The Purchase
Independent P a g e 9 : What’s in store for the GOP now?
NOVEMBER
8
2012
ISSUE 276
GETTING ACQUAINTED P a g e 1 2 : WITH A REJUVENATING Two student’s tale SENSE OF RELIEF SINCE of returning to campus, post-Sandy. 2012
fuck yes.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
This has been a tremendous two weeks for America. A hurricane devastated the East coast. Millions were left without power, and still haven’t gotten it back. Over y o u r. i n d y @ g m a i l . c o m 119 million people voted in the presidential election this Tuesday. Barack Obama was re-elected for a second term as President of the United States. A Noreaster hit early Wednesday, adding freezing temperatures and even more flooding to those places already devastated by the hurricane. editor-in-chief: Not only has it been a tremendous two weeks for America, but it has been a R ó i sín M c C ar ty tremendous two weeks at Purchase College. Our community united during the hurricane, updating each other of the damlayout editor: age on and off campus. The Brick did an extraordinary job of updating the camM el issa Foster pus within minutes of an administrative update, and all other breaking news. senior staff writer: I truly commend Ole Skaar, Michael Piazza, and Bianca Clendenin for their A l yc e Pel l eg r ino phenomenal coverage and courage in the face of this superstorm. On Tuesday, 1106 people voted in the Red Room. At approximately writers: 11:15 that evening, CNN projected Obama to win the election. Literally Al ex a Dil l en bec k within seconds, screams erupted from inside of the apartments in Alumni. M el issa Foster People gathered on G-Street, writing “OBAMA” on the path in flour. John Derek Gaskil l Fallot and I ran at each other, screaming louder than I thought was huDyl an Green manly possible. We had won. The throngs of people chanted “FOUR Jake M ur phy MORE YEARS,” cried tears of joy (and relief), and as minutes passed, it Car a Nuz zo became so much more than Barack Obama being re-elected. M ike Rel uz c o Tammy Baldwin will be our first openly gay senator. (Who we will obTom my Roach viously have to pay attention to, given her history with transphobia. Ste phan ie Spen c er But still. Pretty awesome.) Tulsi Gabbard will be our first Hindu senaR achel Weiss tor. Mazie Hirono is our first Asian-American female senator. Tammy print manager: Duckworth will our first disabled, veteran Congresswoman, and she Tom my Roach is of Thai descent. Todd Akin didn’t win a seat. There are more women in Congress than there have been in history. copy editor: Maine and Maryland passed marriage equality. Minnesota Ste phan ie Spen cer: voted “no” on a ban on marriage equality. Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana for recreational use. Massachusetts The Purchase Independent is a non- cover photo courtesy of: legalized marijuana for medical use. Puerto Rico might become profit news magazine, paid for by the Wikip edia Mandatory Student Activity fee. We our 51st state. welcome and encourage submissions web design by: This election was so much more important than anyfrom readers. The Independent is a forum for campus issues and events, to give Tom my Roach one can have a grasp on right now. In the coming weeks, as students the voice they deserve. Any C in dy Mack the excitement or resent of Obama’s win begins to fade, and opinions expressed are those of the writers, not those of The Independent, its the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and this Noreaster, everyone editors, or the PSGA. will realize just how monumental and progressive this election The deadline for submissions is every Friday before midnight, and accepted truly was. pieces will be published the following Thursday. Publication of submissions is not guaranteed, but subject to the discretion of the editors. No anonymous submissions will be considered, but we will accept use of pseudonyms on a case-by-case basis. Send all submissions and inquiries to your.indy@gmail.com. Back page quotes can be submitted to formspring. me/indybackpage or put in the Back Page Box that hangs on the office door. Our office is located on the first floor of Campus Center North, room 1011. Staff meetings are2held in the office every Monday night at 9:30; anyone is welcome.
So, here’s the story of this week’s cover! For issue 74 from 2004, the face of Geoge W. Bush with the word “fuck” beneath it was published. The headline above said “Mourning Democracy since 2001. ” (Editor’s Note: The Indy was also printed in black and white that week to mourn the election.) He had recently been reelected and the cover displayed the true emotions of the students at that time. Another four years of Bush? Fuck! Then in 2008, Barack Obama was elected-- a huge accomplishment in so many ways, and exciting too. This was 101 issues after the Bush issue, and the words “fuck yes” represent the happiness the students felt about his win. Today, we honor Obama, and the past covers of The Independent; 101 issues after the Obama issue in 2008 and 202 issues after the Bush issue in 2004. This time, we are printing the cover in color to celebrate the accomplishments of this election,and the victory of Obama and our country in his reelection. Four more years? FUCK YES! -Melissa Foster, Layout Editor
Independent P a g e 4: Purchase and the Presidential elections: A Perspective
CELEBRATING OUR NEW FOUND SENSE OF DEMOCRACY SINCE 2008
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2008 ISSUE 175
P a g e 5: An Interview with your new PSGA president
fuck yes.
