Chinese food, friends, and Golden Globes

Last night, a small group of friends and I got some Chinese food from Chan's Peking (a Vassar favorite) and gathered in our living room to watch the Golden Globes. A dorky night, admittedly, but it gave us a chance to catch up after a long Winter Break before the beginning of second semester classes on Wednesday.

As seniors, most Vassar students no longer live in the standard Vassar dormitories. Instead, they move into Senior Housing. Senior Housing is still on Vassar's campus, and only a short 5-minute walk from Main Building, the College Center, and the academic buildings. But located toward the peripheries of the campus, these housing areas allow students to feel more independence in their living situations. Students can choose three or four of their closest friends to live with, and then choose from one of three residential areas -- the Terrace Apartments (where I live), the Town Houses, or the South Commons. Each house has its own kitchen, bathroom, and common areas, and students have their own private, fully furnished room. During senior year, many students leave the traditional meal plan, which they enjoyed for their first three Vassar years, and do their own cooking in their houses. Of course you can always add money to your VCASH account on your VCARD and eat in the Retreat or ACDC if you don't have time to cook.

Senior Housing is an interesting shift from more traditional dormitory life -- a nice step between living in the 'real world' and living in a college dorm. One of the great things about it is the informality of getting together with friends. In dorms, you sometimes have to make a strong effort to see people out of their rooms. But in apartment-style housing, you're virtually guaranteed to run into friends at some point during the day, break into a conversation, and have an impromptu Chinese food and Golden Globes party. (Naturally I spent the entire Golden Globes cheering for the Vassar alumni celebrities in the audience, such as renowned director Noah Baumbach '91 and unbelievable actress Meryl Streep '71).

Anyway, at the very least, Senior Housing gives you a mini support group of close friends who are also going through the trials and tribulations of writing senior theses...

Final Exam Season

Two exams in the next two days! Oh dear... Like most Vassar students, I'll be burrowing in the snow-covered Library for the foreseeable future.

And then once those exams are complete, I'll finish up my Constitutional Theory term paper on recent affirmative action cases involving undergraduate admissions offices. My teacher is Luke Charles Harris, a brilliant professor who is also the founder of the African American Policy Forum, a leading national think tank.

And after that, just some remaining student government work, some dorm cleaning, and then... freedom! Winter Break is almost here...

Albrecht Dürer: Impressions of the Renaissance

Throughout my career as a student, I have been head-over-heals in love with history. I am a History major at Vassar, and basically live in Swift Hall, the Department's colonial-style home. But I have also had a secret affair, a clandestine crush, and secondary academic mistress. Her name? Art History. In high school, I took an amazing AP Art History course, and absolutely fell in love. As soon as my teacher turned on the projector and the slide image of the caves of Lascaux popped up, I was hooked.

Alas, a few too many people in the "real world" discouraged my passion. On the blogs, Art History routinely tops the list of the world's most "useless" and "worthless" majors. Sigh.

Fortunately, Vassar inspires students like myself to cultivate my passions. Although I am a major in History (and double in Political Science), I can also maintain my quirky, fun, and fascinating minor in Art History.

And Vassar's Art History Department is one of the best in the world. We have world-class art historians, famous in their areas of expertise. We also have one of the world's finest college art museums in the United States — The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. Our collections include more than 18,000 works of painting, drawing, sculpture and tapestry. It includes Picasso, Rembrandt, O'Keeffe, and Matisse.

And now, with the opening of Albrect Durer: Impressions of the Renaissance, we can see Vassar's incredible collection of Durer and his incomparable Northern Renaissance work.

Midterms!

Midterms have taken hold of the Vassar campus... The usual hustle and bustle of the College has given way to the quiet noise of flipping textbook pages and rapidly typing fingers. The Library is overrun with students, busily writing and researching.

