Meet the 2024-25 Phoenix Editors

The Phoenix is thrilled to introduce its editors for the 2024-2025 year. To see more about our editors and staff this year, check out our story highlights on our Instagram page @slcphoenix. 

Tallulah Hawley: Co-Editor in Chief

This is Tallulah Hawley's second year as Editor-in-Chief for the SLC Phoenix. Last year, she worked as the Deputy Profile Editor at the Oxford Student, but she is so excited to be back in NY! She is from St. Louis, Missouri (midwest forever), and studies psychology and anthropology at SLC. She can't wait to get started with the Phoenix for the upcoming year, but is also so thrilled to finally be a senior. In her spare time, Tallulah loves to journal, collage, and listen to music.

Isabel Lewis: Co-Editor in Chief

Isabel Lewis is a senior from North Carolina studying investigative journalism at Sarah Lawrence. She loves reporting and the thrill of uncovering great stories, with her work featured in North Carolina Health News and WUNC. When she’s not immersed in reporting on a story, Isabel loves exploring New York City, especially its record stores, bookstores, and coffee shops. 

Tina Nouri-Mahdavi: Co-Editor in Chief

Tina is a (graduating) third-year from the San Fernando Valley. This is her second year as an editor at the Phoenix but she is ecstatic to be leading it this year with her fellow Editor-in-Chiefs! She is studying creative writing and literature, and though she adores the Phoenix/journalism, fiction is her main passion. If she is not hunched over her desk (rare), you can find her going to museums, cooking, traveling, taking film photos, or spending too much money on clothing and things she deems ‘kitsch.’ 

Javi Vela: Managing Editor

This is Javi’s second year with the Phoenix and his sixth in journalism. He is a senior focusing on psychology and childhood development. He is thrilled to be named co-managing editor this year, having spent last year as the sports editor. Javi was born and raised in Austin TX, and loves to bore you by talking about soccer.

Riddhi Kuthiala: Managing Editor

Riddhi is a senior from New Delhi, India studying nonfiction creative writing & media studies. She is passionate about (among other things) Joan Didion, Beyoncé, spring in New York, and her dogs. Her favorite short story is Lihaaf by Ismat Chughtai.

Mauli Chopra: Sports Editor

This is Mauli’s second year with the Phoenix and first year as co-editor for the Sports section. Last year, she was a staff writer. She studies Environmental Science, Economics, and writing at SLC. When touring SLC as a senior in high school, she recalls seeing a poster about The Phoenix and telling her father that she’s going to join it someday soon. Aside from writing and editing for her favorite school magazine, she’s part of the Cross Country team, SASA, and ‘27 class president.

Fiona Edmonds: Sports Editor

Fiona Edmonds is a sophomore and co-editor of the sports section at the Phoenix. She has been interested in journalism ever since discovering who Richard Nixon was in 8th grade, and is now waiting for someone to mail her a pile of mysterious FBI files just like Betty Metzger... Though she is extremely dedicated to her work for the sports staff, she can also be found writing about politics, economics, and theater (her other scholarly interests). Go Gryphs!

Havana Garrett: Opinions Editor

Havana is a senior concentrating in screenwriting, currently serving as the opinions editor for her third year on the staff of "The Phoenix,” after two years as news editor. Havana was previously the editor-in-chief of "The Boise Highlights," the oldest running newspaper in Idaho. Passionate about film, she recently returned from two semesters at Prague Film School. Outside of journalism, Havana enjoys slam poetry, film photography, and has attended four Phoebe Bridgers concerts, which many would consider to be too many. She’s looking forward to her last year of school and can’t wait to read everybody’s articles.

Noa Lindau Avery: Features Editor

Noa Lindau Avery, originally from Brooklyn, New York and East Tennessee, is now a sophomore at Sarah Lawrence College who is beyond excited to be a part of The Phoenix’s team. She is an enthusiastic student of journalism and of the Russian language. She is also the vice president of Democracy Matters SLC branch. She is employed at the Esther Raushenbush Library at the college. She loves history of all kinds, but most recently she has been interested in the Late Bronze Age collapse. She also loves to read and write poetry, to go to poetry festivals with her friends, and to sing. Most recently, she read Leonard Cohen’s “Book of Longing.”

Willa Dana: News Editor

Willa Dana is a junior from Putney, Vermont. She studies journalism and film production, with a particular interest in documentary work. Willa also studies French, and is hoping to further her academic experience by going abroad during her time in college. She originally joined the Phoenix as a staff writer in 2023 and is excited to join the editorial team for this school year! Alongside Willa’s role at the Phoenix, she works part time as a script reader for independent film production companies.

Caroline Cubbin: News Editor

Caroline Cubbin is a senior from the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. This is her second year as a news editor, and she can’t wait to begin another exciting year working with the Phoenix. Caroline is studying writing, with a focus on nonfiction and journalism, but is also passionate about literature and art history. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her cooking, flipping through fashion magazines, entertaining her mischievous cat, taking silly mirror selfies, or organizing her collection of CDs and records.

Chloe Tomasso: Arts and Culture Editor

Chloe is a senior from Middletown, CT who has been working on The Phoenix since last year. Being on The Phoenix is one of the highlights of her tenure at SLC thus far, and she is incredibly grateful for the campus-wide support of reviving print news. Outside of The Phoenix, Chloe studies writing and social sciences and plans on becoming a recreational therapist post-grad. During her (sort of) free time, she works at a retirement community in her hometown, collects fashion dolls (healing inner child things), and is an avid pop culture connoisseur. She is super excited for the upcoming school year and can't wait to see what the Phoenix team will accomplish. 

Angelina Halle: Ashtray Editor

Angelina is starting her second year as editor of The Ashtray. She is excited to be back in New York for a new school year. Angelina is from Annapolis, Maryland (yay crabs), and loves working on this entertaining section of The Phoenix. While she loves journalism and editing, she is studying creative writing and philosophy, currently focusing on poetry! Angelina also enjoys listening to her favorite music artists such as The Neighbourhood, reading horror books, and drawing!

Zoe Cushing: Copy Editor

Zoe Cushing is this year’s Phoenix's copy editor! She’s a senior this year, and her studies focus primarily on Russian language and Politics. Her hometown is in Indiana (she’s a Hoosier), but she’s been slowly figuring out how to become a true New Yorker these past few years (it’s hopeless). In her free time she likes to read, as well as write unfinished short stories. She really enjoys watching films, but Scorcese movies make her antsy and RomComs are a guilty pleasure. 

Kat Rutschilling: Social Media Editor

Kat Rutschilling is a senior from Alabama studying creative writing and literature and working as an intern in publishing, which she hopes to pursue after graduation. In her spare time, she runs an Instagram account that combines her love of books and collage, and watches Youtube videos of single women renovating cottages. Kat is also an RA, the co-chair for SLC’s new Journaling Club, and a Campus Center Assistant at BWCC, so you'll likely see her around. She is thrilled to be serving as The Phoenix's Social Media Editor this year!

