Bryn Mawr, Features

The Archives Are Alive: Meet Christiana Dobrzynski, Bryn Mawr College Archivist

By Emma Nelson and Isabella Nugent, Staff Writers

The archives are not dead. The history of our college and the thousands of students who have made Bryn Mawr so meaningful is not locked behind steel doors; the archives are waiting to entertain, to inform and to inspire. In March of 2016, Christiana Dobrzynski was hired as Bryn Mawr’s first full-time archivist. As she works to make the institutional history of Bryn Mawr universally accessible, Dobrzynski is also embarking on archival projects that will embrace and preserve voices from previously undocumented communities.

In the past, the Bryn Mawr College archives have primarily focused on administrative documentation. However, Dobrzynski aims to close the gap between the identities which have traditionally been represented in the archives and those which have not. In her pursuit to document a wider range of voices, Dobrzynski is currently working on an acquisition from 1968 alumna Judith Mazer. Mazer is a self-identified “Jewish lesbian of size” who is working closely with Dobrzynski to incorporate her photographs, audio recordings, drawings of lesbian erotica and other objects into the archives. Not only do these materials hold valuable insight into the feminist movement in the Bay Area and Mazer’s own activism, but they also represent queer and Jewish identities in the Bryn Mawr community. If histories such as Mazer’s are not preserved, much of Bryn Mawr’s legacy will be lost.

In this same spirit, Dobrzynski is also working on a collection of oral histories, approved by President Kim Cassidy, to accompany this year’s academic programming around the theme of “voice.” During the planning stage, Dobrzynski is reaching out to the Black Alumni Association and LGBTQIA Alumni Affinity Group at Bryn Mawr for assistance with incorporating underrepresented voices into Bryn Mawr’s history. This more holistic approach to documentation is works toward Dobrzynski’s goal of expanding the archives to reflect the wide variety of paths taken by Bryn Mawr alumnae. Many activists, especially those who identify as women, Dobrzynski explains, did not think what they were doing was important enough to be documented.

Dobrzynski is excited at the prospect of forming a more even-level relationship between the archives and the students, faculty and staff of Bryn Mawr. In order to facilitate this, she is collaborating with digital collections librarian Rachel Appel to collect and maintain the social media landscape of today’s students. This form of proactive documentation attempts to preserve a broader representation of student life and opinion. Dobrzynski hopes that these collections will become a catalyst for discussions on transparency and public access to the Bryn Mawr archives. “We keep things under lock and key,” Dobrzynski explained, “but only so it’s preserved for you.”

For Dobrzynski, student voices are critical in defining Bryn Mawr’s legacy and how that legacy is recorded. Under her work and her collaborations, students from every background will be able to see themselves documented in the history of Bryn Mawr. Additionally, Dobrzynski’s work to encourage an open and ongoing dialogue about the archives will enable others to use the archives as “a touchstone for deeper conversations.” The archives are not only alive, but they are growing.

From the print edition published Oct. 5, 2016

Features

Does the Tri-Co Give the Most Bang for Your Buck? A Close Look at College Costs versus Post-Graduation Income

By Isfar Munir, Contributing Writer

Student loan debt continues to be recognized as a major issue in the United States, along with the soaring growth of college tuition costs. It wasn’t always this expensive to get a degree, but despite these new costs, college enrollment continues to increase. A projected 3.9 million more people enrolled into full-time undergraduate programs in 2016 as compared with 1990, representing a jump in enrollment of a little over 55% (figured based on NCES published figures). Sure, the population of the United States has increased as well, but not at anywhere near this rate. While all of these students have indeed, managed to find a place to go, top colleges and universities have seen their acceptance rates plunge.

Some would say this is great, as a more educated workforce is a necessity for future growth. Personally, I hesitate to call it such a great thing. Let’s talk a little bit about cost.  The similarity between tuition rates, particularly among private schools, is frightening. If we account solely for tuition plus room and board, Harvard University charged roughly $60,000 last year. Most would agree that once you factor in professor quality, alumni network strength, and prestige, Harvard represents a better choice than, for instance, Santa Clara University. At least to me, it’s astounding that Santa Clara would charge more than Harvard; hell, it seems odd that Santa Clara would charge anywhere near the same price as Harvard. But sure enough, Santa Clara University costs a whopping $61,000 per year. For some people, Santa Clara University is a great choice, but I have difficulty accepting that it is a better choice for a majority of students. And if you get what you pay for, Santa Clara seems to be overvaluing its education.

