Street April 3, 2014 by The Daily Princetonian

The Daily Princetonian

Thursday April 3, 2014

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Being First Part Two

Street staff writer Jennifer Shyue takes an in-depth look at some personal experiences of first-generation college students at Princeton

For this two-part series, Street spoke to five first-generation college students about their experiences at Princeton. In addition to being first-generation, some of the students are also first-generation Americans; others are not. One is not American at all. They hail from places as close as Brooklyn, N.Y. to as far as Espartinas, Spain. Their majors range from psychology to operations research and financial engineering, and they dream of everything from reforming education policy to traveling into space.

hawon Jackson ’15 and Ana Maldonado ’16 have three more years of college left between them, but they, too, will be the first in their families to graduate from a four-year university. Both Jackson and Maldonado are active contributors to the Princeton community and campus discourse. Jackson is currently serving his second term as USG President, and Maldonado is the community service and outreach chair of the University’s Quest Scholars Network chapter, a resource for students affiliated with QuestBridge finalists around the country. Jackson and Maldonado are both QuestBridge scholars. QuestBridge is a program that helps students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented at the nation’s top colleges succeed in the college application process. According to its website, “QuestBridge connects the world’s brightest low-income students to America’s best universities and opportunities.” Since its founding, the organization has matched over 5,000 students with 35 of the nation’s top universities. Part of QuestBridge’s mission is to “revolutionize the way leading colleges and universities recruit talented low-income students, and the way these students approach their educations and futures.” Jackson and Maldonado’s perspectives on their time at Princeton thus far offer insight into how their unique experiences and backgrounds influence their approach to participating in the Princeton community — and their plans for the future Both Jackson and Maldonado were invited to participate in the Freshman Scholars Institute before their freshman years, a voluntary program targeted at helping certain groups, including first-generation college students, successfully transition to the college sphere. Although Jackson ultimately did not attend, the program does foster a sense of community within the group of participants and allows them to refine their academic goals, according to Diane McKay, FSI’s director and Associate Dean of the College. “I would also say that many of the first-gen students with whom I have worked feel a sense of connectedness to others, and they have a desire to serve communities beyond the immediate community,” McKay said. “They

are aware of the sacrifices that were made on their behalf, and the, feel a sense of commitment to improving the lives of others. I hope that we find ways to highlight these really positive qualities of first-gen students.”

hawon Jackson, who is from University Park, Ill., attended Illinois Math and Science Academy, a boarding school in Aurora, Ill. He decided to go to boarding school instead of staying in his hometown for high school because, Jackson said, “My home high school wasn’t of a high quality, and I wanted a better education.” In his senior year, when he applied to QuestBridge, he ranked Princeton as one of the schools he was interested in. “I did not expect to be matched at all in December, and I was very, very excited and pleasantly surprised when I got an email saying I was matched with Princeton,” he said. The full scholarship that is guaranteed with every QuestBridge match through the National College Match program was a huge boon for Jackson’s family, he said. “It was a huge relief for my family because they didn’t have to worry about paying for me to go to college,” he said. Jackson, however, did not know his family qualified as low-income until he applied for QuestBridge. “I didn’t even realize we were low-income because my mom and dad always did a good job making sure my brother and I had everything we need,” he said. “QuestBridge generally says, ‘Oh, if you’re under $60,000 for your income, then you probably qualify.’ I was like, ‘Mom, do we qualify for this?’ She was like, ‘Oh baby, we definitely do. Go ahead and apply.’ ” Nevertheless, Jackson believes that being low-income has influenced his Princeton experience more than being first-generation has. “I don’t know if being first-generation has impacted my experience as much as being a low-income student, though the two are definitely related,” he said. Even so, he said, “[My parents] instilled the value of education in me at a very, very young age, and they knew that even though they didn’t complete college, that wasn’t an excuse at all for me not to go.” After finding out about his acceptance to Princeton, Jackson learned of the Wilson school and decided he wanted to concentrate his studies on

public policy. His upbringing inspired his focus on education policy. “When I compare my home community and that high school to the type of education I received at my boarding school, I noticed a lot of disparities,” he said. “It was always sad to me that it was the minority population, both in terms of race and class, that did not receive a high-quality education.” Jackson hopes to become an education policy adviser for the government or a nonprofit.

