A recent call went out across camp for submissions of “dangerous art” for a show that will be presented this week. Although we’re not sure if they mean sculptures made out of pointy objects or paintings with the capability to explode, the poster for the show calling for submissions stated that “space is very limited so only the most dangerous and creative art will be accepted.” Apparently there’s finally a venue on campus for art created by James Bond villains .With those guidelines in mind pieces were selected from student and alumni submissions after a rigorous jury process was conducted last week. The student-run art show will go on from April 30 to May 2 in the Neuberger Museum of Art. There’s been no word yet on any safety precautions or security screenings at the door for guests. Yes, that is a joke. Leave the bulletproof vests at home.
~Alicia Miller

The same student Planning Committee that designed the Election Confessions event last November is presenting a new topical night of entertainment next week. The similarly titled night of Neu Media Confessions is based around the current New Media: Why exhibit and is planned during the museum’s monthly First Wednesdays program, a night of extended museum hours and entertainment designed especially for Purchase students. As previously reported within the Independent, the exhibit includes a far reaching range of new topics involving art, technology and their intersection with everyday life, including Margot Lovejoy’s Confess, a piece built around confessions people have called into a hotline set up by Lovejoy. A booth located at the back of the display allows visitors to leave their own confessions, after which their voices are disguised and added to the project.

Along with the extended hours of the museum, the night will include live music from Joe Izzo’s Band, Weird Korea, Casey Chandler, G Scott Corey and more. The night also includes live performances by Purchase college students. Guests are asked to confess something and share it by hanging it on a clothesline in the gallery. Everyone who confesses something will be added to a drawing to win one of two prizes in the museum gift shop. The Art Club will also be providing an “exquisite corpse” book (an ongoing cooperative collage) that visitors are welcome to add to.

Neu Media Confessions is presented on Wednesday, May 6 from 4-8 pm.
~Alicia Miller

By Kiera Vallone
Layout Intern

It started as just two people with signs trying to promote a message. But their message wasn’t welcome here.

Two evangelical Christians, Jim and Faith Deferio, stood near Campus Center South in the mall at Purchase at around 12 p.m. with their large signs proclaiming “Thousands of ex-homosexuals have experienced the life changing love of Jesus Christ” and promoting sites such as www.exhomosexuals.com and www.hopeforhomosexuals.com. A small group of students started heckling the pair with pro-homosexual remarks. UPD officers made the protesters move toward the Great Lawn, in order to avoid traffic problems.

More and more students began crowding the area, and an informal counter-protest formed. Students from the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Union (GLBTU) waved a rainbow flag and tossed rainbow-colored Frisbees. Eventually our Fall Ball Queen - Russell Zambito (aka Queen LaQueefa), made an appearance decked out in a green wig, shiny black bodysuit, and fierce heels – and lead the crowd in chants such as “Not on my home!” and “Get off our lawn!”

Jim Deferio continued to try to quote Bible verses, but he was winning no converts in the crowd that numbered over 100 students. The rallying students were such a force that UPD had to set up barricades between the students and the protesters. In retaliation, Zambito yelled through a megaphone lines such as “I am an ex-homo. I was a homosexual, then I came to Purchase and became a flaming faggot and I love it!” and “They’ll go home in their shitty cars, while we fly away on fairy dust and drink.”
At one point, Jim Deferio took the megaphone from Zambito, in order to attempt to be heard over the crowd. He took a wet-nap and thoroughly wiped down the mouthpiece of the megaphone – a move that came off as being disgusted by “gay germs” and elicited resounding boos from the crowd. Students responded to the protesters with signs of their own, with messages such as “Hate don’t fly, love will never die” and “Other things your imaginary friend supports – slavery, rape, genocide, infanticide.”
“People come to this school to escape this,” said Rosa Jaffe, a junior sociology major. “As a community, this was beautiful.”

“My parents are conservative Republicans,” said Chelsea Harper, a junior History major, “and they’ve told me if I’m a lesbian, it’s okay. They’d be here protesting with me.”

Eventually, under the guidance of Zambito among others, large groups of students began to walk away, realizing that yelling at the Defarios would only fuel their fire. “They won’t change their mind, they’re conditioned and brainwashed.” said Jaffe.

Even though it was clear their message was not welcome, the Defarios stayed on the lawn with their signs for hours. A much smaller group of students were still around the barricades, while others chose to sit and watch the proceedings from further back. “It looked like Culture Shock part two,” said Jonathan Townsend-Pitt, a senior journalism major.

“There’s no such thing as a constructive dialogue with a Christian evangelical,” said ChristaLea Panzironi, junior literature and Latin American studies major. “There’s no need to be hateful.”
“They’re not going about this the right way,” said Liv Bargabos, regarding the Defarios. “If they want to sit and have a debate, that’s okay.”

Around 3 p.m., Panzironi encouraged the remaining students to step away from the Defarios.
“If you honestly support gay people, you shouldn’t give them fuel,” said James Dier, a senior journalism/drama studies major. Around 15 students formed a “counter counter-protest” circle on the lawn, having a mature discussion about religion, the Bible, and homosexuality.