Of course, sticker price is not what is typically charged. Many, perhaps even most, students attending private schools receive financial aid. Thanks to the College Scorecard rolled out by the Department of Education, we now have a better understanding of the average costs after financial aid across different institutions. These financial aid numbers probably aren’t the absolute best, but they can be helpful, and are pretty standard. The cost represents how much is charged, on average, to recipients of federal financial aid attending a given institution (note that Federal Stafford Loans are counted as aid), after all financial aid given by the school itself, the state, and the federal government is subtracted from the sticker price of the school. Harvard ends up costing a little over $14,000 on average for aid recipients. If we look at only those whose family income lies between $48,000 and $75,000, the average cost falls to just over $5,000. For the same set of people (Federal Aid Recipients), Santa Clara University charges in excess of $34,000 on average. For those that fall in the aforementioned income bracket, the average cost is slightly north of $27,000. Santa Clara University charges over twice what Harvard does for the average aid recipient. The current median income in the United States is just over $50,000 per year. For someone making closer to that amount of money, Santa Clara University charges over 5 times the Harvard rate. If we look at other highly prestigious schools with smaller endowments than Harvard, such as Johns Hopkins and Duke, the cost for those who earn close to the median income in the United States is about $15,000 and $14,000 per year respectively (the average cost at both Duke and Johns Hopkins is about $27,000).

Now for the kicker. When you pay for a college degree, you have a reasonable expectation that the degree can be parlayed into a well-paying job. College Scorecard can help us here too; it gives the median annual salary for students 10 years after they graduated. We must note that these salary figures are limited to a pool of federal aid recipients, meaning that the salary figures for very wealthy students who didn’t receive any aid aren’t reported. This is an important limitation to our numbers, but as a median, this figure is less skewed to start with, excepting students who are still in graduate school six years after they graduated (assuming they graduated on time) and well-connected persons that hit the salary jackpot. And besides, if college is the great equalizer, whether or not one received financial aid as a student shouldn’t really affect how much salary that person makes later on. The average salary incomes reported by our prestigious schools of Harvard, Duke, and Johns Hopkins are about $87,000, $77,000, and $69,000 respectively. At Santa Clara, the salary figure is just under $68,000.  While this is a perfectly respectable salary, consider how much more it cost for the average aid recipient at any of the other three schools I’ve mentioned. A John Hopkins degree can be expected to bring nearly the same income as a Santa Clara University, but costs roughly 20% less than the Santa Clara degree for the average aid recipient, and nearly 50% less for someone whose family makes roughly median income.

Santa Clara University is comparatively expensive, and I’m sure there are people perfectly willing and able to pay for it without incurring much debt at all. That being said, Harvard, Duke, and Johns Hopkins are all more likely schools of choice for America’s wealthy. And the far more selective schools are the type of schools that wealthy students are able to attend, having  had  access to the type of  education that makes them attractive to top schools. The students who attend Santa Clara University, on the other hand, are, in general, less well off than the average Harvard or Duke student. We can infer that the student who goes to Santa Clara, as such, is an aid recipient, and a member of the exact class of people that is paying the most for their Santa Clara education relative to what they would be paying if they had gotten into a better school. What’s the point I’m trying to make? Students are paying far more at Santa Clara for a lower post-graduation income than what other prestigious schools charge in exchange for a higher income post-graduation.

All right, maybe Santa Clara University is ripping students off. But are we? I’ve thrown around a lot of numbers, so I’ll tabulate them all now. In addition to the schools I’ve already discussed, I’ll throw in Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and, for good measure Swarthmore.

School Salary Cost (average, after aid) Salary to Cost Ratio Cost (average, after aid, Median Income) Salary to Cost Ratio (Median Income)
Harvard $87,200 $14,049 6.21 $5,405 16.13
Duke $76,700 $28,058 2.73 $14,207 5.40
Johns Hopkins $69,200 $26,596 2.60 $14,927 4.64
Haverford $55,600 $18,853 2.95 $15,612 3.56
Swarthmore $49,400 $24,166 2.04 $18,174 2.72
Bryn Mawr $50,400 $27,386 1.84 $15,091 3.34
Santa Clara $67,700 $34,956 1.94 $27,944 2.42

The salary and cost figures refer back to what I’ve described in the previous paragraphs. I’ve included exact numbers. I’ve also created this Salary to Cost Ratio and applied it once to the average cost for aid recipients and once  to the cost figure for those that fall in that Median Income containing bracket of $50,000-$75,000. The ratios don’t mean anything in exact terms, but are useful as relative indicators of how much income you can be expected to receive on average in comparison to the cost of these schools. Before I tackle the Tri-Co, let’s use Harvard as an example. Harvard does freakishly well on both ratios. It’s clearly a really good deal, but, then again, we probably could have guessed that from the get-go.