Elise Hendricks: Web Editor

Elise is so excited to be the Web Editor for The Phoenix at Sarah Lawrence for the 2024-2025 school year. Elise is from North Georgia and is a first-year student at Sarah Lawrence College. She loves to write for screen, stage, paper, and so much more. She loves acting, writing, music, Saturday Night Live, movies, etc. Elise wants to thank the entire team of The Phoenix for their support, encouragement, and opportunity as she approaches this new chapter in her life!

Dariya: Audio Editor

Dariya is the Audio Editor of the Phoenix. She is an avid fan of the Yankees, equine therapy (in concept, not in practice for the foreseeable future), and Dial Antibacterial Soap in bar form. Dariya usually studies writing, literature and visual arts but this year she is studying whatever is left over because she got bumped twice as a senior. It’s gonna be a great year for the Phoenix. 

Chloe Hoppough: Visuals Editor

Chloe J. Hoppough is a senior and the visuals editor for The Phoenix! Fun facts about her are: she was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska (No, it’s not always cold in Alaska, and yes, it gets to -50 degrees.); she is an Asian American; she is studying Dance and Photography (she’s been a photographer for 3ish years); her favorite activities in Alaska are wild blueberry picking, side-by-side riding, fishing, hiking, and boat riding; she loves antique shopping, especially when the stores look like an old couple’s house (then you step in and it smells like your grandma’s house); her special power is that she can thrift really good party tanks (not the ones that look like they came from Shein) and jeans. She is so excited to be a part of the team! You’ll probably see her around campus with 3 different cameras. 

The Hauntings of Sarah Lawrence

*Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of blood, violence, death, suicide, and mental illness

On the second floor of Schmidt behind a door simply labeled ATTIC is a staircase leading to three rooms. The Schmidt attic door remained inexplicably unlocked for most of the fall 2018 semester, blowing open at random.  Lauren Ashby ‘21 who lived on the second floor of Schmidt right next to the attic door describes the attic space as “really gross and creepy.” Ashby elaborates: “When you go upstairs, there’s fake blood all over the walls. There’s a used condom, there’s a really regal clawfoot tub, and a cabinet with, many, many, many year old medical supplies… And there’s bloody handprints and stuff.” 

But the Schmidt attic is only one of several spaces on campus thought to be haunted.

Marshall Field is supposedly the most haunted building on campus. Superstitious students and staff have been known to avoid the building at night. A campus security officer said that they don’t avoid any particular buildings on campus, but that “Marshall Field can be weird sometimes.”  When asked to elaborate, he said that Marshall Field has a “weird energy.”

Claire Lewis ‘21 also describes a strange energy in Marshall Field: “I’ve heard a piano playing, but there was no one there. I don't know what that means. I mean, someone could have walked out and I didn't see them, but I don't know. And I [have] felt cold spots in Marshall Field and in Westlands, and I’ve heard stories from other students of having similar experiences like that in both Westlands and Marshall Field and the PAC.” A student reporter for the campus newspaper wrote in 2000 that “Sometimes piano music can be heard playing from rehearsal rooms or other areas that are found empty.”

Legend reported in these archived campus newspapers says that the building is haunted by the ghost of a young girl who disappeared during a game of hide-and-seek.  Her family never found her, and eventually moved away. Her body was discovered in a trunk years later. Now, her ghost has allegedly remained in the house.  If the ghosts like the music students play, they might encourage the musician. A 2000 article in the college archives says that a violinist reportedly heard the words, “‘Don’t stop’” spoken by a ghost while they were playing. 

Other accounts of Marshall Field’s supposed haunting arise appear in these old campus newspaper articles. Doors at Marshall Field are supposedly left open after security has locked up, or have been heard opening and closing in the building from students standing outside when it is empty and locked. Students reported seeing a “light figure,” feeling paranormal energy in room 9, and hearing screaming from empty rooms.

A student in 2000 said he was once stuck in one of the rooms in Marshall Field for half an hour. He resorted to screaming for help clawing at the door frame, leaving scratch marks in the wood, only to find that the door mysteriously opened on its own.

There have also been two reports of a “bloody woman” in Marshall Field documented the archives’ collection of campus newspapers. One was a woman covered in blood standing at the top of a staircase, the other story described a bloody woman banging on the walls. Some students, however, say that this is uncharacteristic of the Marshall Field ghosts, who are typically described as benevolent.

Sarah Lawrence alumna Astrid Lundberg ‘18 directed the a cappella group Trebel in Paradise from fall 2016 - spring 2018.  Trebel practices are held weekly in Marshall Field, giving Lundberg an insider’s scoop on the building’s supposed ghosts, but she isn’t sure if any ghosts truly reside there. “I think in a sense there is a genuine presence in Marshall Field that has human qualities and intentions, and I don't think that’s necessarily a ghost. I just think that’s what happens in spaces where many generations of people are making music… If I were to find out that that feeling and that presence were a person like a ghost person, I would be happy about that. I think that ghosts would be my friend,” she says. 

That said, Lundberg and her Trebel cohorts have noticed some strange activity in Room 23 of Marshall Field, where the group often holds their rehearsals. That room specifically is thought to be haunted, possibly by the woman in the portrait there. Lundberg says that sometimes during practices, students thought they saw the doorknob turn when no one was on the other side. Professor Sungrai Sohn teaches chamber music in Marshall Field, and some of his students have told him about a woman in a rocking chair in that same room, despite the space’s lack of an actual rocking chair.

Lundberg also discusses an experience with a possible phantom reading over her shoulder in the music library. “I was sitting in the Marshall Field library… working on an overdue paper as you do, and I was looking down at my computer, and I saw a tall male-looking figure, tall and thin, dressed in black and white –– white shirt, dark trousers –– walk in through the front door of the library. I thought it was someone I know, so I looked up, and that figure was no longer there in my direct vision. I looked back at my computer. The first time it was my left eye peripheral vision at the front door of the library, and then the same figure in my right eye peripheral vision walks in from the commuter room in the library and sort of stands diagonally behind me to my right, as if looking over my shoulder. I look up. It’s not there in my direct vision. I sat there for a while, I finished the paper, and I looked up and I did not see the figure anymore in my peripheral or direct vision.”

Christina Sweeney is the circulation services and music librarian at Marshall Field. She also experienced something strange in the library last year with an object she thought was a CD box, but is actually some sort of music box which only plays one song. “I was in [the music library] early in the semester by myself, and there all of a sudden I hear that sound. I’d never heard it before because no one had ever turned it on. I go, ‘that’s weird, did someone leave their cell phone behind and just has weird old country music as their ringtone?’ And I go to check where it’s coming from, and I was like, ‘that’s weird that it’s coming from there.’ No one was in [the music library] to turn it on or do anything to trigger it. No one had been in here other than myself for 20 minutes, half an hour. I’m convinced it was a ghost.”

Professor Sohn, who has an office on the basement level, says that he saw a figure pass by his office door one morning before the building opened to students. One morning when he came in early, he saw a figure pass by his office door. “I usually keep this door open when I practice. And Marshall Field is completely closed then –– only faculty members can come in with their cards. And I’m practicing and I turned around and there’s somebody in a white gown,” he recalls.  Professor Sohn says that he ran out, but he did not see the woman, who he described as appearing in her mid-twenties. He says that the experience got him a little spooked, “After that, I always close my door when I practice.”

