Princeton Review 2010 Rankings Are In!

The annual Princeton Review rankings were released online today. Here's how Vassar did:

• #5 Best College Theater (#8 in 2009, #10 in 2008)
• #7 Least Religious Students (#9 in 2009, #12 in 2008)
• #11 Birckenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians (#9 in 2009, #15 in 2008)
• #12 Town-Gown Relations Strained (#12 in 2009, #14 in 2008)
• #13 Most Beautiful Campus (not listed 2009, #13 in 2008)
• #14 More To Do On Campus (#13 in 2009, #15 in 2008)
• #17 Most Liberal Students (not listed 2009)
• #20 Gay Community Accepted (not listed in 2009)

Click here to see all of last year's rankings.

Powerhouse Program Gets Major Coverage

Vassar has been in the news a lot lately - Jeffrey Goldstein' 77 getting a Dept. of the Treasury position, collegiate quidditch - and today is no exception. An article in the New York Times (currenty online, in print tomorrow) focuses on Vassar's Powerhouse theater summer program.

"[T]he 25th anniversary of Powerhouse Theater, the eight-week summer program at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is something of a jaw-dropper," the article states. The article discusses some of the different projects (the Green Day musical "American Idiot") and celebrities (comedian Lewis Black) on campus.

There is also the obligatory Meryl Streep '71 mention. “Powerhouse has retained its outsider status, giving artists the freedom to truly experiment,” she is quoted in the article.

Quote Of The Day

"When else am I going to be Mrs. George Clooney?"

- Meryl Streep '71 on why she chose to take part in Wes Anderson's upcoming animated feature The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The film will be released on November 13th and is co-written by Noah Baumbach '91.

Grhyzzly Unveils WVKR Shirt Design

The artist known as Grhyzzly has taken to his blog to debut his latest work - a new tee shirt design for WVKR.

Quidditch Gets More Press, Today In NY Times

The Vassar quidditch team has been getting a lot of coverage lately, the latest being an article about nostalgia and Generation Y in today's New York Times. Our team, as well as those from Middlebury and Princeton, are cited as examples for how our generation's continued and somewhat ironic interest in the Harry Potter franchise demonstrates our nostalgia for our youth.

"Let the boomers have their 40th anniversary of Woodstock. Let Generation X commemorate the 15 years since Kurt Cobain shot himself. For Generation Y — those born roughly between 1980 and 2003 — it’s the pop culture of the late ’90s and early 2000s that makes them wistful," the article states.

"It seems awfully early for 28-year-olds to be looking back," the article continues. "One possible explanation ... is the impact of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The political and economic climate of the late ’90s had been as soothing as a Backstreet Boys ballad: no wars, unemployment as low as 4 percent, a $120 billion federal surplus."

Our quidditch team also received extensive coverage in the New York Daily News a few days ago.

Obama Nominates Grad For Finance Position

According to a White House press release, President Obama has nominated Jeffrey Goldstein '77 for Under Secretary for Domestic Finance in the Department of the Treasury.

Mr. Goldstein was previously the Managing Director, Chief Financial Officer and a Member of the Management Committee of the World Bank. He is currently the Managing Director of the equity investment firm Hellman and Friedman.

Mr. Goldstein has remained connected to Vassar. He serves on the Board of Trustees and is Chair of the Investment Committee. He also has a son in the Class of 2012.

He is now the third Vassar graduate to receive a position in the Obama administration, although Nancy Killefer '75 did not accept her position.

Update: "Jeff is a great guy, and did a superb job helping to lead Vassar through this financial storm," writes former VSA President Jimmy Kelly '09 on Twitter.

Image via Hellman & Friedman.

It's Official... Baldwin No Longer 24 Hours

In an email sent out this morning, Dean Roellke, Dean Brown, and Director of Health Services Irena Balawajder announced that Baldwin will be operating with limited hours beginning in the Fall.

"The hours of operation for the Vassar College Health Service at the start of the Fall 2009 semester will be 8:00am to 10:00pm," the email states. Instead of offering services late into the night, there will now be "isolation rooms" in the dorms for ill students.

We first wrote about the possibility of Baldwin limiting its hours back in October. The issue was brought up at a VSA Council meeting and our post on the issue received 54 comments from readers. "We would never recommend that we cut health services at Vassar, but it may be worth thinking about if they are being used to their full potential," the then-VP for Student Life Nate Silver '10 commented on this site. "[T]he College, like all institutions and people in America, is facing hard times with the downturn of the economy. In these situations, we must prioritize our core areas," then-VSA President Jimmy Kelly '09 commented. The issue was again brought up in April when the Miscellany News ran a cover story on the future of Baldwin.

Vassar Quidditch In NY Daily News

Although Vassar's quidditch team wasn't asked to participate in the MTV promo with Middlebury, they did get some nice coverage in today's New York Daily News.