As for the Tri-Co schools, after their addition we add median salaries that fall below the previous low-salary king of Santa Clara University. Swarthmore is the only school with a median salary below $50,000 per year. Considering that all of the Tri-Co schools have sticker prices in excess of $60,000 per year, it would be easy to say that the Tri-Co education doesn’t seem to be worth the price of admission. However, when we throw the cost factor back into the mix, the picture changes.

Haverford ends up doing quite well in this analysis, with the lowest cost and highest salary post-graduation of the Tri-Co schools. If we look at just general aid figure alone (not the one for median income families only), Haverford even beats out the much wealthier John Hopkins by about 13% and Duke by 8% on the ratio figure. In fact, in this limited selection of schools, Haverford is second only to Harvard in ratio of net-cost to post-graduation salary. When we look at Median Income aid figures, Haverford falls below again, with Duke and Johns Hopkins, although its’ numbers remain quite respectable.

Bryn Mawr represents an odd case; it’s the worst performing school when just the average aid instead of aid to the Median Income bracket is considered, even worse than Santa Clara University. The ratio jumps significantly when we consider aid to the Median Income bracket. Bryn Mawr is providing money where it counts (unlike Santa Clara), but at the expense of what I would consider a raw deal for many. For a school of Swarthmore’s reputation, the numbers don’t outperform Santa Clara University by a massive amount (5% and 12% respectively). While Haverford is the supposed “safety school”, I would say it’s the smarter financial choice compared to Swarthmore.

Now I want to look at another factor: the growth in enrollment of undergraduate students. The number of prestigious institutions that have large endowments that generally work as a gateway into a well-paying job hasn’t significantly grown in number since 1990. Yet there is currently an insatiable demand for college degrees, which leads more students into institutions that historically don’t lead to the highest of salaries, and worse, don’t have the resources to offer the best in financial aid. These non-competitive degrees are more likely to result in debt, and these degrees lead to underemployment relative to what would be needed to manage the debt taken on to earn these degrees. This is compounded by the rapid growth in the number of college enrollees; while there are more jobs now that require college degrees, I am skeptical that there are enough to absorb all of these new college graduates. Given the supply of people with degrees, regardless of institution, the salaries these degree-demanding jobs would offer would be deflated.

Is this the only cause for the student debt crisis in America? No. Should the value of a college degree be based solely on expected income? No. But it is utter madness that an ever growing cohort of students is being charged more money for what is in all likelihood a lower salary later down the road. The cost of college degrees, at least in part, should relate to their future benefits; an education is an investment, after all. Many college degrees, both at sticker rate and actual rate, do not fairly reflect their future value. As for the Tri-Co, while the post-graduation salaries would appear to be lower, the after-cost value remains high. Liberal arts colleges still have a great deal of value where it counts.

From the print edition published Oct. 5, 2016

Haverford, Sports

Haverford Men’s Soccer Update

By Pat O’Shea, Contributing Writer

Drake’s lyrics blast from the speakers of Historic Walton Field on a damp Saturday afternoon. The sun has not broken through the clouds in days, but the future of the Haverford men’s soccer program could not be brighter.

The Fords are seeking back-to-back Centennial Conference titles for the first time in program history. Leading the way are ten members of the team—Sam Miller, Chris Gibson, Gabe Oppler, Will Corkery, Tejan Walcott, Mason Bracker, Matthew Clausen, Maclyn Willigan, Jaimon Olmstead and John Kerber—that have all played a role in the Fords’ rise to prominence.

The senior class has been a part of two regular season conference titles (2013, 2015) and the 2015 conference championship campaign. Senior Co-Captain Maclyn Willigan says the team’s goals for this year are to be “Centennial Conference Champions again… After that, being able to seed highly enough to host NCAA games on Walton would be huge for the program.”