Andrews house, MacCracken, Bates and the PAC are all rumored to be haunted. Brazen students even had success with a seance last year in the PAC. Lisa Negro and a group of students went into the Open Space at the bottom of the PAC at midnight with a ouija board and claim to have made contact with a spirit. Sophomore Corinne Alexander confirms that the ouija board said it was a little girl who was murdered by her aunt.  

In Andrews House students have attributed minor issues to ghost activity: computers shutting off, power outages, and missing belongings have often been blamed on the paranormal.  

Unexplained activity also occurs commonly in Hill House, particularly in the form of loud noises. Hill House 3G has been a particular hotbed for suspected paranormal activity. Past residents of Hill House 3G say they frequently heard strange noises coming from above them, even when all of their neighbors were sleeping.

Residents of 3G also hear sounds through their bathroom vent, some of which cannot be directly attached to Hill House residents. “My roommate heard an old man crying through the vents. I've heard people singing. Other people have heard my music playing,” says Julianna Markham-Adkinson ‘22. 

Noise isn’t the only strange activity in 3G. One resident who lived in 3G in the 2017-18 academic year, says that she sometimes saw “weird balloons floating around” in the apartment. Markham-Adkinson lived in 3G last year and would frequently lose some of her belongings, particularly earrings. “Lots of shiny things have gone missing” she describes.  Markham-Adkinson recalls that she lost her keys in her first semester in 3G, and that both she and her suitemate lost several earrings. Oddly, each time only one earring a pair would be unaccounted for. 

Other areas of Hill House have also been suspected of hauntings. Lundberg recalls that when she lived in 2K, the radiator made strange noises, but “Not normal radiator noises, human crying noises and laughing noises,” she says. She also remembers that the shower would spontaneously turn on when no one was in the bathroom. 

Hill House has been called “demonic” along with another of Sarah Lawrence’s largest residence halls: the New Dorms. In the New Dorms, ghost stories find their main place in Taylor. According to legend, in the ‘60s a dance third painted a black target at the bottom of the stairs between Taylor and Garrison. Her class was invited to watch her conference piece, where she danced to the top of the stairs and jumped to her death, falling onto the target on the floor. More stories from the archives’ collection of campus newspapers include words that mysteriously appear on a wall in Taylor, mirrors that have ghosts in them and act “like a passageway,” a ritual performed in the bathroom released a spirit, and the building is, simply, “evil.”

Shea Sprague ‘22 says of her former room, Taylor B-10, “I just get kind of an eerie feeling in here.”  Liz Stafford, another former-resident of Taylor B-10, adds that the windows and doors open randomly, although she notes it could just be the wind. The roommates also believe the Taylor B bathroom may also be haunted. They say, “when you’re in there you kind of get the creeps,” and things often go missing, including the shower curtains and a soap dispenser.  A Sarah Lawrence student who graduated in 1994 is recorded in the college newspaper archives for use of one of the Taylor bathrooms for a film project. The space was chosen for the project specifically because of the student’s feeling that the bathroom was “really really creepy.” The article did not mention which bathroom in Taylor the student was referring to.

Also situated on main campus, Westlands also has been the subject of ghostly speculation.  The building is said to be haunted by the ghost of the Lawrence family’s maid, who Westlands residents in 2016 affectionately named Gertrude. Legend says that Sarah Bates Lawrence murdered the maid by pushing her down the stairs. Gertrude supposedly haunts the third floor of Westlands, which is the building’s student residence hall. Isabella Vargas ‘20 describes how Gertrude got her name. “I lived in Westlands C7 in 2016, my first year. My roommates and I had heard the stories about Westlands being haunted and about Sarah Lawrence pushing a maid down the stairs. The door to our room would mysteriously creak open and slam shut, and we attributed this to the ghost of the maid. After a while, the three of us decided to give her the name Gertrude, Gertie for short. It spread throughout the rest of the Westies, and I guess it just stuck with the rest of campus,” she says. Gertrude’s story inspired student actors to play the characters of Sarah Lawrence and Gertrude last October in the Westlands haunted house.  

Perhaps serving as evidence to the Westlands hauntings, lights reportedly flicker, and it is also rumored that one Westlands resident goes insane every year. Erica Amabile ‘20 heard from another student that if you stand in a certain spot on the lawn at night, you may see the silhouette of Sarah Lawrence herself.  Or it could just be the shadow of a Westlands resident eating a midnight snack. It’s true that most of the reports strange happenings have explanations unrelated to the paranormal and that most of the suspected hauntings of Sarah Lawrence aren’t much more than student-created lore. But you might want to keep the light on, just in case.

Camryn Sanchez, ‘21

WSLC is About More Than Just Streaming This Year

One of the first things you notice when you enter the WSLC broadcast room is a wall plastered with colorful drawings, photos, and sketches promoting past shows and events, and to its right, a whiteboard which cautions DJs against covering up holes in the wall with art.

“That’s a rule because someone had literally punched a hole in the wall when we took over the job,” General Manager Kate Chaloemtiarana ‘20 explains.

In typical Sarah Lawrence fashion, WSLC deviates from a traditional college radio station in many ways, but primarily by not broadcasting on AM/FM radio waves. For the last decade and a half, WSLC has been an internet-only radio station. 

Its broadcast room on the second floor of Bates is filled with artifacts from previous eras and recent additions that show how the station has grown. A box of crayons, markers, and a stack of blank paper is kept near the recording equipment, and DJ’s are encouraged to doodle during their shows. One wall is decorated with large black and white pictures of cheerful Sarah Lawrence students broadcasting in a professional-looking recording booth dating back to the 1940’s and 50’s, and a shelf in the back corner contains stacks of CDs and LPs that used to serve as the station library.

WSLC—then known as ‘Radio Sarah Lawrence’—had its first broadcast on 105.7 FM in February of 1946, then only for “two nights and an hour every morning during the week,” according to the yearbook. In its first few decades, the station hosted more academic programs, briefly airing performances by drama classes, theater troupes, student ensembles, as well as educational lectures and discussions on music history between distinguished professors. 

For decades after, college radio DJs were required to keep scrupulous lists of the songs and artists that were played on their shows. Then, WSLC’s music manager sent these lists to the College Music Journal, a monthly music magazine that published statistics and charts of who or what was gaining traction on collegiate airwaves. A spot on a CMJ list was a big deal for up-and-coming artists. It wasn’t exactly the Billboard Hot 100, but it meant you were cool, or at least well-known among tastemaking college students. In a tragic event for backpack rappers and shoegaze artists everywhere, the College Music Journal ceased publication last year, and WSLC is no longer governed by a higher regulatory body. 

There are certain benefits to switching to Internet radio, though. Traditional radio means broadcasting consistently, twenty-four hours a day, and only certain songs can be played. 

