Congratulations! You survived the application process, you have been accepted, you convinced your parents that a liberal arts degree is valuable, you’ve practiced your co-ed bathroom small talk, rehearsed one fun fact about yourself and shortly you will drive through Vassar’s Main Gate and start anew.
While at first words like the Deece or I lost my VCard will sound clumsy coming from your mouth, and it will probably take you until the end of your first semester to realize Rockefeller Hall has a fourth floor, soon you’ll be taking it all for granted.
You’ll learn what the VSA does, the acronyms and abbreviations will roll off your tongue and you’ll be privy to all the campus goings-on—from Meryl Streep sightings to student protests.
The best way to be constantly in the know is to read The Miscellany News. A better way is to help create it.
Every week we put out a 20-page print edition of The Miscellany News, Vassar’s paper of record that has been around since 1866. It takes a team of over 40 reporters, columnists, editors and photographers to make it happen, and we’re always looking for more people to pitch in. On Tuesday night you can find us in our office in Main Building, laughing and crying and trying to get the paper ready for the printer. (Sometimes there’s even guacamole.)
Wednesday afternoon we send it off, and by Thursday morning you can find our latest edition nearly anywhere on campus.
In addition to our print publication, we have a crew of bloggers producing online content every day. Covering topics ranging from literature to fashion to general pop culture, these writers post their sharp observations to Main Circle, The Misc’s central blog platform. Meanwhile, our juniors studying abroad stay connected to Vassar by chronicling their adventures on Far and Away. Our blossoming multimedia team works on videos and other audio and visual content to accompany articles, blog posts, or to help report breaking news.
Our dedicated team joins a legacy of writers, editors, bloggers and photographers who have gone on to internships and careers at places like Slate, BuzzFeed, Hachette Publishing, and The New York Observer along with countless other magazines and local newspapers. And we can get you where you want to go too. Whether you’re a Bio major, English major or have never written a newspaper article or blog post in your life, The Misc can bring your writing skills to the next level.
But if you can’t join us, read us. Tweet at us. Send us a tip. Come to our paper critiques on Sundays at 9 p.m. in the Rose Parlor and tell us what we can do better. It’s our job to inform and represent the student body, and you’re officially a part of it.
We’ll see you there.
Best,
Marie Solis
Editor-in-Chief