Willigan is not far off when he says that home-field advantage would benefit the Fords. Since the beginning of last season, the Fords have lost just two games at home—both in overtime and both to non-conference opponents. Including their win against Gettysburg this past Saturday, Haverford has now won 14 straight games against Conference opponents in the regular season at Walton Field. Senior goalkeeper John Kerber attributes this winning streak to the fact that “taking every week in isolation and focusing on going 2-0 [each week] can build on itself over time. Nobody talks about the streak because we’re all focused on the smaller tasks at hand.”

Coach Shane Rineer and the senior class seem to have a particularly special relationship. Maclyn Willigan touches on this relationship and explains he “wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s been especially meaningful to us because we were [Rineer’s] first full recruiting class, and we’ve seen him grow over the years into a real mentor.” The seniors are now 47-17- 4 over the course of their careers and have a chance to pick up win number 50 for their careers in the coming weeks. When asked about having their 50th win in sight, Willigan said “winning 50 games as a class is definitely a huge accomplishment, and will certainly be something to look forward to. None of the work we put in is easy, and it’s nice when it pays off long-term. This senior class is a special group, and I couldn’t be happier with the way our four years have panned out in the grand scheme.”

This team has done more than just win games. They have dominated the conference and put Haverford College on the map for men’s soccer. While doing this, their seniors have climbed the all-time ranks in many categories of the program’s record book:

  • Matthew Clausen ranks 14th all-time with 0.73 Shots on Goal per game in a shortened career (did not play in 2015).
  • Will Corkery ranks 12th in program history with eight game-winning goals, tied for second all-time with three made penalty kicks. Corkery was also named to the First-Team D3Soccer.com All-American team in 2015, as well as being named the 2015 Centennial Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player.
  • Goalkeeper Sam Miller is currently tied for first place with 39 career wins in net, second place in goals against average (0.96), and eighth in program history with 213 saves.
  • Tejan Walcott ranks third in men’s soccer history with 69 shots on goal and fifth in program history with 1.03 shots on goal per game.

Gabe Oppler believes the fact that this is “the closest team that [he has] been a part of” is the reason for the team’s success. Kerber also believes that the “team chemistry is great, everyone brings their own personality to the group.” This chemistry has definitely lead to wins on the field, and is likely to lead to wins in the recruiting phase of the game as well. “The future [of the program] definitely does look bright,” said Willigan. He believes the class of 2017 “will leave Haverford soccer better than [they] found it, which means a lot for incoming prospective students.” Willigan is hopeful that, for years to come, students who want a great education and top competition won’t pass up Haverford.

While this year’s seniors acknowledge the success that they have had the past few years, they have not had time to reflect on their impact on the program. Willigan said that he did not reflect on the success that they have had since this past Saturday’s victory because “it marked three years of being undefeated in regular-season, conference play, which is pretty surreal, in addition to 15 straight wins in the Centennial [Conference]. Other than that, it’s business as usual. There will be time to reflect in December.”

The Fords will continue their run at history when they visit Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday night. This begins a stretch of four away games, including a meeting with Franklin & Marshall on October 22. They play at home next on October 26.

From the print edition published Oct. 5, 2016

Haverford, Sports

Haverford Cricket Starts on a High Note

By Toni Aguilar Cole and Courtney Link, Staff Writers

In the first game of the season held on Sept. 11, the Haverford cricket team faced the US women’s national team in a rare exhibition match. An anticipated win for the national team ended with a rather close score of 63-62 in Haverford’s favor. The Haverford team is comprised of sixteen men and one woman, whereas the national team held only ten women.

David White ‘17, Haverford’s team captain, commented at halftime that the women’s team “couldn’t hit [them]”. He argued that Haverford’s team threw the ball at faster speeds, while the women’s team put more of a strategic spin on their pitches. White made a comment that “the game [was] a great way to start the season.” Nicholas Munves ‘18, felt that the game was “very good for [them]” considering that they were playing such an experienced team. (use digits)

The starting line-up consisted of six first years, all of whom were new to the sport. Kamran Khan, the coach of Haverford’s team for forty years, felt that his team was “improving a lot” and he made predictions of a promising spring season. He feels that, while he loves playing cricket, “the best part is teaching discipline. Commitment and dedication are needed qualities.” He often tells his team to “keep your head on the ball,” both in the sense of the game and life. Overall, Khan is very well accepted and respected by the team. Even a graduate, Alisa Strayer, remembered him as “an amazing coach.”