na Maldonado is also a Quest Scholar. In her hometown of Santa Ana, Calif., she said, over 90 percent of students in the public schools are Hispanic, and a majority of the city’s inhabitants live under the poverty line. Her own parents are natives of Mexico and never received a formal education. Her father taught himself to read; her mother, who is deaf, never learned to read, write or speak sign language. “Both my parents don’t have any education,” she said during an interview. “It’s kind of awkward for me when they ask, ‘What is your parents’ level of education?’ And the lowest they have is high school, and I’m like, ‘Well, they didn’t even go to high school. They didn’t even go to school to at all.’ ” Maldonado first heard of Princeton in elementary school, she said, when her class flew to the East Coast through the generosity of the principal at a Princeton elementary school. In the first week of her freshman year of high school, she said that she walked into the counselor’s office and asked, “I want to get into Princeton. What do I need to do?” When Maldonado was matched through QuestBridge with Princeton in the December of her senior year, she was surprised and thrilled, as were the teachers and counselors who had served as her mentors. When she told her father she had gotten into a school across the country, however, he had the opposite reaction. “He just flat-out did not talk to me for the rest of the day,” she said. Her father tried to persuade her to attend the University of California, Irvine because it was a 15-minute drive from their house, she said. “I was trying to explain it to him: ‘Dad. If someone were to give you a Ferrari, and it’s free, and someone gives you, I don’t know, a Honda Civic, and it’s not necessarily free — maybe you have to pay a grand or two — which

Percent of admitted first-gen students in the Class of 2018

Princeton

13.8

Penn

12.0

Brown

18.0

Dartmouth

12.4

MIT

17.0

Williams

16.0

Georgetown

12.0

one would you take, Dad?’ ” Maldonado recalled. “He still didn’t really get it.” Eventually, he came around, Maldonado said. She participated in FSI the summer before her freshman year and felt more or less prepared to tackle Princeton academically. What she was less prepared for, however, was the tug she felt from her life back home. “The hard thing for me, freshman year, was balancing between life here and life at home. For the most part, [my life] was life at home,” she said. Sources: princeton.edu, The Daily “The first semester, Pennsylvanian, Brown Daily Herald, my dad was unemployed, so it was now.dartmouth.edu, MIT News, constant, ‘Okay, williams.edu, The Hoya see if there are any jobs, submit my application.’ ” Her father called often, she said, as therapist. did her sister, at times seeking help Maldonado is active within the with finals when Maldonado was Quest Scholars Network on campus studying for her own. and recently attended the second an“That was mainly the biggest strug- nual First-Generation College Student gle, having to answer the phone, be- Summit at Amherst College. She noted cause I can’t just ignore it, and hav- that there are initiatives other colleging to sleep late because I have to do es have instituted, such as a winter homework, or just because my sister is coat fund and a day when professors on the phone with me until one in the who were also first-generation wear Tmorning,” she said. shirts that identify them as such, that On campus, she has found faculty she would like to see at Princeton. She mentors who have helped her make also questioned the fact that the Uniimportant decisions, such as switch- versity’s expectation for student coning out of the premed track and de- tributions increases each year, when ciding to major in psychology. When the difficulty of a student’s course Maldonado decided to leave behind load also increases with each year. her life-long goal of becoming a docOverall, she would like for there to be tor, her father struggled to understand more open conversation about the exher reasoning. periences of first-generation students. “That’s the problem, when you grow “None of us are telling our stories up and you’re first-gen, the only jobs so that people can feel sorry for us. you know are being a doctor, being a You shouldn’t feel sorry for us belawyer, being a teacher, possibly because we’re here — we’re at Princeton. ing an engineer. But most of us don’t We did make it,” she said. She added think of other things like going to later, “We didn’t get in here to just grad school,” she said. ”I told him, serve as diversity. Yes, we got in also ‘[Being a doctor is] my number two because of that, so that we do bring and I don’t want to go for my number diversity. But what’s the point of gettwo if I want my number one.’ ” She ting in for diversity if no one wants to plans to become a family or couples’ talk about it?”