In This issue: Sandy, Romney, and Obama Republicans at Purchase butreallytho Graduate Condom College
NOVEMBER
The Purchase
The Purchase
page 05 page 10 page 11
Independent P a g e 9 : What’s in store for the GOP
8
2012
ISSUE 276
GETTING ACQUAINTED P a g e 1 2 : WITH A REJUVENATTwo student’s tale ING SENSE OF RELIEF of returning to campus, post-Sandy. SINCE 2012
page 15
Submit Backpage quotes: formspring.me/indybackpage Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/purchaseindy Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/purchaseindy
NOVEMBER
fuck yes.
ROMNEY HOLDS BENEFIT IN OHIO BY StEPHANIE SPENCER In light of Hurricane Sandy, presidential candidate Mitt Romney rolled up his patriotic sleeves and accepted a vast array of canned goods and supplies at a “hurricane relief fund” benefit he so generously threw. In Ohio. A state that was not in the hurricane’s path. Moving photographs of President Obama somberly interacting with those most affected by hurricane Sandy circulated shortly after the storm was over, providing Americans with an image of a president who cares about the little man. Truly displaying his moral character, President Obama cancelled his scheduled campaign to join these grief stricken survivors, Romney slyly brought Ohio a charity benefit strikingly similar to that of a campaign. In a curious attempt to entice non-affected Ohio voters, the benefit was structured in the form of a campaign rally. Using many of his regular campaign tactics to run the benefit (a biographical video introduction, and music that had been regularly used in previous campaign rallies) it was painfully evident that this benefit wasn’t only for the hurricane victims, but for the campaign. During the benefit, Romney was forced to dodge questions regarding funding towards the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as he loaded canned goods into a delivery truck. Known for strongly opposing this federal organization and its involvement in assisting communities that have faced natural disasters, Romney was unresponsive as reporters relentlessly asked about his position on FEMA. Romney was so quiet, in fact, the Washington Post said that that one reporter eventually
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asked, “Governor, you’ve been asked 14 times. Why are you refusing to answer the question?” Naturally, in an effort to do damage control on previous statements made by Mitt Romney about cutting funding for the Agency, campaign aides promptly stated that Romney would not get rid of FEMA if he were elected president. They also added that the accusations that the benefit was a political stunt were wrong. “It’s shameful that the democratic Party would try to impugn Governor Romney for raising funds for and turning attention to the victims of the hurricane while he was in Ohio,” Republican spokesperson Matthew Henderson said. According to CNN reports, if the election had been held the day of the hurricane, Obama would have won his second term in office, defeating Romney by a small margin. Isn’t it fitting then, that Romney would take the opportunity to visit one of America’s most important swing states- a state that, at that point, had Obama leading in electoral votes? Ohio Democratic Party Chairman, Chris Redfern, expressed his outrage towards the campaign. “I think Gov. Romney ought to be focused on things he could do and say on behalf of the victims, rather that going to Dayton Ohio- the most important swing state in the country, and taking advantage of a tragedy,” Redfern said, according to the Washington Post. Redfern continued by suggesting a much more logical course of action for the Romney campaign, such as donating $10 million to the hurricane victims, opposed to the mere $5,000 that was collected, truthfully, in vein.
elections&the hurricane
CANDIDATE RESPONSE TO SANDY BY STEPHANIE SPENCER Hurricane Sandy swept through Northeast America, leaving a devastating path of destruction that left many Americans stranded without lights or shelter. As Americans attempt to put back together their lives, the hurricane also coincided with the 2012 election, which swayed a multitude of voters in one way or another. President Obama’s campaign was quickly cancelled following Hurricane Sandy. Many believed that he fulfilled his political responsibility as president when photos circulated of him visiting the disaster sites, comforting the thousands who had lost homes. With the president underneath such a constricted microscope, Obama seemed to have thrived, helping his approval ratings spike to over 50 percent. According to the New York Times FiveThirtyEight, Obama’s chances of winning the 2012 election stood at 73 percent prior to Hurricane Sandy, and jumped to 86 percent following the tragedy, helping Obama’s already steadily growing poll numbers. These numbers showed a very positive outlook for the Obama campaign, considering that in October, he was trailing in the polls. Obama’s delicate handling of Hurricane Sandy reflected positively around the country, with 68 percent of voters saying that they approved of Obama’s hurricane response in a Wall Street Journal poll. According to the New Yorker, as of October 28th, presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a steady lead on Obama in the Real Clear Politics poll, a site that averaged out individual surveys. After Sandy, however, Obama closed the gap, eventually taking a lead. Obama’s effective action toward the re-
covery process also earned him the support of politicians who normally would consider themselves independents. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg openly praised Obama’s actions post-Hurricane Sandy, and stated that the issue of climate change has encouraged him to back the current president. “The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the Northeast – in lost lives, lost homes and lost business – brought the stakes of Tuesday’s presidential election into sharp relief,” Bloomberg said in his endorsement statement for Obama. “Our climate is changing, and while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it might be – given this week’s devastation – should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.” Many of the votes that Romney needed in states such as Iowa and Ohio gradually migrated over to Obama, causing frantic last minute campaigning. When Romney threw a “hurricane relief fund” event in Ohio, he was forced to ignore reoccurring questions regarding his nonsupport of the agency that was designed to help disaster stricken communities. In an interview with CNN’s State of the Union, GOP strategist and former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour stated, “the hurricane is what broke Romney’s momentum… Any day that the news isn’t talking about jobs and the economy, taxes and spending, deficit and debt, Obamacare and energy, is a good day for Barack Obama.”