“Sarah Lawrence has never really had a wide enough listening base to keep that up,”  says Chaloemtiarana. Currently, WSLC broadcasts forty-five shows a week, from 4pm to 1am, Mondays through Fridays, hosted online by Live365 Internet radio. The platform’s standards for what can be played are much more lax, offering students the chance to experiment with unique and diverse show formats. They are no longer limited by Federal Communications Commission regulations, meaning they can play brand-new, rarely-heard songs by up-and-coming artists from music sharing sites like Soundcloud or Bandcamp, or even music created by themselves and their peers. 

There are some rules, however. Chaloemtiarana and SD Diamond, ‘20, the station’s Operations Manager, maintain a “Banned Bands” list, which currently consists of OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons, and The Fray. Although the list is obviously a joke at the expense of some bands they don’t like, there’s a reason they keep it up.

“The station as we knew it, when me and SD started, was basically ‘cis white dudes of Sarah Lawrence’, and that was who the DJ base was.” explains Chaloemtiarana. Now, for the first time ever, all four managers are non-binary. To them, the banned bands are a representation of the station’s past, and of the “indie-rock bros” that used to manage it, although Chaloemtiarana admits the biggest reason they still keep a banned bands list is just because it’s funny.

“I don't even really have a real answer for why we do it,” says Chaloemitiarana. “[When we started], there wasn't anything kind of funny about this station. And we want it to be whimsical.”

Attempts at whimsy also include the creation of a “station voice,” a persona assumed by Diamond in their e-mails to the DJ staff. The station, which introduces itself as “I, the radio station,” will welcome DJ’s to “be inside of me,” or “make sure to clean me when you’re done using me.”

Despite all the shenanigans (or perhaps because of it), Chaloemtiarana sees the radio less as a job and more as a creative outlet. 

“You don't need any background experience,” Chaloemtiarana says. “You can be from any club or walk of life that Sarah Lawrence has, and like, just have a playlist. Everyone can make a playlist. I think that's what draws people to it. There's this weird sense of community, but also you have so much freedom within that community.”

WSLC shows tend to fall into two categories. The first is the classic college radio stereotype — loosely structured playlists of new and interesting music with occasional commentary and analysis, and the second — shows that are more structured and consistent with their programming.

One example of that second style is “Amateur Galaxy,” hosted by Katie Duke ‘20, which airs at 11pm on Mondays. According to Duke, “Amateur Galaxy” will play a mixture of new wave, and post-punk music, punctuated by frequent guest appearances from friends. True to her show’s name, Duke, or “DJ Stepmom,” plans to adopt a “cosmic motif” in the show’s branding and talking segments.

Kate Sabiston, ‘23, hosts a show called “Burnt Out,” Mondays at 7pm, which is based on a playlist she made last year for a friend who was having trouble finding new music.

“It's essentially a show for those who want to listen to music but don't know what they want to listen to,” said Sabiston. “The music is very decompressing, and it acts as a ‘reset button’ for when you're in a weird headspace and need your music to match that energy,” she says.

Sabiston draws inspiration from artists like Beach House, Kendrick Lamar, and the National, mostly sticking to indie and alternative hip-hop, although she’ll play anything that fits her required vibe of “dark, chilling, and oddly relaxing.”

But music shows are not all WSLC has to offer. There are also a number of high-concept shows designed by DJs eager to take full advantage of the freedom offered to them by Internet radio.

One show the managers are excited about this year is “The Golden Hour,” which airs at 4pm on Fridays. Hosted by Morgan Lui ’22, and Sarah Adams ‘23, the show will enlist student actors every week to re-enact radio dramas of the 1930’s and 40’s, complete with era-appropriate music and vintage commercial breaks.

Fridays at 11pm is the “Manager Hour”, hosted by the WSLC staff, where the managers plan on highlighting some of their favorite shows of the week and playing mixtapes they find lying around the station.

 “Girls to The Front,” hosted by Margaret McGuinness '23, is an hour dedicated to showcasing the best of the feminist punk riot grrl movement, and airs Mondays at 8pm. 

Jessie Moore, '23, will be hosting a show called "Hometown Hits" Thursdays at 9pm. Each episode will feature a guest host and focus on the music that reminds them of their hometown.

Rounding out the talk show lineup is “Big Girl Business,” a financial advice and economic talk show hosted by Antonia Knox ‘21 and Nell Sanders ‘21, Tuesdays at 5pm.

WSLC’s new logo, designed by Community Manager, Sam Kurzydlo, ‘21

Along with a slate of brand new shows, WSLC is also debuting a brand new logo, designed by Community Manager Sam Kurzydlo, ‘21. Taking inspiration from the station’s well-worn geometric neon carpet design, the managers hope that the new logo will usher in a new era and personality for WSLC.

“We all decided that it was time for something other than black letters on a little background … It's a new logo that reflects a new attitude about the station, while still having a firm connection to what it's always been,” Kurzydlo said, adding that they hoped the logo would bring out the natural character of the space and the people who use it every day.

Sarah Lawrence student DJs come from different friend groups, different years, and are often interested in varying genres and styles of music, united only by their love of the job. But when DJs only come by the station for one hour a week, they aren’t interacting as much as they could be.

 This year, building solidarity between DJ’s will be as much of a focus as attracting them used to be. “There isn’t really that sense of community,” Chaloemtiarana says. “A really big focus for us for the past couple of years has been actually trying to get WSLC to be representative of how we see Sarah Lawrence at its best,” Chaloemtiarana adds, citing the new identity group radio hour as one example of that. 

 Identity based groups such as QPOC, Queer People of Color; Kula, a student-run organization for Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi-identifying students; Harambee, a student union representing students who identify as part of the African Diaspora; and Unidad, a community for Latinx students, will take turns hosting a weekly radio show.

“Every Monday at ten, it’ll be a different group presenting on something fun that they feel is relevant to their club,” Chaloemtiarana says. “I introduced that last year because I felt like the DJs were a largely white audience and group of people. We’ve been really trying to focus on getting a more diverse range of shows and people.” 

Chaloemtiarana says that they believe that college radio should be a part of the college experience, even as the definition of college radio itself changes rapidly. 

“People still like it, but people don’t necessarily listen to the radio that much,” they explained. Planning and recording shows is “more fun for the DJs,” whereas WSLC’s live music events “are more for the community.”

At the end of last year, the Sarah Lawrence Student Life Activities Council Live Music department was dissolved, leaving WSLC responsible for bringing all live music to campus. 

Last month, WSLC hosted a triple-header featuring New York artists Jimi Lucid, Navy Gangs, and Noble Spell. Lakota Harvey, ‘21, WSLC’s Music Manager, is currently in the process of finding and planning the next show, scheduled for October 25th.

“I remember hearing that the year before we got here, Porches came to play Springfest. And then also Mac DeMarco,” Diamond explained. “We're not trying to book those kinds of people right now. Because they're just like, grimy dudes.” As a counterpoint, Diamond mentioned last year’s Spring Fest, WSLC’s annual spring music festival, featured “all queer people, which is awesome. And a good mix of genres, too. In terms of booking bands, like, we do try and book queer or POC bands.” 

Diamond was quick to clarify that they still enjoy Porches and Mac DeMarco, but wanted the WSLC live music series to avoid established musicians that students on campus are likely to be familiar with.