Blake Reynolds, a first-year studio composition student and the one responsible for the “Your imaginary friend…” sign, told the circle how Jim Defario refused to answer his question about the morality of committing genocide. “You can speak for Him to people to not be gay, but you can’t answer a question that makes you uncomfortable?”

Reynold’s question was not the only one avoided by Jim. “What do you hope to achieve today?” Townsend-Pitt asked repeatedly, but Jim ignored him and chose to fiddle with his camera instead.
While Jim insisted on spewing out his beliefs without listening to the students’ words, his wife, Faith, was more open to talking maturely with students.

“I kind of expect more from university students,” said Faith, in reference to the students who would yell curses. “It’s just reciting trite phrase. Though there are some students asking good questions.”
Regarding why they were out to promote their message, Faith said “This is presenting an angle that hasn’t been. We thought that a university is a good place to express different opinions.”

Thomas Schwarz, president of the college, sent an email to the campus around 3:30 p.m., explaining that the First Amendment protected “distasteful and objectionable speech.” His message said that the protesters’ opinions were “inconsistent with those held by the Purchase College administration and community,” and encouraged students to engage civilly with the visitors regardless of their views.
During the “counter counter-protest”, Allison Malinowski, a senior Drama Studies major, offered her opinion as to what she felt would have stopped the protesting.

“If Bea Arthur were here,” she said, “this wouldn’t have happened.”

By James Dier
Staff Writer

First came the bra, then the panties, next the crumpled paper, the coffee cups, the water bottles.
“NO, NO, NO, NO, NO” beamed the megaphone held by Janice Kahl, alumnus and operations assistant at the Performing Arts Center, as her fist struck first up and then down extending beyond the university police barrier, “PURCHASE HAS ALWAYS STOOD FOR PEACE AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO TODAY. NO ONE THROWS ANYTHING, I IMPLORE YOU. NO ONE THROWS A SINGLE THING.”

Jim Deferio’s wife, Faith, held a camera. She scanned the mass of protesters as they screamed various chants. A student confronts Faith by dancing within personal space as a University Police Officer pulls the student away.

The question of how their footage will be used looms. What scrutiny will be placed on their editing process; the community at Purchase could be misrepresented.

“I was not personally pleased with the throwing of cups, etc. by students,” said Russell Zambito, junior creative writing, and current Chair of the Senate. “Though I can understand the rage and tempt to become violent, it raises a question and notion to outsiders that we are violent and unintelligent.”
Raymond Cruz, sophomore new media and co-president of GLBTU, took notice of this as well. “Showing them violence like that only empowers them more and makes them feel the students at Purchase are unreasonable and irrational. Also, the only times that Jim was using his video camera was when the crowd was at its wildest.”

According to several articles found online, Jim Deferio has a history of suing state organizations for the things that happen during his protests. As a student body we need to be careful of what we say and do. Our lack of hindsight when several members of the crowd began to throw items was irresponsible.
“I understand that it is easy to react with anger in emotionally tense situtations,” said Kahl. “It is easy to retalitate when you feel you’ve been attacked. Sometimes you just need someone to diffuse and de-esculate it. I believe that every form of dialogue and non violent direct action should take place and that violence is counter-productive, aside from that, it’s just bad manners.”

But the student energy that day was beautiful and justified. Emotions were thick, real, and the stakes were high for many. “I think that the reaction of the community was incredible in this matter,” said Zambito, who led the protesters in chants. “Within an hour, some 200 plus students rallied on the edge of the Great lawn.”

“I am glad that the students got angry at what was going on and made it very clear that Jim and his wife were not welcomed at Purchase,” said Cruz.

While this was made clear by the student and administrative protesters, the married couple apparently had a permit stating that they could be here until 5pm. They had no plans of moving. Yet Students gathered in front of the police barriers all day listening, antagonizing, and questioning the Deferios even after Zambito decreed as a campus we ignore their hateful speech. This was probably a goal of Deferio’s, to stick with him until the end.

“Jim clearly wanted to shake up students at a time where everyone was busy with their classes,” said Cruz. “Personally, the school should be well informed about who gains permits to hold protests on campus and notifying the students should be a top priority.”

“I do wish that we could have left the demo as one group. If we walk away together, there is no reason for them to stay,” said Kahl.

“If no one had gone down to shout and push at them they would have had no one to spew their bullshit at,” said ChristaLea Panzironi Junior Literature and Latin American Studies. “They were little specks down at the horizon line from the mall.”

“I feel that it was good that there was a dialogue between the two sides but at the same time I wish people just walked away from him and ignored his presence,” said Cruz.

“Nothing would be worse for them than to have no spiritual battle to fight, and spiritual battle is exactly what we gave them,” said Panzironi.

“In the future, I would like a direct dialogue and discourse between students,” said Zambito. “More specifically, cultural and politically aligned clubs and orgs that would allow sections of our community or our community at large, the opportunity to prepare for the worst and formulate a more structured and safer response.”

“Another thing that GLBTU as well as all the other groups could do is conduct a huge meeting on how to properly protest and knowing your rights at a protest,” said Cruz.

“The objective of our demonstration was to tell these people that this is our campus, our workplace and our home and that views that foster hate and fear are not welcome here,” said Kahl. “I believe we did that.”