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CINEMASAI: “Cloud atlas” BY DYLAN GREEN A British slave ship setting sail for the new world. A lovelorn musical prodigy studying under a master composer. A reporter investigating a nuclear energy conspiracy. An aging publisher searching for freedom. A clone rebelling against an oppressive system. A primitive man and civilized woman odd couple traveling through a land of exotic fantasy. Only directors of vast scope and imagination would be able to find a way to connect these seemingly disparate stories, let alone feature them all in the same movie. The Wachowski Siblings and co-director Tom Tykwer put their money where their ambition is with “Cloud Atlas,” a film so literary and experimental in its execution and ambitious in scale that it’s sure not to elicit a single neutral response in the entire audience. People are either going to love or hate this one. As a type of cinematic story translation not seen since Zack Snyder’s Watchmen, the allor-nothing audacity of this adaptation of David Mitchell’s 2004 novel is complex and even mindboggling, but always remains an entertaining science fiction thrill ride unwilling to pander to any expectations or normalities. The six (yes, six) intersecting stories take place over the course of nearly five centuries, ranging from the American slave trade in the mid 1800s to the post-apocalyptic society of the year 2321, spinning yarns of vastly different location and even genre, ranging from a feel-good British caper comedy in 2012, to the totalitarian conspiracy and Soylent Green-esque conspicuous consumption of Neo-Seoul in 2144, and an inspirational sea-faring adventure where a British lawyer and African slave form an unlikely bond in the
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mid 1800s, just to name a few. Each story shares one particular character/element and a myriad of minor details that connects the six tales, with the surprisingly modest cast playing multiple roles across these different stories. Not just any cast would make a three hour epic like this convincingly entertaining, and Tykwer and The Wachowskis don’t skimp on the acting muscle, employing such heavyweights as Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, as well as more obscure names like Ben Winshaw and Jim Sturgess, among others, to lead their own stories and play in the shadows of others, thanks in large part to the (mostly) fantastic make-up effects employed throughout.. It’s spellbinding in some cases (Berry as a white woman), comically ironic in others (Hanks as an Irish mobster author), and borderline offensive in parts (Weaving as an Asian security guard, Be as a Caucasian aristocrat). “Atlas” flows thanks to the ingeniously literary inter-cutting between stories done by editor Alexander Berner, luscious and palpable cinematography, an emotionally swelling score, and the directing team of Wachowski/Tykwer bringing cohesion and balance to an epic that would deteriorate in lesser hands. My word alone cannot do it justice. As engrossing on a literary level as a film can get, “Cloud Atlas” needs to be experienced, whether it rings good, bad, or infuriating in your mind. Cloud Atlas is the water cooler movie of the moment, so go see it. No fancy way of dressing it up. Just. Go.
news
Real Women
New York City Crime DroP
BY ALYCE PELLEGRINO
BY JAKE MURPHY
“I am not Barack Obama, and I cannot approve this message.” This was the line that Willam Belli, Detox, Vicki Vox, Pandora, and Ozma spoke at the end of a video, “Real Women Vote for Obama,” that began circulating November 1st. With the election upon us, it carries a heavy message for female voters. Though opening with the topic of banning abortion, one most voters are aware of, these women go on to talk about and highlight things Mitt Romney plans to do if elected President of the United States. Things such as cutting funding for Planned Parenthood, explaining terms like “person-hood” and “the white boy’s club,” and the support Romney had given to Richard Murdock. And guess what? All of these plans have to do with women and their rights over their own bodies. “Person-hood” brings into play the banning of certain contraceptives, as well as, in some cases, in vitro fertilization. It is the idea of life at conception, not that we as women, as “persons” get to make our own choices over our bodies. The issue of Planned Parenthood is one that many misunderstand, but these ladies have some of the facts you need. “Three million women a year rely on planned parenthood for family planning, for HIV/STD tests, for cancer screenings, and contraception.” Take that away, and there are a lot of people who are going to be in trouble. Why these women? If you search this video on Youtube and look through some of the comments, you will see some saying that they aren’t “real” women. So why is it they are in this video, identifying with “real” women and spreading this message? It’s simple. They are real women, and real women need to think long and hard about their vote before they vote for Mitt Romney.