"At the first Quidditch World Cup two years ago, Middlebury hosted Vassar, which then had the only other college Quidditch team in existence," the article states. "Now, more than 200 colleges either have or have expressed interest in starting a Quidditch team, according to the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association — a loosely structured governing body of the sport.

Vassar students Michael Sandstrom '12, Michelle Cantos '11, and David Bridgman-Packer '12 are also mentioned in the article.

Check out the Daily News' video of our team here.

Vassar Apparel Featured In GQ

Actor Hunter Parrish (Weeds, 17 Again, Spring Awakening) is donning a black Vassar sweatshirt and gray sweatpants in the current issue of GQ magazine.


"You don't have to be in college to wear classic, collegiate-inspired gear," the article states. So... Vassar apparel is the quintessential college attire? Sweet. It gets better:

"When we say collegiate-inspired gear, we don’t mean a USC sweatshirt and a pair of Adidas slides. Think about the kind of East Coast classics that a Kennedy might have worn back in the day."

The magazine lists the $50 hoodie and sweatpants along with the other wardrobe items.

Parrish isn't a Vassar graduate, but he does have a few Vassar connections. First, both Parrish and a current Vassar student performed in Spring Awakening, although we're not sure if it was at the same time. Second, Parrish is in an upcoming Nancy Meyers film alongside Meryl Streep '71.

Rye Rye Continues To Follow M.I.A... By Getting Pregnant

Rye Rye is finally getting big. In more ways than one.

We've been following Rye Rye's climb to success since she opened for M.I.A. at Vassar in Spring 2008 and granted Mads an exclusive interview. Since then, the young rapper has grown out of the "up-and-coming" category and into the big leagues, with constant coverage in music magazines and blogs.

Now, it seems that Rye Rye is continuing to follow M.I.A. - by getting pregnant. The seventeen year old has pulled out of her upcoming tour with A-Trak and is finally confirming the pregnancy rumors. "Things happen for a reason some happen at the the wrong point of ya life but no one knows why or for what reason only God," Rye Rye wrote on her blog. "So yes I was blessed with a child."

Naps Finally Returns, But With New Name And New Taste

The good news: Everyone's favorite late-night pizza delivery service, Naps, has reopened! The bad news: It just doesn't taste like it used to.

According to a reader living on campus this summer, Napoli Pizza finally reopened under the name Cozzy's Place last month. This has been a long time coming, since the Misc originally reported that it would reopen in Fall 2008.

What made Naps special though was its sauce (think Ed's sauce from Good Burger). Now, however, the sauce is more generic tasting. "It's not the same," the reader and Cozzy's customer tells Mads. "[The] sauce has changed."

Our 2012 and 2013 readers may not understand what the big deal is, but all we're stuck with now are fond memories. Welcome back, Naps, but we liked you as you were!

Celeb Sighting

Former Vassar student Justin Long was spotted at Wednesday's Vassar Comedy Night in New York City, according to two alumni who attended the event.

Like Jackie O and Anne Hathaway, Justin transferred before graduating.

Image via crunchgear.com.

The Misc Returns With Orientation Guide

After taking a few weeks off since its special graduation issue, the Miscellany News is back with an online guide to Freshmen Orientation.

The guide offers an extensive "Vassar dictionary," which explains the different acronyms and nicknames on campus, including everything from the Acrop to Midnight Breakfast. There is also a detailed guide to each house, key issues to expect this school year (the economy), and much more.

Check it out!

Vassar Grads Reunite For Comedy Night

According to a blog on Comedy Central's website, a group of Vassar alumni will be reuniting tonight in New York City for a comedy show. If you're in the city this summer - which many of you probably are - you should check this out!

Hosted by Jessi Klein from "Michael and Michael Have Issues."

Featuring:
Jon Gonda '09
Rob Sosin
Kevin Maher
Will Carlough
Casimir Nozkowski
The Hazzards
And more!!!

Tonight (Wednesday). Doors at 6:30pm, cocktail hour at 7, show at 8.

Crash Mansion, 199 Bower @ Spring St. $5 cover.

Another Vassar Student On Jeopardy

This Thursday, Tyler Crosby '07 will be the second Vassar student in recent months to participate on Jeopardy.

We'll see if Tyler can match the success of Greg Lichtenstein '12, who won $23,000 on the show a few months ago.

Pizza Saves Vassar Grad From D.C. Train Crash

In her column this week for the Bangor Daily News, Vassar alumna Meg Adams writes how stopping for a slice of pizza may have kept her from taking one of the trains that crashed in Washington D.C. last week.

"I am one of the hundreds of people with a 'close call' story from Monday. If I hadn’t worked overtime, if I hadn’t been late, if I had had that meeting on Tuesday instead of Monday. The examples pile on, one after another, shared in whispers or repeated loudly as people cope with the tragedy. When it comes down to it, this was the point for many D.C. residents and commuters: any one of us could have been on that train."

Image via Hamilton Spectator.