PURCHASEINDEPENDENT

ISSUE 270SEPTEMBER 20, 2012T

HE

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y o u r. i n d y @ g m a i l . c o m

LETTER FROM THE EDITOReditor-in-chief:Róis ín McCarty

layout editor:Melissa Foster

writers:Dylan GreenAlyce Pel leg r inoMike ReluzcoNoel le MooreStephanie SpencerLaura MeltzerJake Mur phy

print manager:Tommy Roach

cover photo by:Jake Mur phy

artwork by:Mark Zubrovich

web design by:Tommy RoachCindy Mack

The Purchase Independent is a non-profit news magazine, paid for by the Mandatory Student Activity fee.

We welcome and encourage submissions from readers. The Independent is a forum for campus issues and events, to give students the voice they deserve. Letters, articles, event photography and event listings are welcomed.

The deadline for submissions is every Friday before midnight, and accepted 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. Send questions to Madame Query at formspring.me/madamequery. 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 are held in the office every Monday night at 9:30; anyone is welcome.

Our printer, Gerald, is feeling rather ill lately, and none of the tech-

nicians/doctors know what’s going on or how to treat him. For the time

being, we’re going to be distributing on Fridays rather than Thursdays be-

cause we have to outsource and print off campus.

The issue will still be uploaded online on Thursdays and hopefully

our printer situation will work out. We, along with Jasmine Rippey, our Co-

COaS, are working with the company to get it fixed, or somehow acquiring

a new printer.

I really hope everyone takes the few minutes to read the article

about the Food Co-op. I personally feel that this is a very, very important

part of the Purchase campus and the culture here in general, and if you feel

the same way, please do what you can to help. We will have further report-

ing as time goes on, and new information surfaces.

Have a wonderful week!

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y o u r . i n d y @ g m a i l . c o m

Make The Indy YOUR paper!

Write, pitch ideas, illustrate, submit backpage quotes.

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Submit Backpage quotes: formspring.me/indybackpageFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/purchaseindyLike us on Facebook: facebook.com/purchaseindy

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BY DYlan GREEn

Political Filmmaking is singed on Both sides

Nowadays, more and more attention is be-ing poured onto the laps of directors of politically minded documentaries, especially after the run-away success of Michael Moore’s 2004 Bush Ad-ministration deconstruction, “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Moore, a famously liberal commentator whose filmography has straddled such topics as health care (“SiCKO”), the 2008 financial crisis, (“Capitalism: A Love Story”), and General Mo-tors’ decline and impact on his hometown (Roger & Me), is also infamous for being one of the most biased and one-sided filmmakers in the world, no matter how good his intentions are. We’ll get to why that is in a minute, be-cause there’s now another commentator turned filmmaker who is seeking out Moore’s crown: Dinesh D’Souza. The Indian-born conservative pundit, author of The Roots of Obama’s Rage, and the unofficial “Anti-Michael Moore,” has staked his claim on the manipulative and biased political documentary bracket with the film ad-aptation of his novel, “2016: Obama’s America,” which attempts to link Obama’s “re-modeling” of America to possible ties with anti-colonialism the-ologies. Both Moore and D’Souza use their sta-tus as controversial political hotheads, along with various forms of cinematic trickery and theatri-cality, to invoke false sympathy and cheat their way to profits and (scarily enough) mass media attention.

1. Artificially heightening tension Too often, documentaries will play evoc-atively sappy and/or ironically disturbing music clips juxtaposed with melancholic shots of de-

molished houses, or disapproving interviewees staring into space on camera. Your scene of war-torn neighborhoods, impoverished communi-ties, or disadvantaged civilians isn’t going to be made better by having a somber orchestral score or “Hall of The Mountain King” playing in the background. In Moore’s case, he uses “Wouldn’t it Be Nice” by The Beach Boys in a scene of impov-erished Flint multiple times throughout “Roger & Me,” while D’Souza will punctuate the end of an interview with Obama’s own brother with a score so somber that you can feel the emotion in the teardrops falling off of the horn player’s cheek. Being real “un-scripted” moments, there shouldn’t be a need for music to remind us that these moments are filled with sorrow.