The devastation from Sandy is insurmountable, many people have lost their lives and many are without power, heat, or even a place to live. In the Big Apple, crime has dropped 27 percent following the hurricane. Most arrests in the city have been related to gas station disputes and burglaries. Murders are down by 86 percent, a startling figure to most ,as looting has become more prevalent due to the inclimate weather and evacuations. It is unclear whether there is an actual drop in crime or fewer arrests have been made due to the call for the New York Police Department to respond to the storm related issues. Most arrests have been made due to altercations at the gas stations in the region as well as over a dozen of robber’s looting especially in the borough of Queens. A man was arrested for threatening a driver trying to cut a line at a gas station, while in Brooklyn a man was stabbed for the same reason. This definitely adds insult to injury on the East Coast as tempers flare and gas is in short supply. True colors show in the worst of times, and in some cases it isn’t the best thing.
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THE ELECTION PROCESS BY DEREK GASKILL Presidential elections. Today, we associate those terms with expensive campaigns, political jargon, and usually two men in suits on a stage debating our future. But there is a process of elections that has long outlasted the annoying phone calls and 24 hour news networks we now experience. It is the behind the scenes politics that, most of the time, are not exciting enough to make it onto the headlines. There are two steps to becoming the president, win the primary election, then win the national election. How did we get from 13 perspective Republican candidates to only Mitt Romney being on the ballot? Primaries. These are elections that are held within each political party in order to select a nominee for the general election. Each state is responsible for holding their own elections with their own rules. Some states hold elections that are held by ballot. Other states (most famously, Iowa) hold caucuses, which are more like townhall events where voting districts collectively decide on a candidate. Some states have open primaries, meaning you do not have to be a declared party member in order to vote. Others are closed, which only allow party members to vote. The primary process is held over a series of months and each state’s timing determines their importance. For example, in the 2012 Republican primary, voters in Iowa and New Hampshire had 13 candidates to choose from, whereas very late states, like Florida, only had Romney. In primaries, like in general elections, you are not directly voting for a candidate. Rather, you are voting for delegates who will go on to the party’s national convention. The Democratic Party
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allocates their delegates proportionally, meaning candidates get a proportional number of representatives to the number of votes they’ve received in a state. The Republic Party more often uses a “winner-take-all” system where the winner of each state receives all of that state’s delegates. When a candidate drops out of the primary, they endorse their delegates to the candidate of their choosing. Each party holds a national convention at the end of the primary process. For the most part, this is a dog and pony show for the party nominee where they give a speech and layout their party’s plans. What we don’t see, is that at the convention, the delegates cast their votes for the candidates they have been pledged to. This does not apply to super delegates, party officials allocated to each state, who can vote however they choose. General elections differ from primaries in many ways. Instead of seeing an array of candidates from each party, you will only see one nominee from each party. The election occurs nation wide on the first Tuesday of November and is done through a ballot, as opposed to a caucus. Similarly to the primaries, the voters are electing representatives to the Electoral College as opposed to candidates. Each state’s number of congressional representatives (House of Representative members + two Senate members) determines the number of representatives each state has. Since each state is guaranteed at minimum 3 electoral votes, this process creates disproportional representation for less populated states. In this election there are 538 members of the Electoral College, to reflect the 535 members of Congress, plus the three electoral votes delegated to D.C.
elections
Why does any of this matter? Well, most of the time, it really doesn’t. It is most likely that on November 6th, 2012 the next president of the United States will be announced. The Electoral College is still mandated to meet and confirm the presidency, but it will most likely be irrelevant. Throughout history there have only been four instances when the Electoral College has played a significant factor; the first in 1824, then 1876, 1888, and most recently in 2000. Most of us were too young to know what had happened during the 2000 election, but we could tell that something was off. In 2000, Former Vice President Al Gore beat former President Bush in the national popular vote (meaning actual ballots casted). The problem occurred in Florida. With it’s 25 electoral votes, a victory in Florida became key for an election win. Bush beat Gore in this state by 537 popular votes, despite many recounting process. Bush won Florida and the presidency as a result. We are lucky that this year that though the popular vote was close, the electoral votes were clear-cut. It seems that there will be no controversies, but if there are they must be resolved by December 11, when the electoral college will meet.