By Justin Tinker
Staff Writer

Since my arrival to Purchase College last August, I have heard many people express grievances, and uneasy feelings over the conduct of the PSGA. I have heard people articulate thoughts that the PSGA is a biased organization with personal interests at heart, rather than the interests of the student body. I have listened to students convey their beliefs that the PSGA is merely a group of friends who came together to decide the fate of Purchase activities, and I have done my best to decipher between facts and fallacies. Since August, I have had the chance to meet some of the senators who have been elected to represent not only me, but you as well. While I feel there are certainly Senators who devote themselves to us (the student body) and conduct themselves in accordance with the constitution, I do feel that some members of the PSGA do not.

Yesterday the PSGA held its last meeting of the year to discuss the approval of the proposed budget for the next school year. Early on it was clear that there was concern, confusion, and uncertainty over what had been proposed. People from different groups expressed concern over cuts toward their respected programs, or clubs, and while some Senators in attendance spoke up, and understood the concerns of these groups, the majority of senate did not.

The meeting seemed rushed by Chair of the Senate Russell Zambito, who seemed more concerned with the timeliness of passing the budget, rather than with student opinion and distress over cuts towards their programs. Coordinator of Finance, Danielle DePalma seemed flustered by the raised concerns of students like Ed Willock, who had nearly $7000 cut from tech services. Jordan Lee Davis and Dan Slyfield of PUSH also tried to get an explanation towards why $2200 had been cut from their organization, yet DePalma seemed to dance around the questions stating that these questions had been previously answered at Tuesdays Town Hall meeting, or that requested funds did not meet the PSGA standards for approval.

The need to reach a timely decision on the budget is understandable, because if a vote for approval by senate is not reached the budget would be frozen until next year which could jeopardize Fall Fest and other college related activities; however, sacrificing the voice and concern of students should never be made, especially by a association who prides itself on being there for the student body.

The PSGA budget is something that affects each and every Mandatory Student Activity Fee paying student, and as the budget is comprised of this money, therefore the issue of it is something that should be taken with careful consideration, and not be rushed into decision. It should be a process with vigilant deliberation, especially for programs that are facing cuts. Also explanations towards raises in other programs should be given. For instance The Brick, which coincidently has its Editor on the Senate, was granted a $3300 increase.

There are many discrepancies within the way the PSGA conducted its self over the budget issue. Early this year MEC Jeff Levin was chastised and almost impeached for not providing minutes to his meetings, and now the PSGA has committed a similar error on an issue of much higher importance, the budget.

DePalma stated to Senate yesterday that at the town hall meeting to discuss the budget that it was her “own person decision not to take minutes” which would void the meeting, as the PSGA will not recognize meetings without the proper protocol of submitted minutes.

Obviously there are fundamental contradictions within the PSGA; the issue of Roberts Rules versus our Purchase Constitution clearly outlines a major problem within our student government. Fair and unbiased student representation has not been met as there are numerous conflicts of interests within the PSGA.

The Purchase Student Government Association’s mission as stated on their website is to “improve the quality of life for students at Purchase”, and goes on to say that they “work constantly toward that goal”; however, many feel that this is not always the case. At yesterdays meeting this was quite evident, as Senate chair Zambito reversed a voted and approved motion to keep the meeting open, and choose to move to a closed session, in an effort to end what he clearly felt was a delayed process to the eventual approval of the budget.

Kathryn Nasto
Copy Editor

As the semester comes to a close and preparations are made for the fall, the campus community will notice a very prominent absence. The absence I speak of is that of Professor Ronnie Scharfman, who is retiring this year after 30 years of teaching at SUNY Purchase.

During her time here, Professor Scharfman, professor of both French and Literature, has taught French language courses, Caribbean Literature, Jewish Texts, and Surrealism. She has also been actively involved in the Focus on French Film Festival that happens annually here at Purchase for the past five years, an idea that she helped to conceive with the Alliance Francaise of Greenwich. About her time working at Purchase, Professor Scharfman said, “I feel very lucky, even privileged to have been at Purchase. I have wonderful colleagues, many of whom are now friends, and with whom I’ve worked in an environment of cooperation and not competition.”

Many students who have had her have mentioned that her presence on campus will be missed and that the energy with with she teachers her subjects will be missed. They also feel that the caliber at which she presented herself both as a teacher and a person is one that you are unlikely to find anywhere else.
The love her students feel for her is also returned in her vast appreciation for the culture at Purchase. Also, the challenge her students have given her as a teacher is an experience she finds both satisfying and rewarding. “I have found many students to be unusual quirky, in a challenging and creative way and it’s been deeply rewarding opening the world of francophone and Jewish literatures that I love to young people who might not have been exposed to such a variety of amazing authors. Purchase is an unsual, creative place, despite its foibles and the economic difficulties of the State and the world. I hope it maintains that specialness in the face of all the challenges.”

However, with Professor Scharfman leaving, her absence means there are more spaces to the already somewhat small faculty for French language. This, plus the small numbers of students enrolled in French language classes, does worry and sadden Professor Scharfman as she prepares to leave. “I have watched our enrollments drop in French over the years - as they have elsewhere in the U.S. I can only hope that the college will push for a quality full-time Assistant Professor appointment in French, and put effort and support into helping more students study abroad for a year.”