“We were like, oh, we have a position where we're in New York, we have access to Student Senate funding, and we could really get exposure for bands who want to play for cool people and aren't really huge names,” says Chaloemtiarana. “If you want to go see the people that you associate with ‘college culture’, you can go to Brooklyn. We're just trying to bring faces and voices to campus that makes somebody go, oh, I hadn't heard that before.”

“We try to get a lot of DIY bands,” Harvey said, adding that they usually contact artists through social media. Sometimes touring artists come to Sarah Lawrence for an intimate warm-up show a few days before a big performance in New York, or Harvey approaches New York-based artists eager to build a local fanbase.

After first approaching an artist, “we figure out what's going on and then see if they're available,” says Harvey. “Then we send them contracts.” The process is much quicker and simpler than one would expect, and often Harvey deals directly with the artists themselves, not an intermediary like an agent or manager.

Unless performers bring their own sound engineer, Diamond and Chaloemtiarana handle the technology and gear setup for the live shows, and Harvey handles the ‘hospitality’ aspect, which can involve finding a green room, making sure the artists are comfortable and ready to perform, and more often than not, showing them where to buy beer. 

“It's really important to us that the artists feel appreciated for coming out to Westchester,” said Chaloemtiarana. “And when people come to the shows, they really do.” 

Most artists stick around after their sets to hang out with students, and often exchange contact information and keep in touch over social media.

Most shows will be located in the new Barbara Walters Campus Center, but the managers are also looking at hosting gigs on other spaces on campus, like the Performing Arts Center, Blue Room, and Bates Basement. The Barbara Walters performance space was designed for live performances,  which made for great acoustics at WSLC’s first show of the year. But for many, a problem is that the space is actually too hospitable. 

“It does take away kind of like the previous vibe that we had, which was kind of grungy and kind of like DIY in the Blue Room,” Diamond says, referring to previous years’  performance space, the now-shuttered but endearingly cramped and dingy basement. “We're trying to work out like how we can maneuver that, because sometimes you want it to sound good rather than just be aesthetically gross.” 

Diamond emphasizes the managers’ commitment to using live music as an opportunity to revive Sarah Lawrence’s dormant DIY scene this year.

“I feel like it used to be something before we were all here and now it’s not really a thing,” says Diamond, whose job as Operations Manager entails fixing and maintaining all the technology and recording equipment owned by WSLC. “There’s not a lot of on campus bands,” they added, though that soon may change. WSLC recently purchased a drum set and some amplifiers, usually the two heavier and more expensive types of equipment that prevent amateur bands from performing on a whim.

“I want the student musicians here to feel like they have a specific outlet to share their talent with us,” said Kurzydlo, who has been planning on participating in a college radio station since they were in high school. As Community Manager, their main responsibilities include communicating with DJs, ensuring community standards are met, and promoting shows and live performances on social media. Social media wasn’t always part of the job description, but now it encompasses a large swath of Kurzydlo’s time. 

“As the years have gone on, we've sort of influenced the job description,” they say. “I think that I've made the community manager job more about promotion than it was before. For a while, our Facebook and Instagram were followed by a lot of alumni, and I've really taken it upon myself to make sure that we're reaching current students as well.”

This year’s WSLC managers are acutely aware that their tenure comes at a time in Sarah Lawrence history where the campus is changing as fast as the radio station.

“Something that I know is important to all four managers is that there's so much passion and creativity that this student body has to showcase, and we want to make sure that the wider campus community knows that this is the place for it,” Kurzydlo says.

If you tune into Kurzyldo’s own show, “Grandma’s Dusty Attic,” Mondays at midnight, you’ll get to hear a musical grab-bag of artists like Merzbow, Lightning Bolt, Ariana Grande, and Steve Reich, but more importantly, Kurzydlo fully taking advantage of the freedom Internet radio provides. 

When asked what their favorite part of streaming on the internet instead of traditional radio was, Kurzydlo remained honest.

“You can swear as many times as you want!”

Steve Orlofsky, ‘21

Sam Axelrod ‘16 Performs with Brooklyn-Based Future of What

Sam Axelrod (’16), who is often in the library’s quiet room during the school week when he is not in class, can also be found moonlighting in Brooklyn band Future of What, which recently put out their first album on Jan. 13. Pro Dreams, which debuted at #61 on the CMJ top 200, was streamed before its release on Consequence of Sound. Now, it is available on their Bandcamp, Spotify, and iTunes. 

Future of What is a trio comprised of Axelrod, Blair Gimma, and Max Kotelchuck, who have been performing together since 2012. Their sound is somewhere between dream pop, synth pop, and electro pop. When asked to describe it to someone who is both blind and deaf, Axelrod hesitatingly said the band tasted like “mango sorbet” or “maybe a piña colada.” The press release for Pro Dreams says the album is “for daytime and nighttime. It’s a makeout record and a breakup record. It’s headphone music for a walk or a train ride. It’s a getting-ready-for-work album as much as a getting-ready-to-go-out record. Casual enough to listen to while cleaning the house, yet emotional enough to die to.” 

Axelrod, who commutes to Sarah Lawrence from Brooklyn three times a week, came to SLC through the Center of Continuing Education in January of 2012.  Axelrod says, “2011 was the first year in my life I wasn’t playing in a band since about the mid-nineties.” Axelrod met Gimma through mutual friends after having liked her solo album from 2010, Die Young, which she made under the eponymously titled project, Blair. Kotelchuck, whom Axelrod knew through his sister, joined what was slowly becoming a group project soon after. 

Axelrod was previously in Chicago-based band The Narrator from 2002 until 2008. The two albums The Narrator put out, All That To The Wall (2007) and Such Triumph (2005), scored a 7.2 and a 7.5 on Pitchfork respectively. 

Axelrod says it was “the right time” to come to SLC in 2012. “I had been encouraged to check out the continuing education program. I wasn’t thinking like, ‘I am going back to school.’ I just was going to try it, so I went to the orientation in November, and by January I was enrolled in classes. It was right at the same time I started playing in Future of What.”

Though he takes primarily writing classes, Axelrod has also taken literature classes, history classes, and psychology classes. Pro Dreams’ opener, “The Rainbowed Air” is named after a line from Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. “I tried to read Moby-Dick in 2007 when I was on tour in Japan with [The Narrator] and I just couldn’t get through it. I took a summer class with Ilja Wachs in CCE and I read Moby-Dick for conference.”  Axelrod says he is more of a stickler for song titles than his bandmates. “Songs go through various stages,” says Axelrod. “Some songs get names before they even necessarily deserve one. That can go on to dictate the lyrics or the vibe of the song.” 

Future of What also struggled to come up with a band name while recording their 2012 EP Moonstruck, very shortly after they had started playing. Axelrod says, “We couldn’t agree on anything and I was sitting there in the studio going through my iPod, looking for words and phrases I liked. I gave the ones I picked out to Blair, and Future of What was the one we picked.” 