Fate of GOP BY DEREK GASKILL Was Tuesday’s election a loss for Mitt Romney, or a loss for a GOP? On Tuesday night President Obama once again made history, but for a much different reason than in 2008. In the last election, President Obama made history for being the first African-American president; this year he made history for beating all election odds. Obama has defied a decades-old tradition. Incumbents do not win with a negative economy, and a general public sentiment of unease. In fact, the last time an incumbent commander-in-chief won reelection with an unemployment rate so high was FDR. Not only did the Democrats win the presidency, they also picked up a few senate seats in the process. All the odds were in the Republican’s favor, how could they have screwed up so badly? Let’s look at the demographics. Generally, I try to avoid this. We are all Americans who care about issues like the economy, healthcare, and education. However, when the numbers are so skewed it’s hard to ignore. The Republican Party failed to regocnize women, racial minorities, young, and independent voters. These are the same demographics that Obama appealed to, and ultimately won the election because of, in 2008. That year, conservatives called the results a fluke. But the duplication of their importance, and the impact they have on Congressional races means these demographics are permanent. We are a diverse nation; the Republican Party needs to acknowledge that.
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REPUBLICANS EXIST BY RACHEL WEISS Purchase College has always been jampacked with diversity around every corner. There are thirty-five countries represented in our student body alone. Whether it be religious background, ethnicity, or orientation, it’s safe to say that no one here is exactly the same, and people are usually accepting of that. But when it comes to political parties, this campus is almost unanimously Democratic. Sixty five percent of the students here are studying Liberal Arts and Sciences. And guess what? Even though they may in the minority, statistically speaking, there ARE Republicans on this campus. There have to be! But where are they? Meet Victor Knight DiNitto, a freshman Vocal Performance/Opera major here at Purchase. Recently casting his ballot in favor of Mitt Romney, DiNitto is a proud Republican who is not afraid to speak his mind. “I would say that I am very vocal about my opinions,” DiNitto said. “I have had several mature conversations with people about our differences in opinions, which I love. I do not mind people who disagree with me as long as they are mature about it.” DiNitto recounted the times that he has been called out for believing in something that others disagreed with while in school. “I have met far too many people who tell me that I am wrong and/or uneducated because I am a Republican,” he said. “Quite frankly, I have no respect for those people. I respect people’s beliefs even I don’t agree with them and I expect the same.”
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Although he identifies himself as a Republican, there is one view which DiNitto shares with liberal students on campus. “The one major agreement I have with Democrats is their opinion on gay rights. I do believe that gays [sic] should have every right that straight people do,” he said. While no one has ever told DiNitto that he should transfer schools or simply does not belong here, he would never consider leaving Purchase in the first place. “Luckily, I have found good, mature friends that don’t judge me for my political beliefs or other immature things,” DiNitto said. He also mentioned how important the Music department is to him. “This is the program that I want to be in and my education, career, and vocal development come before anything and everything.” Overall, DiNitto does feel welcome at Purchase, despite his contrasting political views. Even though this is one extremely liberal college, some students must ultimately accept that their peers may think differently than they do. Purchase is a perfect environment to express yourself, so why not listen every now and then? You might find some common ground.
campus&advice
B U T R E A L LY T H O HERE TO TELL YOU WHAT, WHEN, AND WHO TO DO Q: Lately I’ve been feeling weird about
Q: For a while now, I have had girls tell
my boyfriend. I’m starting to think he’s
me I’m “too big to fit”. Can you tell me
less attractive and can’t stand his hygiene
how to find an experienced girl who can
habits. I feel so lost. Help!
handle me?
A:
There comes a time in every relationship when all of the once-cute things you loved about your significant other start to piss you off. You don’t know what’s changed or why, but it’s certain that something has. It may be that the novelty of a new relationship has started to wear off, or that comfort has sunken in too far. But whatever the reason, you’re still stuck in a position where you don’t know how to act. You have two options, confront him about his hygiene, or maybe suggest he get a haircut or go to the gym (whatever he may be lacking in attractiveness for you) or you can turn the problem back onto yourself. How have I changed? There’s a good chance that these issues didn’t arise of nowhere, you just happened to be seeing them in a clearer or different way. And lastly, don’t ever omit things in a relationship to save your partners sensitive or insecure soul. The omission will eventually come out and you’ll resent not facing the issue head first and they will feel betrayed. Honesty is always the best option.
A:
Either you are comparable to a horse or you’re fucking freshman. Just kidding. But, if you are having a hard time finding someone “experienced” enough to handle your size then I would suggest going for the less obvious choices. If a girl comes off as easy, she probably can’t handle a dick in any experienced way. I say this because girl’s who drip sex often have a lot of sex, but it’s not good sex. You need the less obvious choice, maybe a girl who hasn’t slept with as many people but who has slept with a few people in larger quantity. It’s this second option that has gained the valuable experience and will be more willing to work with your size or may not have a problem handling it to begin with. Easy girls aren’t up for a challenge. I wish you luck with your “too big to fit” penis.
Follow @butreallytho on Twitter and tweet your questions!