This past week, on April 23, a conference was held to celebrate her retirement and to celebrate her work. It included presentations by various Professors from all over the country on the topic of Transnational, Diasporic and Postcolonial culture, a topic that Professor Scharfman specializes in. Her work and effort at Purchase has made such a strong contribution to the community and, as she wishes for Purchase, we all hope that she maintains that sense of specialness, as a teacher, in all her endeavors outside of Purchase.

By Dallas Mack
Staff Writer

Art, expression, collaboration; the themes of Purchase College will be on gleaming display all throughout campus this weekend at the 4th annual Cabaret.

Cabaret will be the largest collection of Purchase art work this year. The showcase includes 50 musical ensembles, 5 poets, 20 choreographed scores, 20 visual artists and 1 film. Consistently run in New York City and known as Downtown Cab, this year’s Hometown Cabaret, on campus, allows for easily accessed student art pieces.

The event is completely student run, organized and executed by those in the conservatories themselves. Student committees are the deciding judges on much of the showcased art. Those running this year’s Cabaret have taken every opportunity to completely utilize the resources of the campus. Events will be held on four different campus venues filling the entire brick ways with artistic ensembles.
Visual artists have been awarded the honor of having their work viewed in thea Neuberger, a prestige students are rarely privy to.

There will be everything from solo song writers to jazz combos, paintings to sculpture, classical dance to modern. Art from every genre, media and discipline will be brought together demonstrating the vastly differing talents of the Purchase artists. This sense of collaboration has given students a lot of free range on the pieces that audiences will be viewing.

Art is Dangerous are the words on the Hometown Cab website hinting at the limits that will be pushed in this year’s showcase; when one allows for student collaboration at this level truly anything is possible.

Collaboration is one of the core pieces to Hometown Cab. Where students are generally forced to their conservatories or areas of study, this showcase opens the doors for students from all boards of study to work together to make pieces that wouldn’t generally be seen. “More powerful than one imagination is two imaginations,” says Jim Mclewin faculty advisor for Hometown Cabaret. “Most art is extremely collaborative and Purchase does collaborative art more than any other school.”

This is the kind of event that makes Purchase truly unique. It’s very rare to have so many talented individuals in one place. Bringing those minds together puts actions to the words Art is Dangerous.
Some of the biggest cooperative efforts come from the combo of choreographers from the dance conservatory working with studio composition majors to create unique pieces of dance and music.
Page Foster, a senior in the studio composition program, is head of the student music committee. Foster elaborates on the importance of interdisciplinary pieces at Cabaret. “Students don’t think to reach out that much,” says Foster, “people get caught up in their own conservatory.”

Ed Willock head of tech services and student at Purchase College is running the tech for this year’s cab. “Anyone on this campus doing something artistic should take advantage of the opportunities right around them to work with other artists to make great pieces.”

In a school where art is a lifestyle, seeing the work of the students is meant to be infectious and set things in motion while allowing students to engage in the art of their peers. Hometown Cabaret not only allows the talent of students to shine, but is a threshold for the inspiration of others in their own artistic endeavors.

By Jess Goodwin
Staff Writer

May — the month of finals, graduation, and film screenings. Those reclusive film kids have been hard at work, and now the fruits of their labor will be shown for all to see.

The mini-film festivals at the end of each year are what I look forward to the most (even this year — screw graduating). Who knows what the film majors have been up to all these months, holed up in the bottom of the music building, or mysteriously gone to locations unknown? This is the chance to see just what they’ve been working on. I recommend that everyone attend at least a couple if not all of these screenings.

Tomorrow, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, at 7pm the freshmen will flaunt their stuff. Showing off their work will be Jenn Boronow, Caleb Foss, Minoo Allen, Darcie Wilder, Mike Oschins, Shane Sheehy, Emily Tomasik, John Morgan, Kevin Henthorn, Nicole Favale, Dozzia Mantock, Chris Frahme, Jon Robertson, Lucas Francy, Zach Lennon-Simon, Filip Kotsishevskiy, and Mattson Tomlin. Each night will run about two and half hours.

On Sunday, May 3, from 3pm to 9pm, Juniors Alex Atkins, Dan Frye, Daphne Davis, Greg Lawson, Ilana Ellis, Joe Volpe, Liam McGlynn, Mary Schwarzhans, Matthew Fels, Nikki Morse, Ricky Comuniello, and Virginia Smith will present their work.

Up next, on Thursday, May 7, from 7pm to 11pm are the sophomores. Showing their films are Christine Altidor, Hannah Bailey, Emily Berthold, Max Blecker, Alyssa Codamon, Brendan Dean, Juan Galindo, Sara Gardephe, Ryan Guiterman, Elizabeth Hixenbaugh, Patrick Katz, Efraim Klein, Will Klein, Joey Kucera, Elliot Lobell, Daniel McCartney, Zoe Miller, Julian Muller, Temi Olutunmbi, Daniel Onoda, and Mac Smullen.