Though they have a Blue Room show in the works, Future of What has played SLC before. In 2013, they played 4/20 Fest to “five people” on the South Lawn. “It was supposed to be on the North Lawn,” Axelrod explains, “but it was moved under a tent on the South Lawn because it was supposed to rain. But it turned out to be 72 and sunny and everyone hung out on the North Lawn and would only walk over when their friends played. We had no friends.” 

Future of What are expecting a bigger crowd at their album release party, which will be Feb. 8 at Baby’s All Right in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 

By Sarah McEachern ‘17

Career Corner, for Advice on Life After College: Simon and Schuster Site Visit

After selecting my interests on my Sarah Lawrence College Career Link profile, I received an email inviting me to a site visit at the publishing company Simon & Schuster. As publishing has always been a career that sounded interesting to me, a behind-the-scenes sneak peak seemed like the perfect way to learn more. 
 
Walking into the large lobby of Simon & Schuster’s headquarters, just off of Fifth Avenue, made it easy to envision and get excited about the possibility of a career there. After being escorted upstairs, we all sat down around a large table in one of their conference rooms and were introduced to two employees, and SLC alums, Sophia Jimenez BA (‘12) and Tatiana Ruiz-Cornejo MFA (‘13).

My dreams of working in publishing as an excuse to read books all day long were quickly shattered by Jimenez. She works in the editorial department, and explained that it’s not all chai teas and good reads. “You don’t get a lot of time to read at work,” she said. “I spend a lot of my day answering emails and dealing with various other parts of the books process and the time for editing comes after work. I actually get a lot of it done during my commute.”
 
As I heard more about the industry, I began to build a more three-dimensional image of what working in publishing is really like. Ruiz-Cornejo, who works in the publicity department, explained, “Publicity reaches out to reviewers and critics to get your New York Times or your Boston Globe to review the book, and then also works on setting up events for the book.”
 
While authors may seem a difficult breed to work with, Ruiz-Cornejo deals directly with authors whose attitudes break that stereotype. She was especially surprised by “how nice the authors are. They are always in contact with me asking me who their readers are and how they can get more readers.” 
 
An obvious deciding factor to see whether a career is right for you is whether or not you have the skills necessary to be successful and enjoy that field. The advice for top skills to have in publishing from the pro: “Time management and being detail oriented, while being able to look at the big picture,” said Jimenez. “You have to be diplomatic as well because you do a lot of interacting with authors.”

Jeffrey Salane, who works in Little Simon, Simon & Schuster's children’s department, talked about the exciting and rewarding aspects of his job which include: “taking a manuscript, finding an illustrator that will lift the book to the next level and getting to work with a lot of strong creative people. Its kind of the bees knees.”

I left feeling inspired by the enthusiasm of those who spoke to us but also unsure if a career in publishing is right for me. It just didn’t feel right. No matter, at least I’m one feeling closer to finding a career that I love. 

by Mary Katherine Michiels-Kibler ’17
mmichiels@gm.slc.edu

MEET THE EDITORS: Who's Who on The Phoenix?

Wade Wallerstein (’17) is a 19-year-old sophomore at Sarah Lawrence College who is currently studying journalism and digital media. He is the Phoenix’s Editor-in-Chief.

This summer, Wade worked at the mall near his hometown of Los Gatos, CA, which is about 45 minutes south of San Francisco. He spent much time walking along the beach of Northern California, climbing trees, and watching bad movies on Netflix. For two weeks he went to Puerto Rico in efforts to get tan and instead just got burned.

This summer, Wade read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” which he finished quickly in order to start “A Storm of Swords,” the third book in George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Fire and Ice” series (for those of you who don’t know, that means “Game of Thrones”).

In his spare time, Wade enjoys writing about rap music, laying in grassy areas, compulsively eBay-shopping, and watching videos of ocean creatures. You can follow him on Instagram: @boyratchet, and Twitter: @b0yratchet.

Julia Schur (’15) is an international student from Paris, France who moved to New York City in 2012. She is the Phoenix’s Managing Editor.

During the summer, Julia worked on a schizophrenic range of topics. Starting off in June she became an editor at RESPECT. Magazine, which led her to delve deeper into the hip-hop world. She also has been juggling studying for the LSAT. Traveling throughout the summer between Paris, Rhode Island, Boston and New York, her constant companion was “Hard Choices” by Hillary Clinton. You can follow Julia on Twitter: @juliahlna

Sarah McEachern (’17) is the Phoenix’s Print Managing Editor and hails from just near Minneapolis. Her midwestern accent means that she says ‘bag’ funny and calls soda-pop simply ‘pop.’

Sarah returned to Minneapolis over the summer and worked the entire time, with only a brief reprieve to go to the cabin. When she wasn’t working, she was reading. Some of the books Sarah read over the summer were “To Kill A Mockingbird,” “A Moveable Feast, Nine Stories, I Will Never Be Beautiful Enough to Make Us Beautiful Together, Norwegian Wood, The Unaccustomed Earth” by Jhumpa Lahiri, “Drown, Raise High the Roof beams Carpenters and Seymour: an Introduction,” and “The Girl with Curious Hair.”

Nabila Wirakushmah (’17) is the Phoenix’s Web Editor.

She spent her summer in 10 cities and different countries before realizing she probably should have planned for a little more downtime. After spending barely four days at home in Hong Kong, she took off for SLC's Summer Arts in Berlin program where she studied drawing, art history and architectural theory. Once the program was over, she explored Brussels and Amsterdam before heading back to Hong Kong for two weeks to meet up with two of her best friends from SLC and show them around the city and its neighboring country, Macau.

The end of July marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan, and on the 28th Nabila and her family went to Jakarta to celebrate Idul Fitri. After all the celebrations, they traveled to Bali for three weeks of diving, taking several small trips to and from Lovina, Ubud and Gili Trawangan to experience the part of Indonesia they missed out on while living abroad.

At the start of the summer, Nabila had written out a whole reading list for herself. However, she regrettably only got ‘round to reading one book on the list: Chris Brogan's “The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth.” The book is a guide to entrepreneurship for those who don't quite fit in. She also reread “Kitchen” by Banana Yoshimoto for the fourth time, even though it was not on her list.

Janaki Chadha (’17) is the Phoenix’s News Editor.

Over the summer, Janaki went back to her hometown of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. She interned with the NYC-based organization The Poetry Society of New York, where she mostly worked on social media outreach, and spent most of her free time reading, writing and eating home-cooked food.

During the summer, Janaki read a lot of different things. She read Junot Diaz's collection, “This is How You Lose Her," lots of Joan Didion, including “Play It As It Lays,” “Middlesex,” by Jeffrey Eugenides, “A Bend in the River” and “A House for Mr. Biswas” by V. S. Naipaul, and she finally finished Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

MaryKatherine Michiels-Kibler (’17), or simply MK, is from San Francisco but also frequently finds herself in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She is the Phoenix’s Features Editor.

MK enjoyed cheering on team FURY at the World Championships of Ultimate Frisbee in Lecco, Italy over the summer. She also enjoyed exploring Berlin with her mom, flying airplanes upside down with her dad, and taking seven kids to Yosemite National Park with her friends.