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PERSONAL ACCOUNT:
RETURNING TO CAMPUS POST-SANDY
BY ALYCE PELLEGRINO We’ve heard many stories, received multiple emails, and seen countless news reports of the things that Hurricane Sandy has done to those both on campus, and down the East Coast. While those on campus were urged to remain inside and were updated on events as they unfolded throughout the campus, there were students who made the decision to leave campus. Taylor Page, a junior Film Student, and Quentin Vidal, a senior Cinema Studies and Political Science major were two of those students who not only left Purchase Campus for the hurricane, but were staying in high risk areas for damage. Indy: So you guys went home for the hurricane. Can you tell me, what made you decide to leave campus, and when did you leave? Quentin: Well, I went home, partially because
they sent an email saying, “You should go home.” I had a lot of stuff to pick up, and I just wanted to make sure that my family was safe because it’s just my mom and five kids. So I figured, you know, if anything goes wrong I should be around. So even though Brooklyn got hit a lot harder, and I knew it was going to get hit a lot harder, I felt like I should go home. I didn’t expect to be there a whole week but that’s what happened. Taylor: I wanted to stay at Purchase, but my girlfriend was like, “My mom’s not going to be home, you should come live in Manhattan for a few days,” and I was like, “Tons of time with my girlfriend during a hurricane, where we can just stay inside and be lazy all day? That’s a great idea, I’m gonna do that.”
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Where were you both staying? Q: I was staying in Park Slope Brooklyn. T: The Upper West Side of Manhattan. How do you think your experience would have been different during the hurricane and the days after had you stayed on campus? T: We did not lose any power. The lights flickered
twice on the Upper West Side. There was a lot of wind that we could hear outside, but it felt like a normal storm. Had I stayed on campus, I would have been a little more drunk than I was there, and I would have gotten a lot more work done. Q: That was actually part of the reason I went home, I was like, “Okay there’s going to be no distractions, I’ll be inside for a long time and get work done.” But that didn’t happen because I have a lot of screaming brothers and sisters. My house was fine, the power went out twice for a second then went back up. I even went outside during the hurricane to smoke a cigarette and make a phone call. So it really didn’t seem that bad, but the next day I was going around my neighborhood and just two blocks away was completely flooded. Red Hook, which is only a few block away from my neighborhood, was destroyed. It was actually in the evacuation zone so a lot of people weren’t there, but there were people who got stuck inside their homes, cars got destroyed. I went the other way north, I live on a slope so there wasn’t much flooding up there but there was a lot of downed trees. In front of my friend’s house this girl got hit by a tree while walking her dog with her boyfriend; they both died. I actually knew her when
personal accounts I was in elementary school, so that really, kind of, brought to light how serious this storm was. Now, tell me about trying to get back to Purchase. How long did it take you, and really, just what was that whole ordeal like? T: So, I had planned to leave for Long Island on
Tuesday night after the storm, but that didn’t happen. Q: Trains were down. T: Trains were still down, we left on Wednesday right? Q: Well, what happened was, Tuesday T: Yes, it was Halloween. Q: Tuesday though, we started Tuesday. No we started Wednesday, you’re right. Taylor was going to take the train to Long Island, get her car, pick me up, and go back to Purchase. But literally, there were two bridges working between Brooklyn, Queens, and the rest of the world. So there were really only two ways out of Long Island. None of the buses were running so really the only way to get anywhere was by car. T: So Quentin came to Manhattan, which took a million hours. Q: Wait, let me tell that story, ‘cause that’s insane. First of all because that took four and a half hours. I left at 4:30, and what’s usually a half hour drive took two and a half hours. Just with all the traffic, and lower Manhattan was like a war zone. There was no power, you were driving down the streets and half the highways are flooded so you had to take crossroads, and it was just the most surreal thing I’ve ever seen. So it took me two hours because have to stop at every light, because every light is off. I actually went through a good amount of lights because I didn’t realize you were supposed to stop at all of them. But then we got there, and I found them
on a random block to pick up Taylor and just getting from the Upper West Side just out of the city took another two hours. So we finally make it out, go to Long Island, and I’m on fumes, I have no gas. And I keep saying that “We need to stop at this gas station, we need to stop at this gas station, they’re out of gas.” I didn’t realize that there was a huge gas shortage in all of New York, and the gas station by Taylor’s house is closed. T: We spent half an hour driving around finding an open gas station. Probably an hour and a half on line for the gas station that was open. And then right from there we went straight to Brooklyn only to decide, getting to Purchase is a bitch right now. So we drank our faces off and left the next day, which was still a bitch. Q: So the next morning, and this was when they started putting in the rules, because the traffic was so bad, they started restricting cars to needing three people in a car. So if you didn’t have three people in a car, um, I forgot the term for that, I think it’s, like, High Occupancy Vehicle? So they’re only letting HOV’s into Manhattan and there’s only me and Taylor in a car. And we could have gone to Purchase through Queens or the Bronx, but we needed to pick up Taylor’s girlfriend who was stuck in Manhattan. So we’re thinking our first plan was to leave from the Verrazano Bridge, go into Staten Island, go into Jersey, go up New Jersey, take the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan, which would have taken two hours and would have been a lot of gas, and you would have to pay twelve dollars in tolls just to get into the city that way. So we decided, to just go. I told Taylor to put on her puppy dog eyes, and just beg the cop to let us in. T: We went on two bridges. The first guy told us to try the other bridge, the second guy wouldn’t even look at us. So we decide to try one more (continued on page 16)