2. Mishandled statistics Statistics give us categorized numerical information in an easy to digest chart or graph that is easy to read, yes. Rapidly throwing bare-ly related or explained statistics across a screen without time for the audience to consider what they’ve seen is just another cheap way to force out those sympathy points. No matter how a bar or pie graph may help to simplify the percentage of people living under the poverty line (Moore’s own “Capitalism: A Love Story”) or the number of voters not happy with President Obama’s health-care bill (“Obama’s America”), at the end of the day, a graph is a graph, not a quickly dispensed Kleenex.

3. What about the rest of the interview? They say that the devil’s in the details, and if that’s truly the case, Moore and D’Souza

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may be hiding a lot of demons on their respective cutting room floors. These men are frequently guilty of set-ting up interviews and visibly cutting their sub-jects short as soon as they get the exact tidbit of defamation that they need. Worthless anecdotal information is one thing. Entire sections about company benefits (“Capitalism: A Love Story”), or experiences with or around President Obama (“Obama’s America”), is another thing entirely. What’s the point of a trivial and brief dis-section of political documentaries, you may find yourself asking? Politics are extremely important to how we live our lives and exercise our basic hu-man rights in the United States, especially in with the future of America hanging in the balance of a tumultuous election. While film has always been a reliable source for information we should all learn to take a step back and examine what exactly the film-maker is trying to say instead of simply lapping it up. Michael Moore and Dinesh D’Souza may be intelligent and highly controversial men, but not even they are above utilizing such cheap gim-micks to gain sympathy and attention for their particular causes. Remember that grain of salt with your food for thought, folks!

BY alYCE PEllEGRInO

human sPirit

Merve Aydin was the name of the woman who finished the 800m race in tears at the 2012 Olympic games. The Turkish runner injured her ankle early into the race ensuring that a medal would not be in her future, but that didn’t stop her. Limping and in tears, Aydin finished the race to cheers and applause from the crowd around her. Most have praised Aydin, claiming that this is what the Olympics are about. However, not all shared the same feeling. If anyone is a part of the blogging network Tumblr, you’ve seen this mo-ment depicted time and time again in gif form. Most have inspirational messages underneath them, others have criticism. Why would a person, an athlete nonetheless, someone who knows how important it is to not overexert the body, ever continue in that condi-tion? Better to get the injury treated right away, cause as little damage as possible, and make sure it heals correctly. But if you were at the Olympics, per-haps your one and only shot at these games, and you took such a detrimental blow, would you finish? I suppose the better question really is, would you be able to live with yourself if you didn’t fin-ish? This is something more than pride, though it can sometimes be confused as such. Just because your body has broken down does not mean your spirit has to follow suit; this is the thing that drives so many of us forward. We need to be able to say that we did it. We completed it, and we never gave up, even if we could not win.

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BY nOEllE MOORE

never shout anthrax

The recent outbreak of hantavirus, arising

from Yosemite National Park, has been described

as “unprecedented.” Officials have claimed more

than one infection in the same place in the same

year is very rare for this deadly affliction. Startling-

ly, the park had to extend warnings to over 230,000

recent visitors who may have had potential con-

tact with the virus. Infection of a ninth person has

been confirmed, after the death of three individu-

als. There is no cure for hantavirus pulmonary syn-

drome, which kills one third of those infected, but

early detection can raise chances of survival.

Hantavirus is a virus that is carried primar-

ily by deer mice, but can be transmitted to humans

through contact with mice excrement. The Center

for Disease Control has issued a worldwide alert

to anyone who has visited Yosemite between June

and August of 2012. The park attracts hundreds

of people each year, leaving the potential for a se-

vere outbreak if all were to come into contract with

the virus. One of the characteristics of the deadly

virus is that it can incubate for six weeks after the

onset or exposure, leaving those who contracted

the infection to not display the flu-like symptoms

until much later, when they can be easily dismissed

as the common cold.

While not as familiar as some other viruses,

there are those that have gained a reputation. In re-

cent years, the term anthrax has induced panic on

a national scale. Anthrax is a lethal disease caused

by a bacterium that releases spores that can enter

the body through contact with the skin, inhalation,

and ingestion. Some of the more frightening as-

pects of anthrax are that it is capable of surviving

in a harsh environment for hundreds of years, and

is naturally found on all continents. Anthrax has

become synonymous with biological warfare, due

to the anthrax attacks following 9/11 where let-

ters containing the spores were delivered to news

offices and U.S. Senators. Ultimately, five people

died from the exposure during the incident.

