.” I know what my classmates are thinking most of the time: throw a lab coat over her dress and prop her up at a workbench because it looks nice, but try not to let her touch anything. Working with young men my own age, it […]
Floated Along in Flood Wall Street: A Vassar Student’s Observations
The ideology of Flood Wall Street was valiant, and it was sound. It was touted by its organizers not as an isolated event, or as only a part of the string of that week’s climate protest, but as a movement. On September 22nd, 2014, wearing blue, rallied by speakers including Naomi Klein and Chris Hedges, […]
What’s it Really Worth? A Behavioral Economist on Values in Art
Ben Ho may not be an expert in the art world, but he does know a thing or two about applying Economics to the world, and in this case to art, to probe at its silent interplay with pricing mechanisms. Ho’s talk at The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center on October 3rd, 2014 titled “The […]
The Inaccessible Tools to an Accessible Education
As a student registered with the Office of Accessibility and Education Opportunity at Vassar, I was recently given a computer program made by Texthelp called Read & Write Gold. This program includes text-to-speech capabilities such as spellcheck, word predictor, fact finder, fact mapper and speech programs with typing, among other tools. This program enables me […]
What’s Left of the Revolutionary Arts Movements of the Arab Spring (And Why We Shouldn’t Call It Revolutionary)
If you look up Arab artists of the past five years on any Western media outlet, there is typically a smattering of articles about “revolutionary” musicians, often last updated in 2012. The contributing writer will consistently say that this artist or that company almost single-handedly led the political revolutions and upheavals of Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and […]
American Beauty: An Interview with Jon Eisenmann
You probably haven’t heard of artist Jon Eisenmann, at least not yet—his debut exhibit goes up in Minneapolis this January, and shit is it good. Titled “American Beauty,” his series of oil paintings depict some familiar faces, chiefly tragic female stars like Amanda Bynes and Lindsay Lohan. But looking at these paintings isn’t like casually […]
STDs? There’s an App for That
If you’ve ever been tested for STDs, you’re well aware of the hassle and anxiety the process entails. You wait nervously for hours to find out your results or you’re sent home after being told that “no news is good news” and that you’ll only receive a phone call if you test positive. That’s where […]