Strayer, a Haverford alum, was welcomed back to her home field as a member of the US women’s national team. She began her cricket career when she came to Haverford as a first year, like many of the current members. As one of the only women on a male-dominated team during her career at Haverford, Strayer feels that she is now facing an adjustment coming to an all-women’s team. While it she feels that it is “nice and less patronizing” to play with a group of great women, she looks back on her time spent with the Haverford team fondly. She said, “It’s easy to miss them. Some of my best friends were made on this field.” Strayer had nothing but good words to say in regards to her old Haverford teammates, calling them “supportive and wonderful people.” However, she did recall “harsh comments made by other teams” and feels that the transition to an all-women’s team has been an overall positive one.

The Haverford cricket team is most definitely on the rise. Their caliber of play held up well against a top tier team and they were ultimately able to claim a victory. With another win over the British Officers Cricket Club this past weekend, they are off to a great start of the fall season and hopefully a successful year. The spring season will bring more competitive teams than the fall season due to the longer season and more exciting matchups. The spring season will also bring an international tournament held at Haverford which includes teams from Australia, England, and New Zealand. Coach Khan and many of the team members are thrilled for their prospective games and learning even more how to playing the game.

From the print edition published on Oct. 5, 2016

Arts, Bryn Mawr

ASA Takes Center Stage in “A Work in Translation”

By Meredith Scheiring, Contributing Writer

Saturday, Oct. 1 was the annual Bryn Mawr Asian Students Association (ASA) Culture Show. Titled “A Work in Translation,” this year’s event featured several groups from the Bi- and Tri-Co, the Philadelphia area, and around the country. The show opened with Kyo Daiko, a Philadelphia community group associated with the Shofuso Japanese House and Garden. This talented group performed taiko drumming, traditional Japanese percussion that was both captivating to watch and incredible to hear. The quartet was followed by one of two films produced for the show. The film shared interviews of students in the community who discussed questions and intersections of identity translation both on and off campus. Afreen, a Bryn Mawr dance group, was up next, performing a spirited dance to a dhol, or drum, song that got the crowd pumped up. On a more serious note, Rhea Manglani ’17 of Bryn Mawr performed two spoken word pieces exploring first the college transition and experience and then questions of love and self-love.

Miranda Canilang and Friend Chaiprasit were the stars of the next performance as a couple in Tai-๑ne. This energetic group performed a conglomeration of bamboo dancing, which is “a festive traditional dance shared by many Southeast Asian cultures” such as Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The final performance before intermission was a stand-up comedy routine by Subhah Agarwal, an Indian-American comedian who shared her experiences growing up in the Midwest and exploring her identity as both a woman and a comedian in the context of her upbringing by “strict parents in a suburban world.”

Hometown Hero, a Bi-Co band, began the second half by playing amazing covers of three of their favorite songs; their performance was followed by the second ASA film, which explored the theme of language translation alongside translation of identity and culture in interviews with ASA and other Bryn Mawr students. Two dance groups then performed pieces, starting with Mayuri, the Tri-Co South Asian fusion dance team. Their first performance of the year, the dance featured “Item Girl, a lively and upbeat medley of songs performed by some of Bollywood’s sassiest ladies.” Also in their first performance of the year, Bi-Co Korean Pop dance group Choom Boom shared Genie, a piece showcasing that “our passion is what drives our success.”

The show closed with an emotional and moving performance by Rachel Rostad, winner of a prize from the Academy of American Poets who has also been featured on both Upworthy and Jezebel. Rostad read from her chap-book “Homecoming,” sharing the story of searching for and meeting her biological mother in Korea. Several Bryn Mawr students then modeled traditional and modern Asian styles, culminating a full and engaging night with a lively Fashion Show. ASA President Amy Xu shared some final remarks about the importance of finding and creating spaces in our communities to celebrate Asian, Pan-Asian, and Asian-American identities, and “A Work in Translation” was a fantastic event to do just that.

From the print edition published Oct. 5, 2016

Arts, Bryn Mawr

Philadanco Performance Probes Race, Gender Boundaries

By Dilesha Tanna, Layout Editor

The theater was dark and packed with an eager audience. Beams of light and foggy mist slowly filled the empty stage. Dancers appeared on stage, moving gracefully in the silence. Soon, the music started, and the dancers synchronized their steps to its rhythmic beats. And with that, the show began.