Recently, anthrax made an presence once

again across the pond. British health authorities

have reached out to caution the heroin users af-

ter a second addict succumbed to the infection. It

is possible but unclear if these British occurrences

are linked to eight other cases throughout Europe

that have emerged since June. While anthrax can-

not be transmitted from one person to another, it is

especially dangerous because the disease can prog-

ress quickly and become almost untreatable by the

time symptoms show.

It is proof that even though advancement

has occurred on a global scale over the past few

centuries, simple bacterium and viruses have the

potential to derail and combat our medical tech-

nologies. We’d like to believe that the days of small

pox, measles, and influenza endemics are far be-

hind us, but the truth is that these naturally occur-

ring viruses can cripple us as easily as it does the

animals we like to believe we are superior to.

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BY MIKE RElUZCO

get cash Fast

It’s hard out here for a college student.

Everybody’s trying to make the money to buy that

one pack of cigarettes, or that one handle of vodka

for the party this weekend. I know how it is. I am one

of you. That’s why I joined QueOpinas.com. That is

also why I am currently a depraved madman.

At first, when I saw the commercials on

television for survey websites, I thought it must

be a scam. Then they kept saying ‘cash.’ I started

having those moments when that single word,

‘cash,’ started to resonate in my mind as though I

were in some poorly executed film. So, as sure as

a vulture will go to rotting meat, I made my way

through the survey websites, eventually landing at

QueOpinas.com.

QueOpinas is not advertised often. It’s a

subsidiary of another survey website. QueOpinas

is directed at those of hispanic origin. I wanted to

be offended, but the word ‘cash’ was still ringing

in my head. So I signed up. I took a survey. They

gave me 105 points. When I get to 1000, they say,

I’ll get $20.

$20 is a lot of money.

So now, upon the opening of every survey

they offer, I receive an email notification, which I

immediately click on to take the survey. This is

where it gets hard.

At the beginning of every survey they

take basic demographics. Age. Male/Female. Oc-

cupations. At first I was telling the truth: I am 20.

I am Cuban. I am Male. I worked in automotives.

Apparently, though, this disqualified me from the

survey. Who would have thought that they had

enough opinions from the 20-year-old Cuban

mechanics?

So I started to lie. I am a 40-year-old

Puerto Rican mother of two, working in market-

ing and PR. I am 70 years old and I used to work

in manufacturing. I made up new names, new

ages, and whole new lives to become the people

that the hispanic survey websites wanted me to be,

but survey after survey I am repeatedly denied.

To this date, I have approximately 27 personali-

ties. One is a monkey. I am losing my mind, but

somehow I have yet to make that twenty dollars.

As my mental state degenerates, only one

question comes to mind: what kind of qualifica-

tions do I truly need to take these stupid surveys?

How many more people must I become be-

fore I finally cash in on that twenty dollars so I really

can buy that next goddamned pack of cigarettes?

Update: Mike finally got his $20 by imper-

sonating a 38 year-old Argentinian father of 12.

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BY TOMMY ROaCH

i’m covered in Bees

(Disclaimer: All of these quotes are fake and done

for the sake of parody. Not slander. Please don’t sue me.)

Every fall, Purchase students return

to campus excited to start a new semester. The

weather is perfect, the campus looks gorgeous

(for the most part), and almost nothing has gone

wrong yet. Almost nothing. Fall is accompanied

by one especially awful thing: Bees.

They strike constantly, without warn-

ing, and are incredibly persistent. The bees mean

business, and they’re not taking no for an answer.

But one needs to ask: Why here? Why are Pur-

chase bees so relentlessly aggressive? Do they

have something against our campus?

In my investigations regarding this mat-

ter, I uncovered a shocking truth. The bees are

actually part of a rogue sect of art-hating bureau-

crats, out to ruin the fun for all of us.

My source, who wishes to be referred to

as “Deep Buzz,” tells me that this group of crazy

zealots have declared war on the art world, and

have decided to start their attack on art schools

across America.

“They first thought it’d be a good idea to

go for the dubstep DJs,” Deep Buzz explained.

“They figured, ‘Hey, those guys seem like wimps,

so why not?’ That guy Skrillex put a stop to that

with his crazy hair though.”

Deep Buzz went on to tell me that after

this failure, the group, known as The Bee Party

Movement, decided to go then for the weakest

looking demographic of artists: art students.

