The Miscellany News
Vassar College’s student newspaper of record since 1866
MAMDANI
MAYOR
miscellanynews.org
November 13, 2025
ELECTED
NYC
Volume 164 | Issue 9
Mamdani secures over 50 percent of votes From his acceptance speech: “The future is on our hands. My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty.”
Campus
celebrates
Julian Balsley, Emma Brown News Editors
C
oncluding a mayoral race that generated widespread public discourse and drew international attention, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani was elected as the mayor of New York City, defeating former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. On Vassar College’s campus, many students celebrated the results of the election, expressing excitement about Mamdani’s proposed policies and vision for New York City. Mamdani, a state assemblyman for New York’s 36th district in Astoria, Queens, surprised Democrats when he beat Cuomo by 12 points in the Democratic primary, securing the party’s nomination. His victory
Mamdani
in the general election follows an extensive grassroots campaign, which included over 100,000 volunteers and an expansive social media presence. Mamdani’s campaign energized city residents as well as people around the world. He secured over 1 million votes in the general election, which had the city’s highest voter turnout in a mayoral election since 2001. Mamdani collected endorsements from numerous federal, state and local officials. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Mamdani in June, ahead of the primary election. New York Governor Kathy Hochul followed in September. On the other hand, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Mamdani only in late October. Senate Minority Lead-
mayoral
er Chuck Schumer never endorsed him. While Schumer did endorse Eric Adams ahead of the 2021 mayoral election, his announcement came only days before the election. Several Vassar students from New York City expressed overwhelming support for Mamdani in conversations with The Miscellany News. Many students emphasized that their vote for Mamdani was unique because it was not just a party line vote. “I voted for Zohran Mamdani, finally, not because he was the only viable candidate, [but] because I actually was excited about his progressive views for New York City,” said Avery Epstein ’28, a Brooklyn Heights native who canvassed for Mamdani over the summer. Marley Correll ’28, who lives in the East Village and also canvassed for Mamdani, com-
victory
mented, “I was excited to vote for him, not just as ‘Don’t vote for Cuomo,’ which was an incredibly new experience. I’ve never been that excited to vote for someone.” Atia Guzman Briones ’27, a Jamaica, Queens resident who voted for Mamdani, expressed her appreciation for the mayor-elect’s perspective on politics: “We need more young people in politics, they’re more open-minded and dare to try or even just suggest new things that might just work and pull us out of these very dark times.” Many students described a positive environment throughout the city in the lead-up to the election. “The community I live in is mostly Muslim and Brown and Arab,” said Ahnaf Ahmed ’28, from Jamaica, Queens. “It’s a no-brainer. And if you go to every See Mamdani on page 3
Institute panel discusses Bedlam performs at Tiny Desk community, honesty in media Grace Finke
Assistant Arts Editor
Carina Cole
Editor-in-Chief
“J
ournalism is an incredibly hard profession. I embrace people when they decide to come in because journalism is like long-term unrequited love. It will never love you as much as you love it,” Lynette Clemetson, the Charles R. Eisendrath Director of Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists at the University of Michigan, explained to a crowd of Vassar students, faculty and community members. She continued, “You can produce something that causes legislation or influences policy, and it will still be like: ‘What do you have next?’ It wears you down.” Clemetson was one of three media makers featured in the “How Media Illuminates Critical Stories and Perspectives” panel. This segment was held on day two of the “Storytelling for Change: Shaping and Sharing Inclusive Narratives in Higher Education, Media, and the Arts” Signature Program at The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts, which took place on Nov. 7 and 8. Clemetson was joined by Eric Marcus ’80, Executive Director of the award-winning podcast “Making Gay History,” and Mike Gillis, Head Writer at satirical news
Inside this issue
publication The Onion. The program was convened by Vassar Associate Professor of Psychological Science and Media Studies Dara Greenwood and Vice President of Communications Victoria Grantham. Despite portions of the conversation centering on journalistic ethics and freedom of the press, the work Clemetson, Marcus and Gillis undertake does not necessarily fit within the traditional confines of mainstream, cut-and-dried journalism. Rather, each panelist shares a common goal that propelled them into the business of storytelling: the pursuit of something honest. “From a young age I was good at writing and bad at everything else. Really, what transformed me from a writer to a comedy writer was picking up a copy of The Onion in middle school and feeling like it was the most honest writing I had come across,” remarked Gillis. This statement might initially seem ironic given that The Onion prints satirical, fictional news. Yet, for The Onion, an average Joe pulling off the highway and deciding whether to get Wendy’s or McDonald’s is top-of-the-fold news. Traditional journalism often neglects the mundane and universal; however, for Gillis, the mundane and universal is often See Institute on page 4
T
he Maria Mitchell Observatory was illuminated with soft morning light and furnished with books, CDs and other knickknacks as performers, audio engineers and eager audience members watched Bedlam take the stage. Every semester, the Student Music Union (StuMu), Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE), Vassar College Television (VCTV) and The Miscellany News produce and record student performances in their Tiny Desk series. On Sunday, Nov. 9, student rock band Bedlam became one of the newest groups to immortalize a performance in this format. Bedlam, consisting of seniors Denver Brown [Disclaimer: Brown is the Live Events Chair for The Miscellany News], Duncan Beauchamp, Kalina Sloat and Walt Schoen, has been playing together since Fall 2022. Fresh off their first New York City show, Bedlam prepared a set of three songs: “Lemon Tree,” “Seen” and “St. Elizabeth.” Vassar Tiny Desk first began in 2019 as a series of at-home performances and interviews. It served not only as a performance opportunity but also as a chance to reflect on their music and work. However, Tiny Desk was put on pause in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The bulk of the
Veterans’ Voices
productions before the revitalization were also multi-genre: poets, lots of bands, solo acts and stuff like that,” said ViCE Co-Head Kwabena Adae ’26. “The desire was just to have a space that could be an offering for all those different types of groups to have their voices heard from a Vassar perspective.” In 2023, StuMu, ViCE, VCTV and The Miscellany News revitalized the project, capturing performances by Margot Gordinier ’24, The Night Owls [Disclaimer: The author of this article appears in this video and was a member of the Copy Staff for The Miscellany News at the time of filming] and 30 Minutes Late. Since then, Tiny Desk has become a space for Vassar musicians to take part in a unique recording and performing experience. Based on NPR Music’s “Tiny Desk Concert” program, Vassar’s Tiny Desk is a fully filmed and edited live concert where student musicians present a short set in an intimate setting. For this concert, Bedlam chose a more minimalist approach to their usual sound. To adjust for the more casual atmosphere of Tiny Desk, the band utilized acoustic guitars, rather than their usual electric guitars, in the first two songs of their set. They also added more harmonies to the vocal lines in “Lemon Tree.” The band mentioned that these songs adjusted well to this format, as “Lemon Tree” already featured See Bedlam on page 5
6-7
pgs.
This Veterans’ Day, Vassar’s veterans share stories of service and civillian life