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A BREATH OF RELIEF BY TOMMY ROACH Wednesday morning. 8 am. I call the RV dealership, telling them I won’t be picking up my purchase. I mention that I understand that I will not be getting my deposit back. This is fine. I’ll cut my losses. I go down to Starbucks to have a cup of coffee, step outside and light a cigarette. I breathe an exasperated sigh of relief. As I walk across campus, venti chai-soywhatever in hand, I witness several fantastical sights. First off, the grey clouds looming overhead. A storm is brewing. Ironic, isn’t it? I ponder the Alanis Morisette song for a moment, realize that the song will be stuck in my head for the rest of the day, and curse the world. Fate, thou art a cruel mistress. Secondly, I see the smiling faces of my peers. I note that this is strange because, in a school full of art students, how often does one actually come across a smile? That question is rhetorical, you twit. The final thing I notice, and this is perhaps the most astounding and beautiful thing of all, is that, for the first time in months, this campus is quiet. Not that “it’s too quiet” kind of silence that happens right before the axe murderer slams open the door, but the kind of silence that I can only refer to as “peaceful.” I walk into my office to begin working, and for the first time since I began writing for this publication, everyone seems genuinely happy. Even the bitter satire writer has a smile on his slightly unshaven face. A rare sight indeed. I realize at this point during my day that I
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have, in fact, only smoked one cigarette. I am also, coincidentally, out of them. This, for some reason, does not bother me. I step outside of my office to go get a cup of coffee and a shirtless person runs by cheering. As it starts to snow, I smile to myself. The weather is beautiful, although it is a tad bit chilly. I regret drunkenly losing my gloves last winter. Kraken is a hell of a drink. As the day goes on and the snow begins to stick, I wonder how cold it will be on my walk home, and if I have enough beer in my backpack to make the 10 minute trip. It turns out I do. I step outside and crack a beer open. A police officer walks up to me. “You can’t do that,” he yells. “Sir,” I reply, “Obama has been re-elected.”
info
KNOW YOUR HOME: G-Street Lounge
ALT CLINIC TIP OF THE WEEK: CONDoms
BY TOMMY ROACH
BY ALEXA DILLENBECK
If you look at the way things are going, it truthfully seems like the venues for student performance at Purchase are now few and far between, and while that is primarily the case, there are still some venues that have become a shining beacon of hope for Purchase weekend-life. One of those venues is the G-Street Lounge, or the Olde Community Center. Or that random room that’s open every so often for a club or something. Point is, the space is there and it has a name and a ton of uses. Where is it?: The G-Street Lounge is located just at the bottom of the stairs leading towards the Olde from the Hub. It’s that building in between J-Street and G-Street. On weekends, you’ve probably heard some music coming from it. Why should I care?: This space has so many uses, and is in such a convenient location, there is no reason you shouldn’t know where it is. Clubs meet there. Sometimes Student Senate meets there. There are constantly musical acts playing there. This is a space that is completely immersed in the Purchase community, especially this semester when there are very few other spaces that can be used. It provides an alternative to whatever is going on at Whitsons’ and can be a great place for your silly little “just starting out” band to try and book a gig for a Saturday evening. I should also mention that there is a second room that is set up to be used as a theatre, but I’ve yet to see that be truly taken advantage of. Get on that, Purchase peeps. Lessgo. In short, this space is pretty awesome and is incredibly useable. Next week I’ll be paying a visit to the Washington Monument!
“Who knows how to put on a condom?” Everyone says yes, but most people are missing a step or two. This is the way we recommend at the Alt Clinic. First, check the expiration date. This is the number one most missed step. The expiration date is very important, so make sure you check it every time. The condom could break if it is expired. Second, you want to push the condom to the side and rip down the empty part of the packaging. This will prevent you from ripping the condom as you open it. Now onto the nitty gritty. Hold the condom up to your eyes. If it looks like a volcano, push the protruded side in. The condom needs to look like a sombrero or else it will not roll down. Before you unroll the condom, you can add any lubricant if you like. Don’t use Vaseline or any oil-based lubes. They will rip your condom. If you’re using a sex toy made from silicone, use only water-based lubes. When you are putting the condom on, leave some space at the top (the part that looks kind of like a nipple), press on the tip, and roll it down. Make sure there are no air bubbles left in the condom. When you’re done, hold the bottom while you pull it off, tie the end and throw it away! Send your questions to alternativeclinic.tumblr.com/ask!