Finally, on Saturday, May 9 and Sunday, May 10, at 7pm, the seniors will present their final Purchase projects. Screening will be Alan Lapointe, Alexandra Lopez, Andrew Gitomer, Anna Todd, Dan Ferrara, Emily Wilson, Jamie Wright, Joel Neville Anderson, Michael Borowiec, Nathan Rogers-Hancock, Nick Candreva, Sam Marine, Sam Strzelec, Sarah Semlear, Shan Huang, Shelly Kamiel, Stephen Ohocinski, Steven Levine, Taylor Williams, and William Dekker.

All showings will take place in the Choral Hall in the Music Building.

By Alicia Miller
Staff Writer

After watching that protest on the Great Lawn incredulously the other day, I did what most other kids probably had to do and headed over to the sweltering library mezzanine. Now I know none of you diligent SUNY students, including those seniors praying for the cessation of all matriculated work to come, even want to hear anything about our “bibliotheque” or books, this week’s piece is about a little something all of us can enjoy. Currently on display in that same library mezzanine is is a cadre of books as art objects designed by students. It’s a sight that even the most harried crammer before finals can appreciate.

A special note is made on the flier that was circulated around campus for the exhibit stating not only the students involved but also thanking the library director for use of the space and most interestingly the Director of the Neuberger Museum of Art, Thom Collins for materials. While it’s not quite clear to me exactly what the story is behind that tidbit I’m sure, knowing the personality of Mr. Collins, that it’s an interesting one to say the least.

Each participating student was given a table which was placed in the center of the room. Walking among the tables shows an incredible breadth and depth of works within such a small showing. Still, the use of books as a familiar object of day to day life is comforting and accessible despite the mutations each artist made. Students constructed, deconstructed, folded, cut and pasted each book within an inch of its life. Some used only the cover as an element in a 3-D sculpture that bursts out of its confined suggested space. Most overhauled entire books, like Chloe Thompkins, who refurbished and collaged art history books to challenge the conventions of classical art pieces and tell new stories from their cut up elements. Equally well done was Thompkins’s refurbishment of a book into a small shadow box or diorama complete with scenery, a small doll with a birdcage surrounding her head and the phrase “spare the rod, spoil the child” written on an interior wall.

Jane Rissewyck’s sculptural pieces made from gluing together the pages of books and then carving into them create inventive shapes out of the old form of a book and make those of us who hate to even mark a book with pen (like me) flinch a little.

Aiyana Knauer also took the knife to a copy of Jumanji like the ones many of us read as a child and carved out crisp silhouettes not in the shape of blatant pig-tailed girls and baseball-playing boys but adults or teens. She then glued together pages into long folds, on one side displaying the negative space created by the cutouts and on the other re-applying them to the book to create new characters out of the positive space they occupied.

Overall the display is small, but its central location (both in the middle of a frequently visited part of the library visible from the entrance and in the building possibly every resident of this campus will pop into at least once before semester’s end) it’s a site that you can’t and shouldn’t miss. Seriously, you’ll be burned out from trying to study for your umpteenth final anyway. You should at least treat yourself to something interesting you don’t have to memorize before you go pass out reading and wake up with papers strewn all over the floor.

Off the Main Stacks: A collection of experimental artist books is on display in the Purchase College Library Mezzanine Level from now until Sunday, May 10th.

Dear Editor,

We screamed and spit; pointed and laughed; chanted and stoned the ignorant protestors with our trash, and all parties fed off the adrenaline. The students cheered and reveled in their rightness and in their number, their support. The middle-aged protestor suffered the torments and trash, the jeers and laughs, and fought for his silly beliefs as if he were a saint- in his mind perhaps he saw himself as a saint or martyr. The policemen chuckled. It was the kind of event our Purchase community, myself included, innately craves, a real protest. But in our stance against ignorance, we all but failed. We succumbed to our adrenaline and anger, and we forgot ourselves. We cursed and screamed “fuck you,” to one of our fellow students. We hated him. I don’t know his name and don’t wish to (dare I look him in the eye?), but he was the student reading from the Bible. We didn’t pull him aside to talk to him, we didn’t do anything to try and save him from ourselves- his fellow students. I am not questioning the obvious close-mindedness and arrogance of the protestors (and I want to commend Russ Zambito for his handling of the situation and especially for leading us, the crowd, away from the protest, in a move that illuminated the danger of hypocrisy in participating in our anti-protest), but I would like to say clearly that is was severely close- minded of us to be so hateful to other human beings, especially because one of them was one of us. Our community, without stopping to chew, swallowed whole one of it’s own and called it a victory. We’re getting sloppy- forgetting to think or feel for others. Purchase students, above all others, should be well aware that hate catches like wildfire and can even burn those who have felt its heat before. Shame on us.