“They figure it like this; art students bare-

ly get any sleep, and are always so hopped up on

caffeine they’re too tired to fight anything as small

as a bee off,” Buzz continued. “So taking them out

would be an easy first step to a world without art.”

The question that now looms overhead is

clear. What can Purchase students do to fight these

bee insurgents off from this lovely community? Is

there any way the school can win this war?

World-renowned bee experts Oprah Win-

frey and Jerry Seinfeld weighed in on the matter,

hoping to shed some light for the terrified masses

of Purchase students.

“What’s the deal with these bees?” Sein-

feld asked. “One minute you’re sitting there eat-

ing your lunch peacefully, enjoying the sunlight,

and next thing you know an angry swarm of bees

is trying to take it from you. One of them even

asked me for a cigarette, and then bullied me into

giving him the entire pack. I’m glad I don’t go to

this school.”

“I feel like some of this could be traced

back to me,” Winfrey added. “When those ‘ev-

erybody gets BEEEEEEES’ pictures surfaced, I

didn’t realize that an extremist group would take

this as a call to action. I thought the Internet was

just clever. Maybe I’ll try to get their leader on my

show to talk some sense into him.”

Also approached on this matter was ge-

ologist Bill Nye.

“See, this just proves my theory about

bee evolution,” Nye said. “All these apiologists, or

bitches that study bees, for those who aren’t in the

sciencey-know-how, are saying that the bees are

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dying out. False. They are all just evolving into

art-hating businessmen trying to undermine the

global economy and boost honey sales through

the roof. I swear I’m not crazy.”

As it stands now, the only thing Purchase

students can truly do is wait out the swarm. A

cautionary word to the wise though; these bees

seem to dislike cigarette smoke like the rest of the

bee-community. However, what makes them differ-

ent from the rest is that these bees just get angrier

and more aggressive when you light a cigarette, so

refrain from doing that if you don’t want to die.

BY JaKE MURPHY

dumPster diving

The Internet has brought so many things to

the world that seemed impossible 20 years ago: news on

the spot, online shopping, and chat rooms. But one thing

it brought that many have argued about are hackers.

Lately, hacker groups, called “Hacktivists,”

have claimed to be hacking for a better cause; bring-

ing down sites linked to Internet Censorship and

other wrong doings, and has received quite a bit of

coverage from news outlets across the globe.

One hactivist group, “Anonymous,” has

gained world wide notoriety for their online revolts

and Denial-of-Service attacks on major corporations

and government websites; even going as far as attack-

ing the Pentagon. For those that don’t know, Anony-

mous is a self proclaimed Internet vigilante group that

have taken down such sites as the Westboro Baptist

Church, pornography websites, official sites related to

the religion of Scientology, and many others.

Just last week, Anonymous crashed all serv-

ers linked to Godaddy.com, a site for domains, for be-

ing a link to the Stop Online Piracy Act or SOPA.

The hacktivist group has been reported as

standing up for what is right, but not in the right way.

Officials have condemned their acts, while many ac-

tivists approve, and even support them by wearing

Guy Fawkes mask at protests and in public.

Governments around the world have prom-

ised a crackdown on hacktivist groups, Anonymous

in particular, and bringing them to justice. There is

no knowing what the next move against the group or

by the group will be, as both are kept secretive. But

one thing is for sure, and that is that Anonymous isn’t

going anywhere.

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BY STEPHanIE SPEnCER

the late night network

To say that funnyman Mike Cronin is un-necessarily hard on himself would be a dramatic understatement. In spite of the booming success his show, Purchase Late Night, experienced with Purchase Television, Cronin, a junior, still con-vinces himself that he was somehow not living up to his own expectations. However, his remarkable ability to make audiences laugh and charismatically engage fel-low Purchase writers to join him in such comedic ventures continue to prove him wrong. So wrong, in fact, that Cronin and his team are taking a huge leap of faith by creating their own online network respectably called, The Late Night Network. Sitting down with Cronin and his tech team, you can sense the excitement that almost bordered on nervousness. Watching Cronin on Purchase Late Night, it’s rather incredible to see that he looks exactly the same off camera as he does on. With his classic parted hair (a more conservative, darker version of Conan O’Brien’s famous ‘do), Cronin eludes a boyish charm that makes him fun to watch even when he is only ex-plaining the logistics of how the Late Night Net-work came to be. Since PTV’s unfortunate move to Cam-pus Center North due to construction, Purchase Late Night found themselves in extraordinarily cramped conditions that simply weren’t able to accommodate the program’s traditional desk, band, and couch set up. The limited number of audience members who were allowed in the stu-dio were made to idly stand by the door as the show aired. “Like in business you’re either growing or

