Vassar College's student newspaper of record since 1866
Volume 166 | Issue 2 | September 10, 2026 | miscellanynews.org |
|
The Miscellany News is back with another newsletter! Each week's articles will be delivered right to your inbox. If you know of anyone who would be interested in receiving this service, please share it with them at this link. |
|
ELI LERDAU | Vassar College announced on Monday, Aug. 31, its rollout of a new electronic health records system (EHR) operated by Point and Click Solutions, which includes an optional artificial intelligence (AI) notetaking service. In light of the switch, some students raised concerns about the College’s communication with the student body and the platform’s AI features. |
|
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
|
HADLEY AMATO | At its Sept. 2 meeting, the Town Board of Poughkeepsie approved several plans in relation to the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) campus in Poughkeepsie. The Town Board passed an amendment to allow Scenic Hudson, a local environmental organization, to purchase 100 acres of IBM land. The organization plans to eventually transfer ownership of that land to the Town of Poughkeepsie to establish a public park. |
|
Hadley Amato/The Miscellany News. |
|
SOPHIA MARCHIOLI | If you are looking for live music this fall, there is no need to venture on a two-hour train ride to concerts in the city! The Hudson Valley is home to some of the most intimate and unique concert venues New York has to offer. And this fall, there is quite the lineup of indie artists performing locally. |
|
GRACE FINKE | Following a two-year hiatus and a sporadic phone-free tour, Phoebe Bridgers released her third studio album, “Lost Weekend,” on Aug. 14, 2026, her first solo record release since 2020. The American singer-songwriter seamlessly blends ambient production and emotionally charged lyrics into her characteristic indie-folk sound, resulting in a brilliantly evocative piece of art that exemplifies the balance between raw sentimentality and polished musicianship. |
|
Aria Kuklinski/The Miscellany News. |
|
FELICITY LEVEAU | Only half of HBO’s newest superhero TV show, “Lanterns,” has aired, yet it has already set itself apart as one of the best received pieces of superhero television in recent memory. With three episodes aired, the series currently holds a 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and an aggregate IMDb score of eight. So far, the show has taken a grounded and gritty approach to Green Lantern—a superhero who is typically seen in a space with a colorful cast of characters. Instead, “Lanterns” tries to emulate prestige television of the 2000s, taking clear influences from shows like “True Detective.” “Lanterns”—rather than focusing on Green Lantern fighting big red aliens in space (such as Atrocitus, a classic Green Lantern villain in comics)—is about a small-town mystery. Aliens are certainly involved, but if they are going to be big and red, the viewer has not seen it yet. “Lanterns” is trying to connect with its viewers on a different level, a human level, and it seems to be succeeding. |
|
TAIT TAVOLACCI | As triumphant as “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” sounds, it is a very melancholic film. If you have forgotten where we last left Peter Parker (Tom Holland)—for which you could be forgiven, given that it has been five years since the franchise’s last installment—the ending of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” saw Doctor Strange casting a spell that causes everyone on Earth to forget who Peter is. As a result, he loses everyone in his life, becoming a stranger to all who once knew him. |
|
Charlotte Willenbring/The Miscellany News. |
|
BEN KAPLAN | Vassar, like life, can be a difficult experience where you can be judged more for how you are perceived instead of who you actually are. Directed by Matt Johnson, “Tony,” the recent pseudo-biopic about Vassar dropout Anthony Bourdain, is a flawed but beautiful coming-of-age flick that touches on this sentiment. |
|
ENDER NIX | Mid-June, I was in the living room. The cicadas were chirping outside and the humidity was wafting in through the window my mom always keeps open. I was reading on the teal loveseat, and my mom was busy watching HBO’s “The Pitt,” the dogs asleep by her side. |
|
VERA GIRAUDO | Just last week on Aug. 26, the technology company Meta settled in a historic federal lawsuit brought by 47 states, as well as the Washington, D.C. and multiple U.S. territories. Not only is this the largest settlement pay out by a social media company in the United States to date, at $17.1 billion, but Meta has also agreed to implement restrictions on adolescent accounts. What the age verification process will look like is yet to be determined. The restrictions included limiting use of the app to two hours daily, hiding like counts from viewers and users and removing beauty filters. What differentiates this trial from many others that Meta and other social media giants have faced is the prosecution’s legal strategy and the prosecution’s ability to circumvent Section 230. |
Aria Kuklinski/The Miscellany News. |
|
JAY FU | The reality of what I have signed up for does not hit me until I am by the aircraft’s open door, watching the jumper before me disappear into the hazy blue distance. Until then, no real sense of scope has been established: Wind cannot reach the back of the plane where tandem divers board, and the circular window by my seat offers a modest view of our ascent that I only register as a static image, slowly scaling out. |
|
Image courtesy of Jay Fu '28. |
|
JARED PALUMBO | The sounds of distorted guitars and whiny vocals shot through the air. Through a chain-link fence I saw a stage no bigger than a car, surrounded by a small, scattered crowd of punks and skaters. I searched for an entrance. It was a hot summer day—89 degrees and humid—and I was already sweating. After much searching, I found a way in: a path a half mile walk from where I had parked. The walk took me past the large Kia dealership that made a direct entrance impossible. Once I went around it, I could finally make my way to the source of the music: the skatepark. |