Signed,
Dante De Leo

Dear Editorial Staff,

Last week you published an article about a new food club on campus: Meat Club. I read through the piece and noticed a serious factual error: Liam Kirby’s hair never caught fire. We joked about the alleged incident numerous times during interviews with the writer, Peter Foy who many of us know personally. We believed that he would pick up on the joke, and, if he didn’t, the Independent’s Editorial Staff would recognize the incredulity of the situation and remove the alleged fact from the article.
This false statement calls Meat Club’s safety practices into question and adds a serious blemish to our reputation. The Editors’ even noted that they questioned the veracity of the alleged “Kirby Aflame” incident and our goal of featuring exotic meats. While we remain steadfast in our goal to feast upon the muscly tissue of emus, camels and dolphins regardless of what the Editors’ think, we don’t take issue with that statement, only the former. Seeing as the Independent’s staff published that they questioned this defamatory statement, we would almost immediately win any libel suit against the publication.
To qualify for libel, the newsmagazine must have published a false, defamatory statement and identified a recognizable group or individual. The publication must have gone through regular reporting practices or questioned the veracity of the statements. Anyone who attended meat club will tell you that Liam Kirby’s hair never caught fire. I never poured grease on his hair and we never fling meat around carelessly. The Editors’ note shows that the Independent questioned the veracity, but published the article anyway.

I hope that the Independent will remember this situation when publishing dubious or controversial articles in the future. Meat Club and, hopefully, the rest of the Campus Community won’t accept this sort of scandalous yellow journalism in the future. If Meat Club had the required finances, we’d take legal action action against your paper and use your future budget to buy synthesized human tissue and hold an end of the year Gala.

Please recognize your importance on the Purchase Campus and understand the influence that the Independent holds within this community. Unlike other services, you’re the most visible and have the ability to change the way students view individuals and groups within the Purchase Community. Our reputation in many ways depends on the Independent and the Independent’s existence depends on your ability to shift through the here-say and find the truth.

Sincerely,
Meat Club Treasurer and Outlaw
Tony Cella

P.S. On a personal note, I do not worship Satan, Hitler or Nordic Gods as a previous Backpage comment claimed. While I understand the Backpage is a forum for humor, my future employers and fellow students may not. I encourage the Independent to add a disclaimer to the Backpage that explains its purpose. This proposed disclaimer could save you a great deal legal trouble in the future.

Dear Editor,

On The Conviction Of The Innocent

What is it that allows the law, that is, the police- and their word, to have a much higher standing than my own, or your own? Why is it that one officer’s word can make null the words of the masses? I’ve been pondering this issue over the past week as I’ve watched a friend, a student here at Purchase College, go from top to bottom. We are always infatuated with the notion of the fall of people- we spend many hours watching those crime shows and reading novels that culminate in a grand court scene. The ultimate judgment. The final judgment. There is something so apocalyptic in the judge, the jury- deciding our fate. What is to come of me? Will they allow me my freedom, or will they throw me into a jail cell? Will they open the gates of heaven, or will they cast me into hell? When our freedom rests on the minds of the unaffected, surely hell is the most obvious option.

And hell is what the main character of my story is destined to experience. We shall call him Hart Seely: for that is his name in this story, and in real life as well. This is a story about the injustice of our court system, and to talk about this I have to adapt a new voice, that is, the voice of the court itself.
On the night of Friday, April 17th, Hart Seely was arrested. It was dark, it was chaotic- it was Culture Shock. We all know about Culture Shock. The once a year festival at our university where we get a chance to celebrate the spring, the upcoming summer, the completion of (hopefully) a successful semester of learning, thinking and working. We all want a celebration for a job well done, and this is what we hope to accomplish through this great music festival. Back to the narrative. It was during Streetlight Manifesto. It was wild celebration and there was a mosh pit. Emerging from this setting there are three stories: Hart’s story, the story of the police at the time of the arrest, and the story of the police the day after the arrest. We will examine Hart’s story first.

Hart was standing by the edge of the mosh pit during Streetlight Manifesto. The police kept stopping the band and telling the crowd that they must move back. “Take three steps back” was the catch phase of their set. The band was forced to stop playing multiple times in order for the cops to tell everybody to move back. Implied with this is that the crowd was too close to the barricades and the police that were positioned directly in front of the stage. Conversely, the police were too close to the crowd and needed some room- from the students, and from the mosh pit. Hart was pushed back by someone in the mosh pit, and accidentally hit into deputy King- a Westchester County police officer. More specifically, Hart’s hand hit into the officer’s hat. The officer immediately pulled Hart out of the crowd while he was pleading to know “What did I do?”, and the officer replied, “You know what you did”. Hart was arrested.
Now, just after this, that is, after he was pulled out of the crowd, I watched the arrest. Once Hart was put into a squad car, I walked up to the group of officers talking about what just happened. This is the story of the police of the night of the arrest. One officer, who I later found to be deputy King, was telling the other officers how Hart had hit into his hat, and it (that is, the hat) got pushed over his face. I caught the tail end of this story, so I asked another officer what happened. He conveyed the same story to me as I stood there in disbelief that Hart would do something like this on purpose. And yes, I know that if he had any drinks at all that night, he was not drunk enough to make a decision as dumb as that.
The next day, Hart gets back from jail. Yes, from jail. He accidentally hit into a person and spent the night at UPD, where he shared the facilities with a student who had taken psychedelics, and was vomiting all over himself for hours. In response to this, the a UPD officer came into the room, and told the student who was repeatedly vomiting on himself to “Get in the bathroom.” and threatened that if he didn’t, he would “break his neck”. These are the people who decide our fate- people who use physical intimidation and death to get their point across. I think maybe a word for this type of person is a “thug”. Listen, I’m not a scoundrel, I’m a student with rights.