The Daily Princetonian

Thursday April 3, 2014

Photos by Staff Photographer LU LU

eXpressions

fixation

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Q&A Behind the scenes with

that Spelman room

CARLA JAVIER Contributor

s that a Nyan Cat on the window? Wait, just kidding, it’s a Pokemon now. What’s that Titan doing there? Above all, what does it all mean? While Street can’t help you on the interpretation front (that is a personal decision only you can make), we can shed some light on the masterminds behind the famed display. Street interviewed Jan Cash ‘14, Asumi Shibata ‘14, Molly Carton ‘14 and Vincent Castaneda ‘14, four of the residents of 11 and 12 Spelman Hall, about their life in Spelman, their friendship and of course, their eye-catching window display. Daily Princetonian: How did you meet your roommates? Jan Cash: Through the Japanese Students Association, Anime club, and knowing each other prior to coming to Princeton. Quite a few of us got to know each other during the Million Crane Project freshman year when we were doing a donation table from 9am to 9pm every weekday. Molly Carton: I met Asumi through anime club, and she in-

GRACE JEON :: CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

vited me to room with her group. I’d known Jan and Vincent too, but not very well. Vincent Castaneda: Mostly through the Japanese Student Association here at Princeton. The March 11th Earthquake in Japan resulted in many of user working together at a donations table and collecting/making cranes etc. I met Cam through a high school scholars program and I met Molly and Eugene through anime club. DP: Best memory in your room in Spelman? JC: Nutella cheesecake? MC: Probably just watching movies all together. It’s nice. VC: We’re just people. Staying up late chatting with a beer in hand has always been fun with this group. That and Cam’s Thursday night dinners. DP: Favorite thing about living together? JC: We share common areas and kitchen space between two rooms, so it’s like living with 7 other people rather than the normal 3 in Spelman. Eating together is pretty fun. MC: Fun conversations.

VC: All of the constant, horrible puns we throw around. DP: What’s with the bottles? Any good stories? JC: I think the pellegrinos are more impressive. We built up what we have in the window in less than a month. The alcohol drinkers spent all year getting their bottle collection going. MC: The bottles are mostly from the boys, but our room now has a rival wall of san pellegrino cans. We’ve been thinking about the best way to arrange them now that we have a few rows. VC: Nothing too crazy that I can recall. We don’t drink too often, besides the occasional triple 8 pregame. Generally we try to buy a variety of quality beers and try them out. This practice did however prompt us to try making our own beer, currently 2 weeks away from finishing. Cam and I were generally enraged by the companies claim that “If you can make oatmeal, you can make beer!” or something like that. It took us like 6+ hours to brew the beer. I was up till 1:30 am. Them lies! DP: How about the decorations

GRACE JEON :: CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

on the windows? JC: It’s from Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan). Asumi and Molly vectored and chopped up the images to make them printable on single sheets and a few of the rest of us helped with taping them together and painting the red parts. MC: The titans were a pretty serious project for the first semester. We spent a lot of time figuring out how to print them and then putting them together, but I’m glad we did. If we’d gotten them up earlier there we’d been thinking of putting red lights in the eyes for Halloween, but I think it’s pretty good without them. VC: The giant face is from the anime “Shingeki No Kyoujin” or “Attack on Titan” and was made by the quad in room 12. They had been planning this for months and got around to putting it up. It was my idea to use the projector. I wanted something to display to the rest of campus that could easily be changed and would be interesting for people walking by. I still have to laugh whenever people just stand and stare at what-

ever is currently showing. DP: Gotten any good reactions from people/friends? JC: The first day it was up, we saw a public safety car stop, roll down their windows, and just stare at it. Tourists seem to like taking pictures by it. MC: A lot of people take pictures. I’ve also seen people just stand and stare. It’s pretty funny to see. VC: “I think you have to like, sign an contract that you’re going to put up weird shit on the windows if you live here.” Is I think one of my favorite overheard quotes late at night. DP: What about the projector? JC: It gets really hot sometimes, so during winter it’s like a mini heater. MC: I actually didn’t know about the plan for the screen until after it went up, but I think putting on Twitch Plays Pokemon was what made it worthwhile. We had a lot of people get excited about that - I remember we were having dinner one night and someone held up a phone to the window to tell us how much he liked it. Gets a lot of thumbs ups,

too. VC: Answered above I suppose. DP: Any decor plans for the rest of the semester? JC: We were thinking of laser lights shooting out through the Titan’s eyes and tracking people as they walk by. Maybe. We’re waiting for the Doctor Who people to step up their game. MC: Apart from arranging the soda cans in the window, nothing that I know of. VC: Probably keep it mostly the way it is, but change what we display on the projector. May go back to adventure time or another personal favorite. We display what we want to display and hope others find it enjoyable. It’s an interesting experiment I suppose. DP: Any other fun things you’d like to share? JC: We also have an impressive tea collection. MC: We’ve decorated the walls inside the rooms, too. Recently googly eyes appeared on various appliances, but you might want to ask Jan about that ... VC: Making your own personal suit of armor is harder than it seems.