On September 23, the well-acclaimed dance group Philadanco performed in Goodhart Auditorium at Bryn Mawr College. They put together a performance that consisted of four 15 minute dance pieces, each one unique in its own special way. The first piece immediately grabbed the audience’s attention as it began by manipulating perspective and dimension as the dancers arranged themselves in a straight vertical line. In between the consistent action of the dance, there were parts where the music stopped and the dance focused on the breathing and silent movements of the dancers. Following this dance, the second piece was more upbeat and added elements such as claps and stomps to fit in with the rhythm of the music. In direct contrast, the third dance showed the dancers’ movements like black silk. It focused on the swift yet graceful and smooth movements of the dancers, who were adorned in black costumes. The show finished with the last piece emphasizing the sharpness of the dancers and their environment through their movements, stage lighting, and contrasting black and red outfits.

Additionally, the show brought together the traditions of African-American dance with elements of ballet, lyrical, modern, and jazz, demonstrating that dance transcends all cultures. There is no language needed to understand such an art form. Even the choice of African and American music brought out this amalgamation of cultures. The rhythms of the songs and the styles of different cultural dance forms enhanced the meaning of the performance.

Philadanco aims to share a message about discrimination with the audience by including choreography in their repertory that mixes dialogue in with the songs and dance to present some of the racism Black individuals have faced. Their message traces back to the origins of their company, which helps provide opportunities for Black dancers to perform and express their love and creativity for this art form.

Along with providing a unique perspective on race, Philadanco also displayed an interesting view on gender in some of the works performed. In dance performances, men are often in charge of carrying women for various leaps, jumps, and flips. However, in their evening of dance, the gender roles were sometimes obscured. They incorporated steps where men lifted women, men lifted men, and women lifted women. Even their costumes demonstrated a similar appearance, as one of their pieces included both men and women wearing black dress-like costumes.

Overall, the message of the show brought an interesting perspective to the value of dance among all cultures, and the variety of costumes, stage lights, formations, and movements kept the stage in a constant state of excitement.

From the print edition published Oct. 5, 2016

Review

Who You Gonna Call? The Mawrtyrs!

By Kate Hawthorne, Staff Writer 

If you came to Thomas 224 at around 7:30 this past Friday, you found yourself in the midst of some of the biggest excitement on campus. Every seat was filled so that, by the time the film actually started, people had resorted to sitting and standing in the aisles. Everyone wanted to get a chance to watch—or rewatch—this summer’s biggest feminist blockbuster: “Ghostbusters.”

Practically everyone knows the basic premise of the movie: the old “Ghostbusters” films of our youth redone with four females cast in the traditionally male roles and a “dumb blonde” male (Chris Hemsworth) cast as the receptionist. I vaguely remembered seeing the “Ghostbusters” films as a kid, and I knew that this movie had some big shoes to fill – it had to live up to both the old “Ghostbusters” films and the rave online reviews. When the movie started, it was punctuated with almost constant laughter and commentary. Every time the “Ghostbusters” song came on (which was quite often), the entire room sang along.

The movie is about 80% humor, 50% adventure and 30% feminist critique on the scientific and political world. Although there are some moments where the roles revert to more traditional male-versus-female stereotypes, the majority of the movie is just one long roller coaster of laughter. The four main actresses (Kristin Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones) were all absolutely wonderful and completely hilarious. Esther (BMC ’17) and Isobel (BMC ’18) said that they were “super gay for Holtzman [McKinnon]” and cheered each time she either came onscreen or made yet another sexual innuendo (which seemed to be part of the character’s MO, along with blowing things up). Chris Hemsworth also did an amazing job in his role as Kevin, the receptionist.

Some of the original cast of the 1984 “Ghostbusters” movie even returned for cameos. Three of the original Ghostbusters made appearances: One of them appeared as a bronze bust, the Ghostbusters’ receptionist works at a hotel, and Dana Barrett from the original movies (who is played by Sigourney Weaver) makes a cameo in a post-credits scene as Holtzmann’s (McKinnon) teacher. As with the Marvel movies, everyone in the know stays until the end to watch several scenes that appear throughout the credits.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone, having witnessed only positive responses from those who went to the showing. Lauren (BMC ’19) said, “I just loved how everyone started singing along [to the “Ghostbusters” theme song]. The best part [of seeing the movie] is the people… when everyone starts cheering!” Rebecca (BMC ’20) really summed up the wonder and magic of the experience: “There’s nothing better in the world than watching a feminist movie surrounded by a bunch of Mawrtyrs who cheer every time Kate McKinnon makes a sexual joke.”

