The Miscellany News, one of the oldest collegiate weeklies in the country, has served as the student newspaper of Vassar College since 1866. Produced by more than 40 student volunteers, The Miscellany News sets Vassar’s standard for in-depth reporting, creative thinking, exemplary writing and journalistic excellence. Student workers distribute the paper every Thursday morning during the academic year, and thousands of Vassar students, faculty members, administrators, staff, alumnae/i and Arlington readers flip through it over their morning coffee to stay up to date with the latest campus goings-on.
Submission Policy: The Miscellany News welcomes opinion pieces and Letter to the Editor submissions from all members of the Vassar community. Due to space considerations, we privilege pieces by students and members of the immediate campus community, including faculty, staff and administration. Pieces by members of the extended campus community (alumnae/i etc.) will be considered. Opinion pieces and Letters to the Editor must be between 600-1250 words, and must be free of any libelous claims, hate speech, personal attacks, baseless or misleading claims, and must be fact-checked. Letters to the Editor should be directed to the Editor or the campus community, and we reserve the right to deny publication or previously published pieces or communications. Opinions and Letters are individual pieces written by a member or members of the Vassar community and do not reflect the views of The Miscellany News. Questions can be directed to misc@vassar.edu
Upper Executive Board
Emma Brown ’27 (she/her) is an English and Political Science double major from Carmel, CA. Outside of The Misc, you can find her nerding out with Vassar’s Mock Trial team or spending time with her roommates. Emma loves diet Dr. Pepper, discussions about the Irish liberation movement, reality TV and her obese cat, James. Darja (Dasha) Coutts ’27 (she/her) is an English major from Lake George, NY. On campus, you can probably find her editing in the library, laughing with her coworkers in the LGBTQ Center or playing cards with her friends. She loves 19th century literature, cardigans, black tea with a lemon and em dashes. Julian Balsley ’28 (he/him) is a History major with Arabic Language & Culture and Religion minors from Portland, Oregon. He enjoys rock climbing, short stories, long articles and pretending the Seattle Mariners will ever be good. He previously covered public safety and immigration for the Portland alt-weekly Willamette Week.
Grace Finke ’27 (she/they) is a Music and Math double major with a DSS correlate from Los Altos, CA. Outside of The Misc, you can find her singing with the Night Owls, playing the piano or bass and taking photos with her little blue digital camera. Grace enjoys jazz, Mario Kart and The Brew’s blackberry matcha, and would love to chat about music, technology or pretty much anything else. 
Emma Brown
Editor-in-Chief 
Darja Coutts
Managing Editor 
Julian Balsley
Senior Editor 
Grace Finke
Senior Editor
Editorial Board
Hadley Amato ’28 is from Los Angeles, California, studying History and Urban Studies. Though life can be daunting, Hadley hopes to appreciate the battle. Aurelia Harrison ’28 (they/she) is an English and Religion double major from Gloucester, Massachusetts. They are big into stonefruit, asking questions, and keeping a harmonica on your person at all times. If you see them, tell them which word you have the hardest time spelling. They would love to know. Brendan Kennedy ’28 (he/him) is a Media Studies and Biology double major from West Caldwell, NJ. When not writing arts reviews, he can be found strolling campus with an iced vanilla latte, frolicking on the quad or boisterously chatting in the Deece. He also loves pop culture discourse, keeping up with new music, and magazines! Sydney Jones ‘28 (she/her) is an English and Cognitive Science major from San Diego, California. When she is not mournfully removing Oxford commas from her articles, she can be found testing new ice cream flavors in the Deece, FaceTiming her dog Obi or balling out at intramural volleyball (most of the time). Ian Watanabe ’27 (He/Him) is a Political Science major from Honolulu, HI. Outside of The Misc, Ian enjoys playing pool, running, building tiny models of nature, and reading random magazines. He also does stand-up comedy on campus and can do an impression of every living US president. Josie Wenner ’27 likes to have fun and be herself. She’s an English major with a math correlate who’s also into rewatching sitcoms, playing card games and rollerblading. Outside of The Misc, she can be found lightly jogging with RunVassar, telling jokes with Com Nom and scheming with her roommates. Holland Kaplan ‘27 is a Media Studies and Psychology double major from Los Angeles, California. She is a member of the womens volleyball team and when she is not playing you can probably find her obsessing over the