you’re dying, and couldn’t grow in that space,” Cronin explained. Brian Sansone, Head of Personal Rela-tions, prefaced Cronin by explaining how the Purchase Late Night technical demands vastly grew. “When you’re trying to shoot video on HD and you’re trying to shoot things that are going to look really crystal clear, we needed something you could get a legitimate audience in,” said Sansone. With studio space quickly hindering Pur-chase Late Night’s ability to produce a show that lived up to their expectations, Cronin and his team racked their brains to find alternatives, un-derstanding that PTV was stretched for time and resources. According to Cronin, that alternative came in an opportunity provided by Linda Solo-mon, a social media professor at Purchase, who came across the Purchase Late Night page when she was surfing the school’s social media pages. One thing she remembers not being able to do, was control her laughter. “I could not stop laughing,” Solomon said in a consistently low, thoughtful voice. “Class-es start, I look at my front row, and there’s Mike Cronin in my finance class. I was like, ‘oh yea, you’re the funny guy!’” What Solomon noticed was Cronin’s ef-fortless ability to transcend comedy among all generations; a skill that Cronin is known for for-getting from time to time. Solomon then decided to ‘give the kid a chance,’ and invited Cronin to speak for Accepted Students Day at the PepsiCo Theater. This was Cronin’s largest audience with over 400 people, and even through nerves, Cronin

delivered. “I noticed that when he went onstage and did his act that the parents were laughing, and the kids were laughing,” said Solomon. “That con-firmed to me that he has got something that is attractive to a large suave of people.” Realizing that Cronin strives with a live audience, the Late Night Team set forth a plan that would result in a bittersweet goodbye from PTV, the channel that gave them their start. Great success can’t come without a few bumps, however, and Cronin found fundraising to be a challenge. Not because no one would donate, but because of his intrinsic fear of failure. “I was, quite frankly, fucking terrified of doing a Kickstarter because doing a Kickstart-er was the most public thing we’ve ever done,” Cronin said. “If we failed, it would be obvious.” With faith that their network will not only take off among students, but alumni and commuters as well, Cronin’s team pitched in all together to earn $1500, enough for state-of-the-art equipment that will make its premiere in the Crossroads lounge this semester. “We’re shooting on high-quality web-cams instead of big, bulky cameras,” exclaimed Sansone. “We know the space we have, we’re trying to make the whole thing a little more portable.” In addition to the Late Night Show, the Late Night Network will also be featuring six ad-ditional television shows created by Purchase stu-dents. Shows that will evidently express as much passion and integrity as Cronin’s team demands. Shows such as the Purchase Pulse, a news pro-gram created by Purchase student Kyle Macken-zie, will add to the diversity of viewers. “I don’t want to air anything that’s not clearly someone’s passion,” Cronin put simply. Not only will the Late Night Network be expanding the use of their equipment, but they will also be working closely to expand their mar-

keting appeal. With the Late Night Network’s bold move to be solely online, a broader statement on where today’s generation is finding new, upcom-ing entertainment is being made. Rather than relying on television, which is a luxury many col-lege students don’t have, the Late Night Network will rely on live streaming through Facebook. This way, the network will be able to reach a wide range of people no matter where they are. The Late Night Network, which will air on the 1st of October, essentially puts Purchase Late Night back in its element, with audiences comfortably laughing as Cronin delivers punch lines in his signature suit. Regardless of his self-deprecating humor there is no one who can say that Cronin isn’t putting his all into this project. It’s more than a college project to him- it’s his career, and he understands that he has a lot of people banking on him and his team to do this the best way possible. When asked what tools the Late Night Network needed to fully succeed, Solomon took a long pause. Lost in pensive thought as she tried to assemble the words to describe someone she truly respected, she said simply, “Mike Cronin is a natural.”