From the print edition published Oct. 5, 2016

Arts, Haverford

Landscapes and Cityscapes in Magill Take Viewers on a Journey

By Sophie Webb, Features Editor

The art gallery in Haverford’s Magill Library is nestled in the center of the building in the midst of books, study rooms, and students. The current exhibit, curated by Faye Hirsch, senior editor of Art in America, is a series of visual works by Haverford Professor of Fine Arts and Department Chair Ying Li. Li is an acclaimed artist whose work has been reviewed by The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Philadelphia Inquirer. The exhibit at Magill is entitled Ying Li: Geographies, and displays 24 of her landscape paintings and a handful of sketches known as her jazz drawings.

Entering the exhibit, the viewer is greeted by an array of colors that jump out from the paintings lining each wall of the room. The format of the exhibit brings the viewer full circle around the perimeter of the room, back to the start point. The journey through the exhibit feels like a trip, each set of paintings inspired by a different place in Li’s life. The exhibit begins with some of Li’s jazz drawings. The sketches feature humans–some playing instruments, some drawn in black, others in blue or red. The viewer is then transported to New York City. Li spent time residing and creating art in New York City, and the paintings in this section of the gallery imitate the vibrancy of the city and the bustling of human life. The paintings here are bold and chunky, with the paint applied heavily in many layers on the canvasses. The pieces in this section and throughout the exhibit are designed to play with the viewer’s perception, offering one image as seen from up close, and another from a few steps back.

After New York City, the viewer travels to the coast of Cranberry Island, Maine. The paintings here are in the same chunky style that Li used in New York City, and connected by a purple hue depicting one of Li’s favorite subjects: water. The journey continues from Maine to Switzerland, transitioning from a purple theme to a blue one, and from chunky, textured paintings, to smooth ones. The works in this section show Lake Maggiore and its surrounding mountainscapes on the border of Switzerland and Italy. These are followed by more city works, organized in a 6×6 grid of individual pieces that collaborate to form a larger image. The exhibit ends with another set of jazz drawings. This return to the simplicity of the sketches perhaps is perhaps symbolic of a return for Li back to normalcy. Done with her travels, she’s back with her sketchpad, observing and creating.

The exhibit is open until Oct. 7, and is supported by the John B. Hurford ‘60 Center for the Arts and Humanities, as well as the Haverford College Libraries.

From the print edition published Oct. 5, 2016

Column

Why I Left Home

By Arianna Bernas, Opinion Editor

The International Students: intrepid, curious, and hungry to prove ourselves. Oftentimes, it seems as if we’ve always wanted an educational experience outside of home, and for some of us that may be true. But no matter how ready we may feel we are, leaving home and everything we know is not easy.

I am by no means attempting to demean the experience of students who didn’t go abroad for school. Such a drastic change is enough to make anyone anxious, no matter how far from home, and I can’t speak for others. Those of you whose homes are separated by oceans, however, I feel I understand a little better. The stresses of adjusting to a new environment, culture and community that are so different from what we’re used to can make it tough to remember why we’re here in the first place. I’m definitely guilty of wishing I could take it all back sometimes. It’s so easy to forget just why I made the decision to take such a huge step out of my comfort zone. So why, then, do we do it? Why do we leave home?

Perhaps, if you’re anything like me, you’ve always known. I remember sitting on the padded mats of my childhood bedroom, listening to my mother tell me about Bryn Mawr (yes, I’m a second generation Mawrtyr): about the lanterns, the changing leaves, the waves of homesickness and the bonds she built with her friends. I could recite the Anassa Kata in my sleep even before I was admitted. She told me about how she relished in her own independence; she built her own experience and learned to live fearlessly. It quickly became something I wanted for myself. Since then, my parents and I worked together to make my dream of studying abroad come true. If you hold on to a dream for that long, it becomes almost like destiny.

For others, the idea of leaving home is complicated by the fact that where home is can be difficult to define. I was having a conversation with Cara Navarro (BMC ‘20), a friend of mine, when she brought brought this concern to light. “I’m Filipino, but I didn’t grow up in the Philippines,” she told me. “I grew up in China, Cambodia and here (the US). I don’t really know where my home is.” For Cara, leaving home was less about leaving a place, but more about leaving the most constant presence in her life thus far: her family. For someone like me, who’s only lived in one place her whole life, leaving home was about leaving both the familiarity of Manila and the comfort of my family and friends.

