Covering the Campus
A History of the Miscellany News at Vassar College
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The Alumnae House Library is a cramped rectangular room, found at the end of a snaking hallway. The dimly lit collection would more accurately be described as a reading room than a library, complete with Victorian furniture, thick air and creaky wooden fl oors. Books are stacked every which way on shelves and cabinets. None of the items—which range from old yearbooks and brochures to novels by Vassar graduates—are catalogued, nor are they arranged chronologically or alphabetically. This made my search all the more difficult...
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About the Book
Among the oldest student publications in the United States, the Miscellany News traces its roots back to 1866. Beginning as a literary magazine and evolving into a contemporary newspaper, the paper has reported nearly 150 years of student experiences. The Miscellany has seen generations of Vassar College students who have witnessed the horrors of international war, felt the injustices of racial strife, and observed stirring protests unfold on their own campus. This narrative history of the Miscellany tells the story of young men and women writing about their collegiate environment against the grand backdrop of American history. With careful qualitative and quantitative analysis—along with scores of interviews with former editors—Brian Farkas navigates the complex and fascinating history of the Miscellany. Blending historical investigation with his personal experience, Farkas presents an engaging and often humorous window into journalism, history’s first draft.
About the Author
Brian Farkas is the Editor in Chief of the Miscellany News. A double major in History and Political Science at Vassar College, Farkas is a contributor to the Huffington Post and InsideHigherEd. He has served as a reporter and editor for the Miscellany for three years, and is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. Farkas is the winner of the Henry Geldzahler Award for Art Historical Writing and runner-up for the Alan Breckenridge Prize for Analytical Non-Fiction. He lives in New York City.