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n e w s

12

In 2009, Green Day released “21st Cen-

tury Breakdown” that was to be looked at as a con-

tinuation of 2004’s “American Idiot.” Fans were

not all that impressed. Longing for the subtlety of

Green Day past, I deleted all but three songs from

“21st Century” off my computer, and accepted

that the Green Day that didn’t need to blatantly

say “fuck America” while still saying “fuck Amer-

ica” might very well be gone for good.

For this reason, then, I approached the

release of Green Day’s latest album “¡Uno!” with

mild apprehension, especially since I had found

the first single from the album, “Oh Love,” to be

a weak track by Green Day’s standards.

That said, all of my cautionary feelings

about “¡Uno!” were dashed approximately 30

seconds into the first song.

“¡Uno!” is Green Day’s 9th studio album

and is the first in a trilogy of albums. The next

two are set to be called “¡Dos!” and “¡Tre!” (haha,

get it, Tre? Tre Cool?) and will be coming out in

November 2012 and January 2013, respectively.

I want to make one point very clear be-

fore I go into any detail; every single song on this

album is solid. Even the weakest tracks are well

done, and are only considered weak when held

up to the immensely hard to reach standards that

Green Day has set for themselves.

The first track, “Nuclear Family,” sets a

perfect tone for the rest of the album. Opening

up with a heavy riff of power-chords is a classic

Green Day move, and one they pull off extremely

well. The song actually makes me want to get up

and dance, a feeling I haven’t received from a

Green Day song in a long time.

“Let Yourself Go,” one of the singles,

picks up the pace quite a bit. In classic Green

Day style, the song cuts off all instrumentation

at the 23 second mark for Billie Joe Armstrong to

exclaim “Shut your mouth ‘cuz you’re talking too

much and I don’t give a fuck anyway!” before go-

ing into the chorus. If there’s one song this year

that I cannot wait to hear on the radio this might

very well be that song.

In contrast, another single, “Kill the DJ,”

might actually be the weakest song on the album.

One thing that does stand out about it, though, is

that it has a feel very similar to most music by The

Strokes, and is an interesting deviation from the

rest of the album.

The song “Fell For You” is my favorite

track from this album. This is probably because

I’m a sucker for love songs that don’t say the word

“love” ever, and this song does that perfectly. It’s

adorable, it’s sweet, and it’s been stuck in my head

since I first heard it.

The album continues from there with

more of that classic, pre-”American Idiot” Green

Day feel. This is the Green Day you know, love,

and miss, wrapped up nicely in a more mature

and refined package.

In short, Green Day is back to the way

they were about 12 years ago, and I welcome

them with open arms. This is the album fans

have been waiting for. And it’s only the beginning

of a trilogy.

will green daY go Back to # “ uno!”?BY TOMMY ROaCH

!

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n e w s

As a freshman peer advisor I never ex-

pected my student to be embarrassed that they

were in their first year of college.

Like any freshman, I had roommate

problems and struggled to find my niche, but I

wasn’t embarrassed of my standing in the college

social hierarchy. In fact, being a first year student

has many advantages.

On a Saturday afternoon my friends and

I were convening in the dining hall to eat om-

elets and discuss our escapades from the previous

evening. While grabbing silverware I saw a table

of my students sitting together and probably dis-

cussing the same subject. My freshman excitedly

waved to me to which I replied, “My awesome

freshman!”

“You don’t have to refer to us as that. It’s

embarrassing,” replied one of my students.

“But, you’re freshman,” I retorted.

“Still,” she said.

As a junior I feel I it’s my civic duty to tell

the class of 2016 that it’s okay to be a freshman.

You’re no longer in high school where you get

shoved in a locker for being the new kid. Plus, that

only happens on “Freaks and Geeks” and “Glee.”

I understand that you want to appear

‘cool’ to the cute guy you met at that party on G-

Street, or knowledgeable to the one hundred peers

in your “Freedom in the Media” course. There are

other ways of doing that without facing backlash

that will haunt you until your senior year.

Being yourself and bringing the knowl-

edge you’ve gained from personal experience will

not only make you seem confident in your per-

sonal capabilities, but others will respect your self-

respect.

Nobody is perfect, so get ready for your

fair share of mistakes. You will projectile vomit

in Crossroads and get written up by an RA, do

miserably on an assignment, and develop a crush

on a person who will ultimately end up being a

douchebag. But, in the end you’ll learn from these

experiences. For most of you, this is your first time

not living with your family. With that being said,

go ahead and try something new. The only way

you’ll come off as stupid is constantly repeating

the same mistakes. Third time is not a charm in

that scenario.