Hart spent the next morning in jail cell in Valhalla. He was shipped to a cell outside of our humble campus at around 11:00 AM, where he was finally informed of what he was being accused of. Bear in mind, this is about twelve hours after he was dragged out of the crowd, while being told “You know what you did”. This cell was shared with a few people, some coming and some going. Among these were real criminals, you know, people who had actually done something wrong, such as being found with pounds of illegal drugs. And this is our Hart Seely, innocent and wrongfully accused. Now, overnight he became even more wrongfully accused, if you could imagine such a thing. Overnight, the police changed his story to not only purposefully hitting the cop’s hat, but added, yes in addition to this, that he was attempting to steal the officer’s gun. This new charge became so much the emphasis that the original offense, in which he was arrested for, has faded into the background.

Hart Seely is accused of assault on a police officer, and attempted robbery of a police officer’s firearm.

Hart Seely has been suspended from school. He is allowed to finish out his classes for this semester, but is not allowed in any residence area. He is not allowed to go into his room. This presents a large set of problems for someone whose home is in Syracuse and does not own a car. Next semester he is completely suspended from school. From this, what can we deduce? He is allowed on campus- and therefore is not a real threat. Even the administration knows that he is not a real threat, or else he would be never allowed at the university again. If Hart was someone who legitimately had criminal intentions, he would rightfully not be welcomed at a place where we advocate safe learning, and yet they still attempt to ruin his clean streak at Purchase College. At his hearing within the school, deputy King did not even show up. He has ultimately condemned a student, but does not care enough to come to his hearing and say “he is guilty”. Yet, with the lack of the accuser, or, the lack the police officer, the judicial board did not listen to my own story of the arrest, or the multiple character witnesses that included two professors. His criminal court case is on May 12th. Read that again-”His criminal court case.” Is Hart a criminal? You tell me. Tell them. Whether or not you are a detractor of the police- whether you are an anarchist or a fascist- surely you can see there is something wrong here. Something here is not right, something here is not just. As a student body, we can not let these charges stand. We must act, because it could be me who stumbles on the wrong person. Because next time it could be you who stumbles on the wrong person. I hope that when that happens you will be there for me, because I will be there for you. If we let the police get away with these false accusations, we are affectively letting them take a shit on us, as students and believers in justice, as a whole. This is the same justice that these police are installed in order to protect. Read this. Think about this. Do not let this story go, because it is more than a story, it is someone’s life. There has not been a moment in my time at this university that has been more urgent- and I can’t say for sure in yours, but I’m sure you can still see the importance. We are students. We are forward thinking. We are educated. We don’t just accept things, it is our tradition as students- from Europe in the mid 1800s to the United States in the mid 1900s, to Greece just a few months ago, to Purchase now? Only if you want it. Only if you care.

If you want to know what you can do, if you are dedicated, if you have an idea of what to do, no matter how large or how small, e-mail me. There is a petition that will be sent to our school’s president along with anyone else it should concern. Sign it.
alex.moskowitz@purchase.edu

Signed,
Alex Moskowitz

By Christopher Vaughan

Students better get their fake blood and mascara ready because Zombie Prom is back. Make plans to go to the salvation army in Port Chester to get the dirtiest cocktail dress or tuxedo jacket you can find. Being one of Purchase’s most anticipated events on campus it is the only affair that kids plan weeks in advance trying to look as horrid as possible. Zombie Prom is an annual prom-like show where the student body dresses up like the walking dead while dancing to some hip shaking bands.
Held in the Stood starting at 8:30PM, it’s been the talk of the campus being the one night where everyone can be as creative as possible. With already 385 confirmed guests on Facebook it is sure to be a packed event at the Student Center, bringing in people who do not even normally attend shows there. Student, Marc Giannavola says, “I’ve heard a lot about it. I’m pretty stoked to go out looking like a 80’s hair metal zombie.” It will be a surprise for all who have not experienced it yet only hearing about it through upper classmen and ridiculous stories.

It will begin with the zombie parade where everyone meets in the quad while one of the night’s bands conducts all of the people from the Olde to the New and finally to the Stood while rounding up any stray Zombies along the way. There will also be a new media photo stand with a tri-pod and zombie themed background where anyone can take cadaverous looking pictures with their friends. There is a lot of preparation for this event between the gallons of blood, booking all of the bands and organizing. General Programming Coordinator Becky Sellinger planned this event and said it should be well worth the wait. With so much anticipation for this event it should have the biggest turnout yet.

Between the fake blood and sweaty bodies zombie prom has seen many memorable performances throughout the years. Some of the most well known underground bands have played including: Matt and Kim, World Inferno Friendship Society and Mischief Brew. This year is no different. Included on this line-up is one of Westchester’s most forward thinking experimental bands No one and the Somebodies. Also to coincide with the theme of Zombie Prom there will be a slew of spooky danceable carnival-esque bands like Donner Party Picnic, The 999 Eyes Freak Show, Skeleton Breath and others. There will even be a full marching band that will be sure to lead the way of the zombie invasion. Each band incorporates something different to the show, from the spazzy melodies of Skeleton Bat to Donner Party Picnic’s swinging punk and Tom Waits-like crooning. With all of these diverse bands playing they will undoubtable induce dancing throughout the night.