The Daily Princetonian

Thursday April 3, 2014

Room Draw

‘SMILE’ approaches

PLAY-BY-PLAY

depression through humor CHITRA MARTI Contributor

“D

oes anyone want to go see a play tomorrow night? It’s called ‘SMILE’ and it’s a one-man show about depression!” None of my friends respond to my message, even after I add the qualifiers, “but it’s a comedy!!” and “it’s also freee!” “SMILE” is written and performed by Clayton Raithel ’12, and directed by Jeff Kuperman ’12 and Harvard graduate Rick Kuperman. Last Saturday’s performance in the Matthews Acting Studio at 185 Nassau Street included a post-show workshopping session, in which the three creators invited audience members to share feedback and critiques for future improvements. The one-man show tells the story of Raithel’s post-graduation decline into depression following a bad breakup and his move to New York City. And it’s a comedy. As an undergraduate, Raithel was in Quipfire! and the Princeton Triangle Club, both of which he said contributed to his natural inclination to see the world in a comical light. “It got to the point where I was telling these stories, and just because of the type of person who I am, I was telling them in a very funny and entertaining way,” Raithel said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. Raithel explained that interpreting his experiences through the lens of humor allowed him not only moments of catharsis, but also of healing, when he realized he could use his stories to make art. He drew inspiration from comedians like Mike Birbiglia and Maria Bamford, who often “lead with their vulnerability” in their acts. Raithel pitched the idea of doing a comedy about his depression to Jeff Kuperman ’12 last September. The two knew each other from their time together at Princeton. Jeff Kuperman then brought in his brother, Rick, with whom he runs the production company Kuperman Brothers.

“What I think Clayton does really well is, as he’s telling these stories, he walks you through the way that his rational brain and his emotional brain are at odds with each other in a very relatable way,” Jeff Kuperman said. “It was heartbreaking and it was hilarious, and I said, ‘This is what theater is, so let’s go ahead and let’s make the show!’ ” Raithel opens the show describing his time at Princeton and his senior year girlfriend, Chelsea. “I was the FUCKING man!” appears in text on the screen alongside several old photos. “We would make out, and then we made out when we were sober. In college, that’s how you know you’re dating,” Raithel said in the play, referring to the start of his relationship with Chelsea. Throughout the play, sound and video are used extensively, functioning almost as independent characters that interact with Raithel and provide information to the audience. All three are experienced video and sound designers, and their use of media adds another dimension to this one-man show. Sound and video complement Raithel’s narrative, whether in the form Raithel’s friends’ voices, clips from movies he references or even a fake Yelp map Raithel made of the “Best places to cry in New York City.” In another scene, which the three call the “balls on a bike rack” scene, Raithel is running to catch a cab, but, as he puts it, he’s stopped short when he runs directly into a bike rack and keels over. In the play, he starts laughing: “I realize I’m going to be single forever, and I don’t need my balls,” he says. This juxtaposition of tragedy and comedy, the three noted, was both necessary and natural. “There’s a common saying that comedy is tragedy plus time,” Raithel said in our interview. “The world is tragic, the world is full of dark things, but we want to get together in the same room and laugh about it; that’s the only

way we can keep going on. For me, that was something very natural.” The play also uses metaphors to integrate the comedy with its heavy subject matter. In one scene, Raithel is heartbreakingly describing his exgirlfriend as a balloon that has flown away, and the childlike feeling of sadness the experience left within him. “To be honest, I really liked having sex with that balloon,” he says in the play. The audience exploded with laughter. Raithel brings down the wall between tragedy and comedy, almost as though the former corresponds to his rational brain, and the latter, his emotional brain. It’s easy to laugh at our emotions; they’re often ridiculous, especially when we don’t fully understand them. But combining our messy sentimentality with more rational logic, and combining tragedy with comedy, yields an artistic examination of ourselves and our psyche. “Your tears and your laughter go together for so much of the show. Those things coexist, and we shouldn’t separate them. In a lot of ways, those are the extremes of human emotions,” Raithel said. “To have those things coexist speaks to something that I went through, but also I think a lot of people can relate to.”