MK enjoys reading The Week, a magazine that is essentially a cheat sheet to all politics, gossip and current events happening in the world. She finds it useful when wanting to sound like she read many articles when she really only read one.

Colette Harley (’17) is the Phoenix’s Sports Editor. She is made mostly of avocados, chlorine and caffeine.

This summer Colette read most of David Foster Wallace’s short essays, “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck, “Taipei” by Tao Lin, “I Love Dick” by Chris Kraus, and re-read “Catcher in the Rye.” Colette is currently working on understanding her feelings about Wallace and might just get around to reading “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville.

When she wasn’t hanging out in Connecticut, she was working in Bronxville. The most notable part of her summer was a pilgrimage to JD Salinger’s house in Cornish, New Hampshire with Print Editor Sarah McEachern (’17).

You can follow her on twitter @intensechoobism

Baldwin Virgin (’17) is from Montclair, New Jersey, where she resides with her parents, younger brother and poodle mix. She is the Phoenix’s Perspectives Editor.

Baldwin worked for Pixie Market as their lead social media intern this summer before continuing on to working for designer Prabal Gurung as a Public Relations intern.

Baldwin’s love of writing can most likely be attributed to her writer mother and literary namesake, James Baldwin. Her love for fashion has been with her since diaper days, but is probably due to the InStyle subscription she received on her eighth birthday.

Her favorite books include “The Human Stain” by Philip Roth, “Dirty Love” by Andre Dubus III, and “My Misspent Youth,” a collection of essays by Meghan Daum.

When she is not shopping her closet or gallivanting around the city, she can be found in her basement watching Sex and the City reruns. Baldwin hopes to be a fashion journalist one day and believes that any woman can conquer the world in a black tuxedo blazer.

Toya Singh (’15) grew up in New Delhi, India, Sydney, Australia,  and Manila, Philippines. She is the Phoenix’s Social Media Editor.

Most recently she shifted to Irving, Texas, where she spent her summer doing the classic American pastimes that are visiting the grocery store, pretending she would one day hit the gym, and going to that one mall again and again.

Over the summer, she read Haruki Murakami’s “The Windup Bird Chronicle” and J.D. Salinger’s “Franny and Zooey.” After discovering the “Irreverent” genre tag on Netflix, Toya is proud to say that she watched every single episode of every season of “Freaks and Geeks,” “The Office,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Sex and the City,
“Louie,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “That 70’s Show.” She tried “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” but it just really, really, really wasn’t meant to be.

Julia Hodgkinson (‘15) is a senior from Vancouver, Canada. She studies largely in the Environmental Studies and Economics departments during her years at SLC, and she keeps up her Spanish too. She is the Phoenix’s Copy Editor.

This summer, Julia lived in Brooklyn and interned with the Climate Initiative at the Clinton Foundation. Her research focus there was largely on renewable energy development in island nations. On weekends, Julia could be found firmly planted with iced-coffee in Fort Greene Park reading the Economist, while most likely on the phone (with her mother). This summer she read “Hard Choices” by Hillary Clinton, and she re-read “Guns, Germs, and Steel” and “Collapse” by Jared Diamond.  Julia really enjoys eating, talking, and traveling, but she loves the ocean(s).

Kathy Wielgosz (’17) is a sophomore focusing on literature and she is interested in pursuing publishing after school. She is the Phoenix’s Copy Editor.

Kathy spent her summer working retail and volunteering at her local library in her hometown of Woodridge, Illinois, a small suburb of Chicago. During her free time, she re-read her favorite book, “Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, and finally started reading the “Lord of the Rings” series, which she admittedly should have read years ago.

She spent the last week of her summer break visiting Williamsburg, Virginia and Washington, D.C. before returning to Sarah Lawrence. She can often be found working at the SLC library or procrastinating by cross-stitching while watching Netflix. Her current binge show is “Arrow,” which she finds delightfully cheesy.

Shelby Krog (’17) is a sophomore focusing on a degree in both veterinary medicine as well as journalism. She has a focus to work for National Geographic and has been published in the New York Times as well as the Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. She is the Phoenix’s Copy Editor.

During the summer, Shelby spent her time between California (mostly San Francisco area) and South Florida, working both as a trainer and care taker at Barker’s Pet Resort  as an assistant to a marketing executive for Netflix and HBO-go.

In her free time, Shelby volunteers at pet shelters, writes poetry, and engages in fiery social and political conversations with her friends. She loves to read, and most recently finished “Jitterbug Perfume” by Tom Robbins and “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett. You can follow Shelby on Instagram: @skroggy.

"That's an all-girls school, right?" Michiels-Kibler tackles the classic misconception

“That’s an all girl’s school. Right?” I have been asked this question countless times since deciding to attend Sarah Lawrence College. For a school that became coeducational at the same time as just about every other originally women’s college (Vassar and Skidmore, for example), SLC has retained its image as an all female institution and enrollment has continued to be uneven (72 percent female to 28 percent male according to the Princeton Review).

When Sarah Lawrence College first opened in 1928 its mission was to prepare young women for society. After the difficult financial times of the war, and under the GI Bill, the college allowed a select number of veterans to attend. Then, in 1968, after much controversy, the board of directors decided to allow men to officially enroll in the college; however, the administration never publicly announced this decision.

In the March 1975 issue of The SLC Tribune (The Phoenix's precursor as the campus newspaper), only seven years after becoming coed, the paper reported a male-to-female ratio of one male to every three females. In the article, students debated whether the school should start more actively recruiting men or go back to being all female.

Sarah Lawrence women Marjorie Rile '41, Dorothy "Dot" Hodge '41, and Jo Hill '41 play pool with their dates during a Sunday tea dance in 1938 . Photo courtesy Sarah Lawrence College Archives from the 1938-39 SLC Yearbook.

The article also discussed how the ratio affected the social scene of the school, and listed possible reasons for the college’s continued all female reputation as such: “Male candidates believe that SLC still holds the reputation of being an all-women’s college. The name helps this impression linger on. Most men who decide to go to college choose a school with stronger emphasis on the sciences and more defined job-oriented programs.” It also asserted that SLC is not “a competitively oriented school.” Why do we still have this reputation 40 years later?

photo courtesy Sarah Lawrence College Archives

Three male first-years all agreed that they were aware of the male female ratio and reputation as an all girls school prior to attending Sarah Lawrence, but that it did not affect their decision to enroll.

Another first-year commented: “I took into consideration the curriculum and the academics of the school along with the fact that I would be playing sports here,” said Varun Kelkar ‘18, “so it didn’t really bother me that there would be more girls than guys. It was definitely more of a culture shock when I got here, but I never felt out of place.”  

Renee Lemmel ’17 added, “People are always [asking], ‘is that an all girls school? I’m like, well, technically no, but there are still so many girls compared to guys that it may as well be.” As for the social scene, Lemmel commented: “Girls are always like, ‘well he is the only viable candidate out of the few’.”

