What, you may ask, is so great about being a part of The Miscellany News? What is it about the Misc that draws in reporters and columnists, and spits out editors and, of course, the occasional professional journalist? Maybe you’re wondering what really goes on behind the scenes before those magical times when the paper appears on the bench across from the Kiosk in Main and you’re finally able to tear through it. The seniors on the Misc Editorial Board are probably the best versed to be able to explain every juicy detail of their decision-making process as they’ve experienced multiple aspects of the Misc from many different angles.
Where would campus be without its weekly crossword (occasionally extra challenging and without numbers) and its range of campus voices? The Miscellany News isn’t just another extra-curricular. It is more than just a 30+ hour weekly commitment. The work only begins once the section editors have received articles from the writers. Seniors have been through and seen it all: the good and the bad, the victories and the ugliness. Features wanted to share its appreciation of our seniors, so we asked them for the DL. Below, we’ve shared some information, and maybe even too much, about the lovely seniors of the Misc Ed Board.
Noble Ingram
How long have you been working for the Misc? Palak has me beat by two weeks because she started at the second edition freshman year. I started writing as a news reporter. My first article was on the front page. I don’t know, I think they were desperate. But I got hooked.
What does it feel like to be in the limelight every week? It doesn’t ever feel like being in the limelight. But if you google us we have a Wikipedia. No one talks about The Miscellany News writers. The times people talk about writers is opinions writers, when you hear someone’s voice. Generally, I feel like this is a weird dynamic, because I feel like there is a degree of anonymity working at the Misc even if you put your name out there every week. The arena you are writing to in the Misc is much broader than the campus. We get comments from more people outside of campus than on it.
Favorite pickup line? “Date me, please.” Something polite.
Favorite periodical? You mean besides The Miscellany News?
Palak Patel
Spring break plans? I will be going to Ohio to stay with my friends and look for jobs online. Hopefully I’ll sleep, that will be nice. Maybe I’ll get a job, that would be really nice.
Longest you’ve ever spent in production night? 6:30 a.m. I remember walking back to my dorm in Strong and closing the curtains because the sun was up. I had a 9:00 a.m. class.
(Did you go? Yes)
History with the Misc? I started with Design in my freshman year, by second semester I was the Assistant Design Editor, and by sophomore year I was the Design Editor. I became a Senior Editor and finally, the Editor in Chief, a job I’ve had for over a year now. Out of everyone in this office, I’ve probably written the least. I wanted to be involved with the newspaper and they didn’t have a design team, so I joined.
What will you miss most about the Misc? The people. I don’t think I would have done it this long if I didn’t like hanging out with everyone who’s on the Misc. It’s a lot of work every week, and it’s extremely taxing. The fun part is coming in on Tuesday night and knowing that you’re going to spend six to eight hours with the people in this room. You better like them. We drink coffee and stress out about the paper. I love hanging out with people at the Misc because we are all really dedicated to it. I don’t think we would be doing this if we didn’t secretly love it and hate it at the same time.
Pickup line? I don’t really have a pickup line I use on people, but I think I would probably wink.
Alan Hagins
How long have you been at the Misc? About six months. I started as a full-time reporter last semester and now I’m the Assistant Features Editor.
Latest production night? I stayed till 1:45 a.m. a couple weeks ago. Not setting any records with that one.
Spring Break? Spring break! I can’t wait. This year I’m going to Niagara Falls, Brown University, New York, Seattle and Portland. I might find time to apply to jobs.
Pickup line? “Can I have one of your fries?” I don’t know what I’d say to that. Probably yes, that’s a good start.
Favorite periodical? The New York Times. I just saw the op-ed columnist Frank Bruni lecture at UpC—that guy is a genius, I’ll be lucky if I ever get five minutes of that level of lucidity.
What are you going to miss most about the Misc? I am a new member of the Misc, but it feels like I’ve worked here much longer. Everyone in the office is so dedicated, and we manage to crank out an exceptional amount of information. Yeah, sometimes it’s sloppy, but I kind of like that—we’re college kids with no time and we make it work. There’s so much pressure, and yet we are always laughing. I’m going to miss collaboratively producing something meaningful every week.
Sam Pianello
Spring break plans?
Spooning with my dog and watching “Friends” reruns, probably.
Favorite periodical?
If I had to pick one I’d probably say The New Yorker.
History with the Misc?
I started as a guest photographer in fall of sophomore year, so about two and a half years now!
What is the latest you’ve ever stayed at production night?
I think I was there until 2 a.m. once so I probably can’t complain as much as some of the others on Ed board, but it was still rough.
Favorite pickup line?
“What’s your Neopets username?”
What will you miss most about the Misc?
I’ll definitely miss the people the most, and being able to just wander into random events and snap a photo without anyone really questioning me. I’ll also really miss the snacks.
Zachary Rippe
Spring break plans? My friends and I are planning a road trip that circles most of the southeast. We’re starting at Vassar and driving down the East Coast. We’ll hit Williamsburg, Va., Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga., Panama City, Fla. and end up in New Orleans for the weekend. We’ll head up through Jackson, Miss., across Tennessee through Nashville and the Smokey Mountains, before taking the Blue Ridge Parkway back up to West Virginia and eventually loop back to Vassar.
How long have you worked at the Miscellany News? I started writing columns for the sports section about a week or two into my freshman year with my good friend Eli. Eli and I both became sports editors our junior year–he was editor in the fall when I went abroad to London and I took over in the spring when he went to Argentina. I’ve been here ever since…
What is the latest you’ve ever stayed at the office? The latest I ever stayed was probably around 2:30 or so with my trusty ex-co-editor Erik Quinson. Usually the lateness is a result of articles not coming in rather than the actual work itself.
What is your favorite pickup line? “Do you know how much a polar bear weighs? …Enough to break the ice. My name is Zach Rippe.”
What are you going to miss most about the Misc? Definitely the people. The work can be extremely frustrating at times, but it’s everybody in the office that keeps me going. The Misc helped me branch out a bit after coming back from abroad and I really value the opportunity to not only work close with all of these people, but become friendly with them as well. As stressful as it can be, we tend to have good times on production night!