Live, learn and enjoy this free year pass

of a year where you can mess up. You’ll never

experience this liberty again, so take advantage

of it! I sure as hell did.

the Freshest BunchBY laURa MElTZER

14

save the Food co-oPBY MIKE RElUZCO

The SUNY Purchase Food Co-op is cur-

rently surrounded by a cloud of rumors. You know

what sucks about rumors? They’re almost never

true. So let’s get around to dispelling some of those

ugly rumors. There is no asbestos in the Co-op.

There hasn’t been anybody getting sick inside, and

if you walk in, you will not die.

Wait. You can’t walk in there. It’s closed.

For years the Co-op has operated just

above the Main Dining Hall, providing a space

to do homework, play records, relax with friends,

enjoy vegetarian and vegan snacks, as well as the

least expensive coffee and tea on campus.

Over the summer, a health inspection was

conducted in the Co-op. According to Tom Maher,

the Co-op’s on-site supervisor, this is the first formal

health inspection to have been conducted in several

years. So the question is-- why now?

The closing of Humanities also means

the closing of the Humanities Theater. The school

administration has told Tom and the team of in-

terns who run the Co-op that they will be taking

the Co-op’s space for classes and rehearsals, the

same way they used to use the theater. At the same

time, Southside Lounge used to host several events

which have been displaced due to its new use as

a classroom. So now the administration suddenly

needed a reason to close down the Co-op and con-

vert it into a similar space-- an inspection. They

couldn’t have picked a worse time.

“The Co-op is more important than

ever,” Maher said, “the quad is demolished, and

with so much construction [students] don’t have

anywhere to go.”

Several organizations and clubs meet in

the Co-op, including Cheese Club, the Green

Team, and Complexuality.

The Co-op is currently working on com-

promises with the administration to allow more

organizations to use the space until they can find

another place for them to meet, but due to the au-

tonomy of the Co-op from most school adminis-

tration, bureaucracy makes much of this difficult

to work out.

The administration is trying not to seem

too unreasonable. The Co-op has been offered

a small corner in their old space, a closet-sized

space in Campus Center South, or an old ticket

booth-turned-closet. This would be okay if the

Co-op is just a place to sell food, but it’s so much

more than that.

“[Moving the Co-op would be] hindering

a wonderful place that people are really attached

to,” said Brigid Slattery, an intern and regular pa-

tron of the Co-op.

“The Co-op made Purchase what it [is]

to me.” Maher said.

So, if you’ve ever sat in the Co-op and hung out,

gotten yourself a snack, or generally enjoyed

yourself, its time to stand up. Stand up and help

the Co-op remain what it is, and where it is.

For more information, contact:

tom.maher@purchase.edu

brigid.slattery@purchase.edu

or thepurchasecoop@gmail.com

WEDNESDAYS in the Stood:LGBTQU, 10:30-11pm

15

e v e n t s

MORRISON BROOK RELEASE SHOWSaturday, September 22ndStudent Center Whitson’s

Hip Hop Club PartySaturday, September 22ndStood Main Stage

anOnYMOUS

dumPster diving

What is the value of books in a bookless world? It seems that someone at Purchase College thinks they are worthless. Hundreds of books were thrown in the dumpster between Humanities and the Neu-berger Museum last Thursday. These books were worth a lot, some valued at $80. Of course books get thrown out everyday so this isn’t really a big deal, until I tell you this: these books were NEW. The covers had been un-touched by human hands, because they were still wrapped in plastic. Some of the books had not seen the light of day, as they were still in the box-es they were shipped in, taped shut. I’m talking hardcover books along with some equally valu-able paperbacks. But why? Why so many good books, valu-able books, new books? Almost all of them were books about art, from painting to sculpture. What is even weirder is these are the type of books you love to have, the kind with the soft pages and heavy paperstock, textured covers, and beautiful layout. Students of the visual arts have been tak-ing dumpster dives to dig out the books. “This is surreal,” says one student, “what is wrong with these books?” I am disgusted that this could even hap-pen. There is no way these books could be gar-bage, dumpster worthy. Are we losing books?

TUESDAYS in the Stood:Complexuality, 10-11:30pmin the Cinema

TUESDAYS in the Stood:Aperture Club, 8-9pm in the Cinema

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