Love,
The Alternative Clinic
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Sandy & THE REPERTORY BY RACHEL WEISS As Hurricane Sandy ripped through the east coast, Broadway producers had no choice but to either delay or cancel their theatrical performances. Almost every Broadway and Off-Broadway production did not run due to the dangerous weather conditions and transportation issues. On a more local level, the Purchase Repertory Theatre was also affected by this traumatic storm. Aldora Neal, the Production Stage Manager of Breath, Boom, said that Sandy had a massive impact on the show’s post-production. “We started a mini strike at the Pepsico Theater right after the show on Oct. 27, meaning we just needed to break down the set as much as we could,” Neal said. “We were going to continue our strike on this past Monday, but it was postponed until Wednesday.” The striking of the set of “Breath, Boom” wasn’t the only aspect of post-production that was affected. “The costumes and props needed to be returned the following week of the show, and we couldn’t do that until this week,” Neal said. “A lot of the costumes still need to go through the laundry. In general, the process shouldn’t take more than a few days.” Luckily enough, Neal assured that Hurricane Sandy did not interfere with “Breath, Boom”’s actual performances since they took place before the storm made landfall. Many of the cast members chose to go home upon completion of the show’s run. This upcoming week, the Repertory will be presenting “Orpheus Descending,” directed by Dean Irby. There has been no word on whether or not the rehearsal process of this play has been thrown off due to the hurricane. 16
(continued from page 13) bridge and I happened to have Q: After those two bridges we had the hitchhiker ordeal. T: That’s right, we tried to pick up a hitchhiker, that’s true. Q: We couldn’t find one, and keeps saying we should just make one out of clothes. T: So I hop in the backseat and I have all my laundry in the car. And I take a big pair of pants and a sweatshirt and I stuff them with clothes, I had my mattress cover. So we stuffed all these clothes then put a paper bag over his head so it kind of looked like he had a skin color, and we put a hat on top with the hood over. And I layed down on him as if we were both sleeping in the backseat. And we pull up to the cops after waiting for forever on this giant line, and he’s like, “You need three people.” And Quentin says, “We have three people.” So he says okay and let’s us go, but then he realizes that Q: He looks closer and says, “Wait a second what are you trying to pull, huh, you know you can get a summons for that?” And I’m like, “What do you mean, we have three people.” T: So then he called us out of the line, which then brought us to another tiny bridge straight to Manhattan, right where we needed to be. No one was blocking it, no one was on it. Q: No traffic at all. So in retrospect, we could have just gone straight to the bridge, and it would have saved a ton of time. Though the storm itself was bad enough, seeing the damage, and getting back to campus was indeed a problem that most students who left campus faced. With gas and commuting taking hours, and public transportation not running or running unreliably, it has been no wonder that both students, teachers, and all others affected are having a hard time getting our campus life back to normal.
politics
LAST MINUTE CAMPAIGNING
WHAT WE WON
BY MIKE RELUZCO
BY TOMMY ROACH
Campaigning at the last minute is important. Making that last-ditch effort to get undecided voters is important. So, both candidates came to the table with their best for the final week before the election. President Obama suspended his campaign to aid in hurricane relief. While his official campaign had stopped, Bill Clinton continued the campaign for him. Clinton has recently been remembered for his stirring speech at the DNC earlier this year, and continued to help the Obama campaign. Mitt Romney did not suspend his campaign, and took the opportunity to make some noise. Romney and Ryan toured around swing states, while the Romney campaign aired objective lies in their commercials. When election day came there wasn’t much left to do. Unless you’re Mitt Romney. While most campaigns stop before election day, Mitt Romney still toured Ohio and Pennsylvania until polls closed. Obama’s campaign ended with a game of basketball to remind voters that he is just like them, out on the court to unwind.
Why this election was important:
• We have now re-elected the first African American president, so that’s another first right there or something I don’t know. • We have our first openly gay senator! • We have our first Asian-American female senator. • Massachusetts legalized medical marijuana • Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana for recreational use for those over 21 years of age. • Maryland and Maine passed marriage equality • Minnesota banned an amendment to their state constitution that would have banned same-sex marriage. • Puerto Rico might become a state. • Russia isn’t going to declare war. • Now you don’t have to move to Canada.
PSGA UPDATE BY CARA NUZZO In executive reports PSGA President Christina Blankenship announced that Shontay Richardson, the co-director of the Alternative Clinic, resigned from her position. The hiring process will begin soon, but until then Alexa Dillenbeck will lead the clinic independently. The PSGA went into a closed session this week after the impeachment charges for Nawaphon Sittisawassakul, President of the Pre-Med Club. Sittisawassakul was charged with innappropriate and unprofessional emails to the general membership, inappropriate conduct in front of general membership, and not attending meetings on time. The charges were dropped. 17
Courtesy of elections.nytimes.com Updated: 5:02 PM 11/8/2012
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