KUPERMANBROTHERS.COM

ASK THE SEXPERT

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KRISTEN COKE Staff Writer

eturning to school after spring break is marked by a look toward Lawnparties, dreaded finals and the feeling that the academic year is coming to a close. With this also comes the heavily anticipated contest known as room draw. Beyond deciding what classes you want to take next semester, you also have to decide where you want to live on campus, and navigating University real estate is no easy task. You’ve had the awkward “It’s not you, it’s just me, but definitely also your strange stuffed animals” breakup talk with your ex-roommates. You’ve scoured each residential college and upperclassman dorm, hellbent on finding which rooms hide the extra square footage that those poorly drawn floor plans fail to accurately portray. Your final list is complete and carefully arranged to reflect your draw time’s expected availabilities, which is the only time you have ever applied that Stats class you took when you considered declaring Woody Woo. So, understanding that all of the preplanning crystallizes in one exhilarating five-minute window of rapid-fire clicks and chaos-induced confusion, I present you with the official room draw play-by-play: 9:30 a.m. You wake up bright and early to a (long-awaited) sunny spring day. You realize that having a Spanish quiz and a history presentation scheduled for today no longer matters. The only significant part of today is room draw. You reflect on the time and place you and your respective draw group have chosen for the selection fiesta, and at all costs plan your day around meeting there. 9:30 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. You spend every spare minute in class rechecking availability of rooms. In the breaks between groups’ draw times, you practice typing your password in the fastest manner possible. You stretch your fingers and engage in digit practice — dexterity is key. Is this what being an athlete is like? Probably. 2:30 p.m. You arrive at the designated meeting spot, the metaphorical war zone. You have come prepared for battle, but you notice that one of your roommates who has never made it to a class on time is missing. Typical. You mentally justify abandoning her for the good of the group;

after all, utilitarianism was the only reasonable philosophy you took from that ethics class. 2:37 p.m. Everyone has finally gathered. You congratulate yourself on your impeccable foresight. You told them it started at 2:40 because you knew they would all be late. Amateurs. You all settle in to stare at your computers, anticipating your actual start time at 2:45 p.m. 2:40 p.m. That one dud whom you didn’t even want in your group has begun trying to rally everyone into picking a different room than the one initially agreed upon. As if you didn’t see that coming: you watched the second season of House of Cards straight through. You throw a Frank Underwood side-glance to the camera and smile as you

“You stretch your fingers and engage in digit practice — dexterity is key. Is this what being an athlete is like? Probably.”

carefully explain to her that it doesn’t make sense to change plans so late in the game. It would involve another round of deciphering floor plans, and the quickly approaching deadline would only lead to a regrettable, rash decision. After having successfully outed that fire, you continue to nervously stare at your desired room’s floor plan in case the provided statistics were wrong, causing you to mistakenly choose a smaller room. 2:44:01 p.m. to 2:44:57 p.m. Mere seconds until go time. You have a brief panic attack as you look at your draw group and question whether at this last opportunity you should pick a single, leave these people and live a life secluded from the harsh realities of the world forever. You decide against it and commit to communal living (your roommate’s mom always keeps the room stocked with snacks, and you aren’t sure you can give that up now.) 2:44:58 p.m. You send up a little prayer in the hopes that everything works out for all

those participating in the Great Room Draw of 2014. But really you just hope that it works out exactly the way you planned and wanted. 2:44:59 p.m. COMMENCE CLICKING. 2:45 p.m. A hush falls over the room. For a site with the acronym “POSH,” you realize that Princeton’s One Stop Housing website is not sleek at all. You hear the clicking of keys as everyone navigates through to find current room availability. Your room has to be there. 2:49 p.m. Silence. Everyone realizes that your top choice is gone. You lament the useless hours of monitoring rooms wasted in the futile attempt to beat the game. Each group member serendipitously groans in unison, but quickly the group moves on to finding the next best room. You bid adieu to the design plans you had for that fireplace and alcove, and silently blame everything on the girl who tried to switch your plans at the last moment. 2:50 p.m. One person exclaims that she finished the contract. You look up to see her nervously glancing at everyone else’s computer. She must have heard you mumbling about getting a single … You look away from her and keep sprinting toward the finish line. 2:51 p.m. That one girl is complaining that she can’t figure out how to finalize her selection. What is this, amateur hour? You march over to her computer, condescendingly explain how to click your way into a housing contract and walk back to your side of the table. 2:52 p.m. Everyone is finally on the same page. The “Accept” button appears. You glance at the bolded note that reads: “Once you accept a room, you CANNOT rescind the contract.” You momentarily panic again but force yourself to press “Accept.” Take a look at the cost of housing and room summary while internally lamenting its inferiority to your optimal choice. Then, you remember that kids who go to school in New York would probably be moved to tears by the “spacious” square footage at a low-ish cost. 2:53 p.m. This year’s draw has ended in a flurry. Contracts are submitted. Everyone high-fives, and you salute your new roommates as the adrenaline rush wears off. Until next year, room draw gods.