Zombie prom is so drastically different from a normal Stood show because it is completely DIY, with everyone trying to create the most outrageous attire. Even though it may be in April it seems that students are more excited about dressing up for this than halloween. As Becky Sellinger said “It is a lot more successful then halloween because that is so stigmatized and this goes beyond the horizon. We as a campus create and perpetuated this. Plus people are always looking for a reason to dress up.” Purchase students identity so much with this show every year bringing it into the spotlight, according to Sellinger, “this may be a huge generalization but it is easy to say that a majority of the Purchase population are not average prom goers and are not excited to get drunk with their graduating class. It is a spoof on prom, a weird dreamy mockery of it.” Zombie Prom has gained increasing popularity and has become Purchase’s own bizarre social party, only with zombies.

Zombie Prom is sure to be one of the most unique and absurdly enjoyable events of the year. Bringing together music, zombies and a whole lot of fake blood. Just remember, when you are getting your costume do not, I repeat, do not forget the fake blood.

By Dana Ellis
Editor-in-chief

So by the time you read this, it’ll be Thursday, the day before the beloved, the coveted, Zombie Prom. For those of you who are worried about preparing for this night that is sure to be full of various mayhem and depravity, fear not. Listed here are some useful hints to help everyone in their Friday preparations. Additionally, here we will be providing some pointers and advice for preparing for the big night of undead debauchery.

For starters, if you haven’t already, plan a trip to the Salvation Army in Port Chester to buy some amazingly undead duds at low, low thrift store prices. The cheesier, the more outlandish, the better. Remember this is zombie prom, this night knows no bounds.

Also, every good zombie needs to be congealed and covered in blood. Some recommendations for creating believable blood is to mix red and blue food coloring with corn syrup. To create a richer consistency blood (ie. one that is thick and congeals) red or blue drink powder is recommended, or cocoa powder to thicken the consistency and make it taste delicious as well.

Wounds. For those who intend on going all out, gory wounds are recommended. Most websites suggest liquid latex for creating that perfect wound. But beware, some people are allergic to latex and it’s recommended that everyone apply a small amount first in order to test and see if they are allergic. It is also recommended that before applying either the glue or latex, shave the area first in order to prevent the inevitable pain you’ll experience post zombie prom to get the makeup off.

Liquid latex can be found at most costume stores but for those of you who are looking for a cheap alternative, applying Elmers Glue can create a flaky sort of undead look too. Also mixing toilet paper with either the liquid latex or the glue can create a sort of crinkly dead skin texture, and is recommended. Finally, for those of you who are hell bent on making yourself look as undead as humanly possible, apply a large amount of whitish, greenish, blackish, purplish, costume make-up on your face, arms and various other appendages.

One tip that was especially helpful in terms of applying zombie makeup was found on the website http://www.zombiepubcrawl.com/makeup.php, was to shine a flashlight on your face from above, and shadow the shadows with black or grey eye makeup. Use white to simulate exposed skull, red for blood, yellow and green for puss wounds. Finally apply that fake blood all over. Enjoy the prom everyone!

By Justin Tinker 

During last weeks Senate meeting, PSGA President Joe Matoske discussed the possibilities of creating a front gate to the entrance of the school, equipped with a guard to man the gate.�
The discussion was met with strong opposition by Senate members, with all but one Senator voting against the idea. This is a clear indication (as it should be since the PSGA represents the Student Body) of how the idea will be met by the students as a whole.
In the proposed plan, the Gate would only be in operation on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and would be used in an effort to lower crime on campus, as weekends usually tend to attract more non-Purchase students to campus. 

At first look this would seem to only benefit students, and provide added safety, but the opposition towards the proposed plan has been seen largely in the expense it would take to operate the gate.
 
Only counting weekends, costs of the guard gate would be at approximately $100,000 a year, and raises in transportation fees would be necessary to cover some of the expenses, while the Administration would be left paying for the rest. 

Another large factor that comes into play when discussing the possibility of building a gated entrance would be the disturbance of traffic, as guests of the school would most likely need to provide information on their destinations within the campus. Many students frequently have friends and family come visit the school, and issues surrounding the ease of getting in have raised concerns for some students. 

Orin Cameron, a senior cinema studies, stated that he felt the gate would provide added security to the campus as a whole, but would also add some annoyances, stating that if students would be required to provide guests lists for casual get-togethers with friends, “I could easily see this becoming a problem, not to mention the amount of time and effort needed in maintaining these lists of guests” Said Cameron. 

Some questions raised by students over the idea of a gate included things like, will it be UPD managed? And will restrictions be made towards visitors? How will the guard handle contacting students to allow visitors in? But the biggest question remains to be as to why?  

President Matoske stated yesterday after Senate adjourned, that the idea was still in early stages of discussion, and nothing has been formalized yet, and that he hopes to rely heavily on student opinion to make basis for decisions on the issue. President Matoske also stated that there will be many more meetings to discuss this and a campus wide email will be sent out to formally inform the campus of this proposition. 

While the idea of the guard gate is still in very early deliberation, both student body president Matoske and College President Schwartz have expressed their hopes of hearing student’s opinions on what to do, and look to base their eventual decisions heavily on what the students want.