WNBA, Marvel, or anything pop culture related. She is a die hard Lakers and Sparks fan and also has two really cute dogs. Lucas Seguinot ’28 is a prospective psychology major from Yonkers, New York. In his free time, Lucas enjoys listening to music, playing volleyball and frisbee and watching video essays. Outside of The Misc, you can find Lucas at concerts or spending time outdoors. Aria Kuklinski ’28 (she/her) is a Studio Art and American & Native American Studies double major from Los Angeles, CA. Beyond collecting syllables for her degree, she spends most of her time traversing campus on her bike, splaying out in a Deece booth, or on Joss Beach, presiding over Club Soccer as Captain and Treasurer. Aside from those very serious and demanding commitments, Aria’s interests include Jeanette Winterson, the MoMa design store, pilfering music, playing cards, crafting of all sorts, a good toothpick, yogurt bowls, and bone broth (but not together). Charlotte Willenbring ’29 (she/her) is a prospective Urban Studies and Economics double major from Brooklyn, NY. Outside of the Misc, she works as Vassar’s Sustainability Graphic Design Intern, and she spends much of her spare time reading, going for walks, journaling, and chatting with friends. A few of the many things Charlotte loves are fall/spring weather, caffeine, science fiction novels, shopping for clothes, and jazz. Felix Mundy-Mancino ‘27 is an anthropology major and avid cruciverbalist from the greatest city in the world, Chicago, IL. When he’s not writing crossword puzzles you can find him watching baseball religiously or exploring the many beautiful roofs on campus. Outside of The Misc, where he’s worked for all four years, Felix is a captain of the Cyber Nunx ultimate frisbee team, a Vassar tour guide, and a whistler in Aircapella. Olivia Blank ‘27 (she/her) is a Geography major and Urban Studies correlate from South Salem, NY. Outside of the Misc, you can find her snooping around the WVKR record library, blissfully meandering the aisles of Adams Fairacre Farms, or attempting to start a kombucha brewing empire from her TH kitchen. She would be thrilled to connect over email with any other crossword and/or fermentation fanatics. Gabrielle (B) Lyman is an English and Russian Studies double major from Perry, NY. When she is not buried in a book she can be found singing in the Russian band or playing and reffing intramural volleyball Elliot Evans ’28 (he/him) is a Philosophy major from Guilford, Connecticut. When not dutifully copy editing, he can be found working on the playlist for his WVKR show or trying to get his van running again. Elliot enjoys discussions about UConn basketball, questionable TV shows and consciousness. Makenna Brown ’28 (she/her) is a Film major with double correlates in Urban Studies and
Sociology from Peoria, Arizona. When she’s not overthinking things that probably don’t need to
be overthought, she’s probably wandering somewhere without a plan, taking pictures of random
things, or making playlists that match the tone of the day. Her passions include wiener dogs,
coincidences, and fig jam and prosciutto combos. 
Hadley Amato
News Editor 
Aurelia Harrison
Arts Editor 
Brendan Kennedy
Arts Editor 
Sydney Jones
Features Editor 
Ian Watanabe
Opinions Editor 
Josie Wenner
Humor Editor 
Holland Kaplan
Sports Editor 
Lucas Seguinot
Design Editor 
Aria Kuklinski
Graphics Editor 
Charlotte Willenbring
Graphics Editor 
Felix Mundy-Mancino
Games Editor 
Olivia Blank
Games Editor 
Gabrielle Lyman
Copy Editor 
Elliot Evans
Copy Editor 
Makenna Brown
Photo Editor
Contributors
Madeline (Maddie) Nusbaum ’29 (she/her) is a Political Science and Science, Technology and Society double major from Washington, DC. Outside of the Misc, you can find her on the quad with friends, finding any cat on campus or listening to the band Frog. Iggy Gutierrez ’29 (he/him) is a Political Science and Film double major from Montclair, New Jersey. Outside of The Misc you can find him playing Club Soccer on Joss beach, hosting a radio show, or arguing that New Jersey is, in fact, the best state. Samuel (Sam) Eisenberg ‘29 (he/him) is a prospective Physics major from Brooklyn, NY. He enjoys playing music with friends and loves reading sci-fi and nerdy physics books. When he’s not doing homework, you can find him crafting unique sandwiches at the deece. Tina Mao ‘27 (they/them) is an anthropology and english double major from Beijing, China. On campus, they can be found struggling to explain grammar at their writing center job. Tina loves Virginia Woolf, the rain, consuming copious amounts of caffeine and bleaching their own hair. Jared Palumbo ’29 (He/Him) is still figuring things out. He’s from Storrs, Connecticut, and is currently planning on an English and Cognitive Science double major. Common sightings of him occur while he’s reading a book under a tree, slamming power chords on a guitar, or staying up way too late with friends.