This week, she discusses severe cramps. Dear Sexpert,

Dear Cramping,

uch. I am sorry that you are experiencing so much pain. For some women, menstruating can be a very painful process, and the level of discomfort varies. More than 50 percent of all women who menstruate experience pain for one to two days of each menstrual cycle. If you are experiencing extreme pain that lasts longer than two days or interferes with daily activities when you are menstruating, you should make an appointment with

THREADS

— Cramping and Crying

that lasts longer than typical menstrual cramps or begins before you start menstruating, contact your health care provider. A pelvic exam can help determine what is causing the pain and inform the most effective method of treatment. Birth control methods containing estrogen and progestin, such as combination pills, Ortho Evra and NuvaRing, as well as intrauterine devices, can also be effective treatments for dysmenorrhea. To learn more about these methods and to determine if one is right for you, schedule an appointment at SHAW at http:// w w w.princeton.edu/MyUHS or call (609) 258-3141.

weekly glimpse at campus fashion

he pain I have felt during my last few periods has been debilitating. I have taken ibuprofen, and that hasn’t really helped. I’ve had to miss classes because I was in too much pain to get out of bed. I’m embarrassed to tell my professors and preceptors why I missed classes. My roommate says everyone gets cramps and that I need to stop being so sensitive, but I’m worried it could be something more serious. What should I do?

your health care provider or a Sexual Health and Wellness Services clinician at McCosh Health Center. The pain associated with menstruation is called dysmenorrhea and can be classified as two types: primary dysmenorrhea and secondary dysmenorrhea. Primary dysmenorrhea is pain resulting from menstruation (commonly called menstrual cramps) and is quite common. It is caused by natural chemicals called prostaglandins made in the lining of the uterus. On the first day of your menstrual period, the prostaglandin levels are elevated, and as your period continues and your uterus sheds its lining, the levels decrease and, typically, so does the pain you might experience. To help alleviate this pain, you could try exercise, pain relievers, a moist heat pack or relaxation techniques, such as meditation or yoga. Secondary dysmenorrhea, however, involves pain that lasts much longer than typical menstrual cramps. It can even begin before the menstrual period starts and continue after the menstrual period has ended. This pain is caused by a disorder in the reproductive system. If you are experiencing pain

— The Sexpert

*Information provided by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Interested in Sexual Health? The Sexpert is always looking for members of the community to join the team of sexual health educators who, along with fact-checking from University health professionals, help write these columns. Email sexpert@dailyprincetonian.com for more information and questions about sexual health. Don’t be shy!

KATIE BAUMAN :: STREET EDITOR

Name: Sami Walter Year: 2017 Major: CEE or CBE Style summarized: Thrifty chic Spirit animal: Cat Shirt: J. Crew, Skirt: Forever21, Shoes: thrift store

The Daily Princetonian

Thursday April 3, 2014

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‘Venus in Fur’ explores dynamics between sexes OLIVER SUN Senior Writer