To avoid feelings of annoyance at the repetition of this question my recommendation is to come up with an amusing answer to say when correcting this common misconception.

by Mary Katherine Michiels-Kibler '17
Features Editor
mmichiels@gm.slc.edu 

Welcome to your new home! Take a tour of SLC's residence halls

One of the most annoying things that Sarah Lawrence fails to inform incoming students about is dormitory situations. They tell you what room you will be living in and how many roommates you will have, but there is no real way to see the space that you will be living in. Never fear! The Phoenix is here with a photo tour of Sarah Lawrence residences! We've included photos of as many of the dorms that incoming students will occupy as possible—many of which have students in them to help you visualize yourselves in your new homes. Welcome to SLC, folks!

Hill House

Hill House Exterior

photos courtesy Ellie Brumbaum '17

Hallway

Triple Room from the Inside

Double Room

Common Room

View from Inside Kitchen of Pantry and Common Room

Common Room Feast

Kitchen

Bathroom

Bathroom

Hill House dorms are apartment style. All have kitchens, bathrooms, and multiple bedrooms. While some have common rooms, some do not. 

New Dorms (Rothschild, Garrison, & Tweed)

Ellie Brumbaum 

Ellie Brumbaum

Habiba Warren '17

Habiba Warren

New dorms are closer to the traditional dormitory style of most college campuses. These buildings are modern with rooms lining both sides of long hallways. These rooms are non-adjoining and have their own closets. While Rothschild has apartments similar to those of Hill House with their own bathrooms, Garrison and Taylor have communal bathrooms at the end of each hallway.

Old Dorms (MacCracken, Titsworth, Dudley Lawrence, & Gilbert)

Titsworth

photo courtesy Willa Bennett '17

Titsworth

photo courtesy Willa Bennett '17

MacCracken

photo courtesy Nikki Wilks '17

MacCracken

photo courtesy Lilah Dougherty '17

MacCracken

photo courtesy Nikki Wilks '17

Titsworth

photo courtesy Andrea Rogers '16

It's hard to capture the charm of these residence halls. They are old, but full of stories. Each room is a slightly different shape. The pictures above come from Titsworth, the all female building, but Dudley Lawrence, MacCracken, and Gilbert (substance free housing) are similar. Unlike the new dorms, theThere are no hall bathrooms in these buildings: instead, rooms are paired together with bathrooms that connect them. This means that you only share a bathroom with your roommates and the residents of the room next to yours. 

Westlands

Ellie Brumbaum

The residence hall in Westlands has some of the most unique rooms on campus. They feature all wood floors and funky architecture that makes for cozy corners and excellent study spaces. This hall is substance free, quiet housing and has communal hall bathrooms.

Lynd

Lynd.

Photos courtesy of Caroline Harrison ‘17

Lynd is, in my opinion, the most beautiful dorm on campus. Many of the rooms used to shelve books for the mansion that Lynd was converted from. This dorm is famously known as the "Yoko Ono Dorm" because she lived here during her time at SLC. It has beautiful mahogany wood paneling and flooring, and is right across from Sarah Lawrence's green house.


by Wade Wallerstein
Editor-in-Chief
wwallerstein@gm.slc.edu
twitter: b0yratchet
ig: boyratchet

Nervous about moving in? Here's what you should bring for the best move-in day ever

We are quickly approaching the excitement of Move-In Day – a day that can seem daunting when facing the challenging task of deciding what to pack. “You don’t need to bring as much as you think you do,” explained Connor Simcox ‘16, “you want to bring a bunch of books from home because they look nice or you want to read them, but you only ever end up flipping through one or two.” Within the first few weeks of school your book collection will have doubled, adapting to your new tastes and your curriculum. “Just bring the books that might work well as reference material,” he said.

It is important that you acclimate yourself easily to your new home, and to do so you should bring familiar objects with you. “Things I was happiest to have brought were things from my childhood, like books that I had already read, my dad’s pillows or a pair of my mom’ socks, just to remind me that I was home,” said Aly Tippett ‘16.

You should buy tape to stick things on your walls that remind you of home (tacks are not allowed). “Bring photographs of your family, of your friends, of your pets, and of the neighborhood café that was the site of so many high school study sessions. Keep those people and those places with you. They are your foundation, they are what brought you to who, and where you are now,” said Sophie Needleman ‘16

You will also need a few essentials to make your life a little easier throughout the year. “Shower shoes for communal bathrooms and a robe will save your life,” said Katya Goncalves ‘16. In addition, bring “a fan, and slippers so you can walk around comfortably,” said Tippett. The beds at Sarah Lawrence are twin-sized, so bring a comforter, bed linens and two pillows sized for your new bed. Your new room will be smaller than what you are accustumed to, so you have to make the most out of the little space you have. Bring clothing hangers for your closet, bed risers and storage containers for your shoes and some of your clothes to nicely sit under your bed. Some of the rooms are not furnished with lamps, so try to bring a desk lamp and a larger lamp. The desk lamp will come in handy when you will need to work late nights and your roommate is sleeping and the larger lamp will bring some warmth to your new home. Typically, the lamps that the school gives you (if you have one in your room) will have a bright white light that is disagreeable. We recommend you bring yellow-tinted light bulbs to bring a comforting glow to your room.  Add to the list a full length mirror and a rug. The rug will make your room more cozy. If you live in the new dorms where the floors are bare and quickly get dirty, a rug is essential. If you live in Hill House, most rooms have a carpet thus a rug will not be necessary. You should also bring an over-the-door hanger; it is a great way to save space and a practical spot to keep your coat, robe and towel. To maximize space in your bathroom, you should bring a shower rack to easily transport everything you need.

Laundry will probably be the more challenging task as a freshman, but you will only need two things: detergent and a small laundry bag that you can easily carry up and down stairs. Try to buy one large case of detergent with your roommates, you will always end up borrowing each others.

When it comes to school supplies, do not forget to bring a hard drive or a small USB stick (depending on how much storage space you need) to backup your work. You do not want to risk losing all your notes and homework during conference week. The school’s bookstore sells binders, folders, paper and writing utensils but you should only use the bookstore for things that are urgent because it can be quite pricey. You can also splurge on some Sarah Lawrence merchandise if you want to; however, there is a Staples near campus that offers more choices for a better value. You also do not need to bring your own printer. Printers are available in almost every dorm. You can also print in the library, at the Pub, in Heimbold, or Slonim. On your first day, you will receive a lot of “printing money”  on your One-Card. This money does not roll-over from year to year, so make the most of it (in other words, use it all!). For late night studying do not forget to bring a coffee mug. Refills at the pub will be less expensive and it is ultimately better for the environment to use a mug instead of paper cups.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, remember that it is “better to under pack than to over pack, as the year goes by you will have a better idea of what you need. You can build off that,” said Ramisha Sumar ‘15. You also happen to live five minutes away from both Cross County Shopping Center and downtown Bronxville where you will be able to purchase almost anything that you need. Most importantly remember to “bring your big heart and bring your wisdom,” said Needleman. Within your first few hours you will meet a lot of people who are willing to help you get anything you might need. If your parents are not with you to help, most likely one of your roommates will have a parent that is more than willing to help you get everything you need, from additional storage space to food. The biggest move-in essential is a calm mind and positive attitude.

by Julia Schur '15
Managing Editor
jschur@gm.slc.edu