Sophia Marchioli ’28 is an International Studies Major and Environmental Studies Correlate from Sea Cliff, NY. On campus, she hosts Vassar College Entertainment’s (ViCE) radio show, plays intramural soccer, volunteers at the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, and spends a lot of time running on the Preserve and Rail Trail. Off campus, she spends most of her earnings on concert tickets and iced hazelnut lattes, and enjoys long hikes. Zoe Rodriguez ’28 is a Neuroscience and Behavior major and a Creative Writing correlate from Waltham, MA. Outside of the Misc, she sings in a rock band, hangs with her friends in Nitrous Oxide, and loves to read, swim and paint. She’s a huge sci-fi nerd, so don’t get her started on aliens, AI, or the robot apocalypse. David Bray ’27 is an Economics and Philosophy double major from Boulder, CO. When he’s not working at the service desk in Main, he can be seen in flip-flops, explaining why Deion Sanders is the best coach in college football, or watching Bloomberg. He loves jam bands, airplanes, and talking shop. Armaan Desai ‘27 is a biochemistry major and mathematics correlate from Princeton, NJ. He is on the volleyball team at vassar, and also loves playing basketball and the piano. He loves watching sports and is a die hard Boston sports fan. Noah Daube-Valois ‘27 (he/him) is an English major with a Music correlate from Northampton, MA. He loves to write political satire and play the piano. Noah is a diehard Red Sox fan and hopes his team has won the 2026 World Series by the time you read this. Julia Weber ’29 (she/her) is an English and Psychology major from Mount Laurel, New Jersey. She enjoys sitcoms, Star Wars, the beach, birdwatching, and pretending to do work with her friends in the library. She can also name every Shakespeare play from memory! Sylvia Sargent ’29 is a Film and English double major from Malvern, PA. When not in class, Sylvia can be found rowing on the Hudson River, taking her daily ballet class, or speed-walking to her next commitment with too many things in her hands. She enjoys lightly sweetened matcha lattes, snow, anything pink, and Snoopy. Aviva Barry ‘27 (she/her) is an English major from Northampton, Massachusetts. When she isn’t shooting photos, you can find Aviva rewatching Arrested Development, reminiscing on her time in Nepal, or wowing her housemates with her infamous nutritional yeast popcorn. Mia Liloia ‘28 (she/her) is a Psychology and Media Studies double major from Long Valley, NJ. On campus, you can find her on the Joss Tennis Courts with VCCT or around Main House as a Student Fellow for 4 Central. When not on the clock, she enjoys coffee at Fika, watching sitcoms and making to-do lists. Vera Giraudo ‘29 (she/her) is a prospective Media Studies major with an Art History correlate. In her free time she plays the bass, assists students in the library’s Digital Media Lab and defends New Jersey’s claim to the Statue of Liberty. 
Madeline Nusbaum
Assistant News Editor 
Iggy Gutierrez
Assistant News Editor 
Samuel Eisenberg
Assistant News Editor 
Tina Mao
Assistant Features Editor 
Jared Palumbo
Assistant Features Editor 
Sophia Marchioli
Assistant Arts Editor 
Zoe Rodriguez
Assistant Opinions Editor 
David Bray
Assistant Sports Editor 
Armaan Desai
Assistant Sports Editor 
Noah Daube-Valois
Assistant Humor Editor 
Julia Weber
Assistant Copy Editor 
Sylvia Sargent
Assistant Design Editor 
Aviva Barry
Assistant Photo Editor 
Mia Liloia
Social Media Manager 
Vera Giraudo
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