“V

enus in Fur” borrows from a classic literary trope, the frame narrative — presenting a play about a play — to relate the tale of director Thomas Novachek’s struggle to find an actress to play the leading role in his sadomasochistic play, until he meets Vanda Jordan, a brash but enthusiastic aspiring actress. “Venus in Fur,” written by David Ives and directed by Julia Hammer ’15, develops a darker perspective as it examines the relationship between Thomas and Vanda. Thomas adapts his play from the reallife novel “Venus in Furs” by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, from whose name the word “masochism” is derived. In both Sacher-Masoch’s novel and Thomas’ play, Severin “Gregor” von Kusiemski falls into a submissive love with Wanda von Dunayev, who he hopes will dominate him. The play-within-a-play format of “Venus in Fur” presents a tricky challenge for Hammer to execute properly without confusing the audience, but thankfully the cast of the play makes it abundantly clear when the actors are in character and when they are not. Evelyn Giovine ’16 does an excellent job distinguishing between Vanda as a character and Vanda’s interpretation of Wanda, the lead of Thomas’ play. As Vanda, Giovine portrays a frenetic and emotional gum-chewing actress who seems airheaded at first. With her high-pitched intonation, she points out innuendo in the most mundane objects around the audition room, such as a pipe and a cup of coffee. However, Giovine depicts Vanda as Wanda in an entirely different manner. Wanda, a wealthy woman, is accustomed to a life of leisure in high society. She speaks and holds herself accordingly, attaining an air of dignity and refinement uncharacteristic of Vanda the actress. Giovine stands up straighter and adopts a more disdainful

tone as Wanda, attributes which help the audience understand through contrast when Vanda behaves as herself and when she plays Wanda. These changes in voice and posture occur at a moment’s notice, emphasizing the rapid and frequent transitions into and out of the play. Unfortunately, when Wanda reads German words, she routinely mispronounces the word for yes by overemphasizing a fake German accent. This became rather distracting, especially when the characters themselves are supposedly native German speakers.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ‘Venus in Fur’

to assert his control over Vanda. Ames’ performance as Thomas emphasizes the character’s commitment to order and authority, but he also delicately demonstrates how Thomas’ character changes through interactions with Vanda — one such moment comes as he concedes to her small bits of artistic license. The play is set in a small room, furnished with only a few folding tables and chairs as well as a sofa. Its sparse furnishings indicate Thomas’ status as an up-and-coming director rather than one with an established name, while also contributing to the play’s metropolitan atmosphere. The play takes place during a harsh downpour; periodic flashes of lightning accompanied by

rumbling thunder remind the audience of the raging storm. The rolling thunder crescendoes at the play’s climax, creating a dramatic auditory cue that emphasizes the dangerous emotions lurking within Thomas and Vanda, and keeps the implications of the play’s ending ambiguous. The cast and crew of “Venus in Fur” have produced an excellent show about Thomas and Vanda, two artists whose relationship grows increasingly complicated as they delve further into the power-based roles they play. A deeply emotional play about complex interactions between dominating and submissive characters, “Venus in Fur” should not be missed.

Pros: Strong performances by

Giovine and Ames

Cons: Distractingly exaggerated

accents

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: In contrast to the brash and easily excitable Vanda, Thomas, played by Dan Ames GS, is a serious and more taciturn character. Initially unimpressed with Vanda’s tardiness and lackluster resume, he reluctantly lets her audition for the part of Wanda. However, as they read the script as part of the audition process and act out the parts of the play together, his opinion changes. Ames portrays Thomas’ transformation as gradual. Unlike Vanda, who transforms between herself and Wanda without batting an eye, Thomas takes a much more deliberate position. Ironically, despite reading the role of a submissive character, Thomas as the play’s director tries

Ways to Legally Impress your Thesis Adviser

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Get into Harvard Law. What, like it’s hard?

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Have a Gemini vegetarian chihuahua deliver the proposal.

Hire a Coppola to direct a video component for your draft. Buy their entire family bedazzled berets.

Email them daily summaries of “Days of Our Lives.”

Kindly inform them that pink is not the new orange. Show up to meetings in a bunny costume.

COURTESY OF OFF THE RECORD

Off the Record, founded in 2011, is Princeton’s only hip-hop and R&B a cappella group.

CONOR DUBE :: ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Evelyn Giovine ‘16 as Vanda in ‘Venus in Fur,’ a play by David Ives that debuted in 2010.

Off the Record

added. Like other a cappella groups on campus, Off the Record performs at arch sings, but the group also likes to perform at a variety of other venues. They have performed during intermissions of Black Arts Company shows, as well as at events like the Black History Month Closing Gala in February. “We like to collaborate with other groups a lot, do joint arches. And we do things that range from performing in Cafe Viv, like we did the other day for an event, to the Big Sibs event in Murray Dodge [on Saturday],” Negash said. Within the group, too, there is “a spirit of collaboration,” according to Marina Kaneko ’15. Kaneko joined the group in the fall of 2011 and is the former music director; along with Negash, she is now publicity chair. When Negash was arranging “The Way,” for example, he transcribed the melody and wrote parts he imagined would sound good together. During their weekly sectional rehearsal, the women of the group added their suggestions, which Negash then used to expand the arrangement. Because Off the Record is still a young group, it is building its repertoire from scratch, one student-arranged song at a time. “One of the cool things about being involved in a young-ish group is the repertoire — we’re making it all ourselves.