What Cara and I both had in common was that we both felt out of place. I can’t remember a time growing up that I didn’t think about leaving home, which feels horrible to say now. Despite having lived in the Philippines my whole life, I grew up in international schools and constantly got glimpses into to other cultures alongside my own. I remember drawing a self portrait when I was about five or six and giving it to my parents. Understandably, they were pretty upset; I’d drawn myself with blonde hair and blue eyes. Even though it was crudely drawn, that portrait was an expression of how I felt. I always felt that my experience wasn’t truly Filipino, because I hadn’t gone to a traditional school and I could only speak Tagalog well enough to get by. It isn’t anybody’s fault but mine; had I not decided on pursuing my dream of studying abroad, I would’ve had a more traditional upbringing. But it always made sense to me that I should leave because I thought it would somehow help me realise where I belong.

More than anything, though, I think what drove me to leave home was my desire to be independent. Even if I’d gone to college at home and lived on my own, my family would’ve been so accessible. Maybe you’re like me, and you wanted this kind of intrepid independence, far removed from everything you know. Maybe you don’t want it. In any case, we signed up to grow up. Leaving home is a pivotal point in all our lives; it signifies us stepping, no matter how tentatively, into adult life. And as scary at is may seem, it’s also incredibly exciting.

That’s where this column comes in. Over the course of the next couple of months, I’ll be sharing with you what my life is like as an international student at Bryn Mawr. I’ll be sharing my experience in hopes that you, wherever you may call home, will come to understand and appreciate your own experience. Most of all, I hope what I have to say makes you feel a little less displaced, and a little more at home.

From the print edition published Oct. 5, 2016

Column

Millennials Matter: How to Miss Class 101

By Abby Hoyt, Co-Editor-in-Chief

The following email was inspired by real life events.

Dear Professor,

I’m incredibly sorry to inform you that I will not be able to turn in that ten page paper due tomorrow at 11:47 a.m. or attend class at all for that matter. For you see, I’ve had an accident. I know what you’re thinking; “This is just another one of my procrastinator students emailing at 1:00 a.m. asking for an extension.” Well, for once you are sorely mistaken. You see, earlier this evening I was the victim of a terrible travesty.  

I was at the library writing a different paper for a different class and got up to go to the bathroom. On the way back from the bathroom, a book caught my eye. It was the perfect book. The one that would have been a spectacular addition to the essay I had, of course, already written for your class.  I took it down off the shelf and immediately felt my shoulder plummet towards the ground with the weight of this book. I looked up at the sky to ask God for the strength to help me carry this book back to my desk when I saw yet another book that would have been perfect for your class! Just my luck! I stacked that book on top of my other one and continued down the aisle back to my laptop where the essay for another class (not yours, of course) was waiting for me. Before I knew it I had quite the stack of books that were all miraculously related to your course. I had never been more excited to do research for a paper I had already written in all my life!

Unfortunately, my intense excitement and passion for learning caused me to miss a step on the library staircase and send me spiraling down to the bottom level. I hit my head on the concrete floor and sprained my ankle, but worst of all, the books—the beautiful books for my ADDITIONAL research—went flying through the air and out the window. Oh no! Now nobody will know about the brilliant new research regarding agricultural practices of serfs in Western Europe during the Middle Ages! Please forgive me for not being able to recall the findings of this Earth-shattering work, but I did hit my head pretty darn hard.

So, my initial plan for tomorrow was to leave my room around 6 a.m. and crawl all the way to your classroom so that I can attend your seminar at 11 a.m., but I knew I would faint on the way there from heat exhaustion or pain intolerance because my newly implemented Buddhist lifestyle encourages me to purify my body and prevents me from taking any sort of anti-pain medication.

I now acknowledge the absurdity and futility of this journey, so instead I will appear in class via the drone I bought off Amazon last week when I was bored in class (again—not your class, of course). If the drone malfunctions, I will get notes from one of my more reliable peers. Please let me know if there’s any other way I can make up missed the class time. Thank you so much for your unfailing understanding of my predicament. I hope to see you as soon as soon as I am allowed to leave my bed as recommended by my doctor.

Sincerely,

Your Humble Millennial

From the print edition published Oct. 5, 2016