Right now, I'm studying for my Medieval Architecture midterm exam. The class is one of my favorites this semester. Our professor, Andrew Tallon, is one of the most dynamic teachers I've had during my Vassar career. He constructs 3D digital models of each building we study, and the class 'flies' through to view details of architectural features. While some architecture classes only show black-and-white plans of buildings, this class incorporates full color images, movies, and music to get the 'full' experience of an architectural space. For a tech geek like me, I love the use of technology in the classroom. Now it's just a matter of learning about Medieval monastic culture and Carolingian political life... Once this midterm is over, I'll begin working on other assignments due after October Break.

Which reminds me: only three days until Break!

Pete Seeger!

Vassar attracts incredible performers, speakers and intellectuals. This weekend was no exception. Legendary singer Pete Seeger—leader of the American folk music revival and key player of the Civil Rights Movement—performed yesterday at Vassar. The concert was indescribable. The entire Vassar community sat around our beautiful College Chapel and sang along. Seeger has written some of the most well-known songs of the 1950s and 60s, including "If I Had a Hammer" and "Turn Turn Turn." He's also famous for his children's music, which he performed with his usual joyful energy.

Seeger, who has lived his life in the Hudson Valley, was here to celebrate our art museum's newest exhibit, Drawn By New York from the New York Historical Society. The weekend was incredible, and I am about to download some Pete Seeger on iTunes.

Exploring the Hudson Valley

When prospective students consider colleges, countless factors weigh on their minds. Average class size? Depth and breadth of the curriculum? Employment/professional/graduate school prospects? Vassar has all these areas covered pretty well. Our student:faculty ration is 8:1, one of the best ratios of any of our peer schools. Our curriculum is broad and diverse; students choose among 29 departments, 6 interdisciplinary programs, 12 multidisciplinary programs, 51 majors, and 1,000 courses. And our employment prospects are excellent as well, as are our admission statistics to top law and medical schools.

But another topic lingers on the minds of prospective students: Location, location, location. Poughkeepsie? What’s that? Where’s that? Is it close to the city? Some prospectives that I’ve spoken to fear that it’s not enough of a “college town” and that there’s not enough to do in the area surrounding Vassar.

Current Vassar students can quickly dispel these rumors. They know that 1) there is more to do on campus than anyone can possibly imagine, and 2) the local area is teeming with activity. Walking right outside Vassar’s gates takes one to the center of the Arlington Business District—a quaint and artsy area with colorful boutiques, amazing restaurants, and all sorts of services (HSBC, Bank of America, a large post office, etc). Venturing beyond walking distance, students have the entire Hudson Valley at their disposal. Unbelievable historic, cultural, and natural attractions await visitors. Best of all: most museums and sites have major discounts for students.

To help students navigate the outstanding resources in the area, the Vassar Student Association launched Exploring the Hudson Valley. It’s a wonderful resource for prospectives as well, since it will disprove many of the myths that nothing goes on “upstate.”

Is Poughkeepsie like New York City? Take it from a native New Yorker; it’s certainly not. Will I be a life-ling Manhattanite? Naturally. But that definitely does not mean that the area around Vassar is boring. The Town of Poughkeepsie, along with the wider Hudson Valley, is a thriving community with all sorts of businesses and cultural sites just waiting to be explored.

Fall Convocation, take four

(image courtesy of The Miscellany News)

The sense of community at Vassar is rarely stronger than Fall and Spring Convocation. Twice each year, the community gathers to mark the official beginning and end of the academic year. Faculty, alumni, and students come together to listen to beautiful choral music, see long academic processionals, and hear from the President of the College and the President of the Student Association.

Usually, the event is geared toward seniors and freshmen—two classes at opposite ends of their Vassar experience. But I'll admit it; I'm a dork. I've gone to every Convocation since my first year. I usually am successful in dragging my friends along, but truth be told, I'd be there anyway. I just love the sense of tradition and community.

This year, though, was unique. For the first time, my own class marched through the Chapel in our academic dress. Hard to believe. I've seen three other classes do it, and somehow never quite imagined that black gown on myself. But alongside my friends, we processed around campus in anticipation of Commencement.

The Miscellany News, our student newspaper since 1866, produced a wonderful video slideshow of Fall Convocation. If you're curious to see some images and hear segments of the speeches, check this out:

Audio slideshow!