Everyone has a chance to arrange a song or contribute to a new arrangement,” Kaneko said. “A lot of my favorite songs that we get to do in OTR are mash-ups of two songs that kind of have similar chord structure, kind of similar thematic elements,” she added. “So for instance, we’ve been working on this arrangement of Nicki Minaj’s ‘Fly’ and R. Kelly’s ‘I Believe I Can Fly.’ ” In little over a week, Off the Record will be hosting Georgetown University’s all-male George-Tones during a joint arch sing. The performance will be Off the Record’s first collaboration with a visiting group. In the future, Off the Record “would love to establish a greater presence off campus,” current president Deana Hamlin ’17 said in an email interview. She expressed interest in planning a retreat for Off the Record and visiting other schools to perform. Hamlin joined the group in the fall and took on the role of president at the beginning of the spring semester. Off the Record would also like to begin touring. “We would love to do some traveling, even starting pretty locally and going to places in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, on tour,” Negash said, describing a tour as one of the major goals of the group. “Singing brings OTR great joy, and we would love to spread that joy,” Hamlin said.

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ously unfilled niche in the campus performing arts scene. “As far as I know, [the founders] started out that spring and were kind of frustrated, I guess, about the lack of an outlet for doing R&B and hip-hop performance in singing in general, not even just in a cappella,” Caleb Negash ’15 said. Negash, the group’s former president, served a two-semester term that ended when the fall semester came to a close. He is now one of the publicity chairs. “We try to change up things about a cappella on campus. We try to sing songs that are a little more modern and definitely in the hip-hop, R&B genre,” Negash

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Give them a new MacBook in the same bunny costume.

with uestion: What group is Princeton’s oldest, youngest and only coed hip-hop and R&B a cappella group? Answer: It’s Off the Record! Founded in the spring of 2011, Off the Record now comprises about 15 members who meet twice a week to rehearse their renditions of everything from Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” to Ariana Grande’s “The Way.” The group features the standard soprano, alto, tenor and bass vocal roles found in most choral groups, but also likes to highlight its rappers and beatboxers. The group was formed to fill a previ-

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FORBES BLACKBOX THEATER Thursday and Saturday, 8 p.m.

Curly. Straight. Dyed. Frizzy. Gelled. Weaved. What does your hair mean to you? Whether your hair is a constant bother to your eyes, a veil to hide behind or a mode of artistic expression, how you wear it inevitably says something about you. BAC Drama explores the religious, sexual and racial connotations of hair through a variety of performance art mediums in “Tales We Weave,” directed by Morgan Jerkins ’14 and Jade Jones ’14.

ART Inspiration Night UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM Thursday, 7 p.m.

Looking for some inspiration amid midterm grades and thesis deadlines? You’ll be sure to find some at the University Art Museum’s “Inspiration Night,” which will feature some of the things that inspire people most: art, poetry, dance, music and, of course, free food. Plus, you’ll seem much worldlier to your friends for attending, and let’s be honest — the can of Red Bull and Kelly Clarkson CD you were planning to use as your thesis-writing inspiration for the night won’t cut it.

CONCERT THE NASH ENSEMBLE OF LONDON RICHARDSON AUDITORIUM Thursday, 8 p.m.

The Nash Ensemble of London, the resident chamber ensemble of Wigmore Hall, comes to Princeton on Thursday to perform an impressive repertoire of works from the Classical, Romantic and Contemporary eras. Described by The Times as “the best champion that any composer could hope to have,” the Nash Ensemble has brought new life to wellknown pieces for four decades.

MUSIC GLEE CLUB PRESENTS CALMUS TRINITY CHURCH Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

Next Tuesday, the Princeton Glee Club will be hosting the first concert in its new concert series, “Glee Club Presents,” a series which invites international vocal groups to perform once a year with the Glee Club. For its inaugural concert, the Glee Club will present Leipzig-based vocal quintet, Calmus, with whom the Glee Club had the honor of performing earlier this year on its tour to Germany. The best news? The concert is free — it’s the ultimate deal for an incredible night of music.

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