|
Jared Palumbo/The Miscellany News. |
|
LORA JANCZEWSKI | By the time you find this paper stacked on the racks in Gordon Commons or lying on the tables in the Rose Parlor, I will have already been in school for two weeks. This is because I am not taking classes at Vassar right now. Rather, I am studying abroad in the colorful—and increasingly chilly—city of Copenhagen, Denmark. Hej and welcome to my adventures from afar! |
|
Lora Janczewski/The Miscellany News. |
|
MARK SKID | On Friday, July 25, while most students were returning to their summer cottages from their grueling 11-to-3s at their parent’s biotech/art gala startups, the Vassar Board of Maintenance (BM), headed by President Elizabeth Bradley, convened to discuss upcoming campus-wide changes to student facilities for the following year. Many topics are as of yet unresolved, such as mold cultures in the Raymond ceilings, asbestos is the Raymond drywall and leaks in the Raymond plumbing. However, no decision was quite as consequential as the procurement of new toilet paper for bathrooms across campus. Much deliberation was had to resolve one of, if not the most, pressing issue facing the Vassar student body: anus sanitation. The conclusion of these talks, a bold and controversial new direction: installment of 80 grit sandpaper rolls in place of sanitary tissue. |
|
AIDAN DOMBROSKY | What you are about to read is a true story. In no way is this account embellished or extorted, fabricated or falsified, contrived or otherwise dubiously concocted for entertainment purposes. All information contained within is factual and presented chronologically, as it transpired. It is my belief that no hyperbole of the human mind could ever encapsulate the sheer volume of buffoonish hijinks endured by any one individual in the city of Rochester, New York, on his way to a physics conference during the fateful weekend of April 17, 2026… |
Charlotte Willenbring/The Miscellany News. |
|
ANTHONY ROSENTHAL | On Saturday, “Your Show” had its final performance in The Mug, attracting an audience of 146 people and concluding your theatrical career at Vassar. Acquaintances and parents of company members attended, as well as your friends, and the event concluded with enthusiastic hugs and warm compliments, followed by an enjoyable Deece. However, based on recent reports from a group chat that you’re not in, it turns out that your friends, unfortunately, did not like it. Not one bit. Not even a smidge. Or a hair. Or an atom of a hair. (Ad infinitum.) It’s unfortunate. It wasn’t the worst thing they ever saw, but it definitely could’ve been better. While they’re not sure how much credible weight their opinions have, they’re still sure that your piece did not cater to their aesthetic sensibilities in any way, shape or form. Here at the Misc, we have come up with a few theories as to why. |
|
Image courtesy of Violetta Rohr '30. |
|
EVAN SEKER | Professor Ruby Holiday, who teaches the seminar PYRO 319: "Fire: Our Hearts, Minds, and Breath," has deigned to hold an exclusive interview with The Miscellany News about the recent President Bradley-themed fireworks show. The show, which concluded with a large bust of President Bradley inciting a conflagration that spread over Rocky, the Library and Raymond, burning all three buildings down to a crisp, has been the subject of much campus gossip. |
|
IAN WATANABE | It is no secret that things in this country are too expensive. House prices are rising due to tight supply, the energy grid is overworked and in need of expansion, and the cost of a new car continues to climb. More steel would fix this. The United States has long prided itself on a robust steel industry that has supplied itself and the world with quality metal. While China, according to a graph by Visual Capitalist, currently has the United States beat by 878.8 million tons a year, politicians and voters in both parties have advocated for a return to the days when U.S. factories reigned supreme, and foreign markets bowed down to us. |
|
SELENE SHAN | If you have been involved in queer culture enough, you have likely heard the term “egg” before. For the uninitiated, an “egg” is what people call someone who does not know that they themself are transgender. Without that person saying they are trans, accusations of being an egg are often based on a few facts about them. People declaring they wish they were born another gender, wanting to dress in clothes that do not necessarily conform with one’s gender identity or even something like hair length can get someone called an egg. This conveys that someone must be trans because their actions or preferences do not match the ones tied to their gender identity. This action, while seemingly harmless, reinforces stereotypical ideas about how one should act based on their gender. If we wish to avoid perpetuating preexisting gender norms, we cannot continue this behavior. |
|
HOLLAND KAPLAN | As September begins, the WNBA playoffs approach—also known as my favorite time of the year. As a very committed fan of the W, this season has been a rollercoaster as the league finishes its 30th season. From crazy trades like Kelsey Plum going to the Phoenix Mercury to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert retiring, I can say with full confidence that the playoffs will be an exhilarating ride after the regular season. Now that all teams have secured their sports in the post season, here are my candid predictions for how each team will do in their playoff run. |
|
ARMAAN DESAI | After a yearlong investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers, their owner Steve Ballmer, star forward Kawhi Leonard and various business partners, the NBA handed out the most severe punishment we have seen in league history on Sept. 2. The league found that the Clippers funneled millions of dollars in off-court endorsement money to Leonard to circumvent the salary cap, allowing them to allocate more money for other needs. How exactly did the Clippers do this, and what does this mean for their future? |
|
Image courtesy of Erik S. Lesser. |
|
|
|
|
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you to leave a comment on my site