Issue 168 - Purchase College

By James Madejski
Staff Writer
Returning students will notice that most of
the heavy construction that plagued the library
last year has been completed. While some
small areas still need to be filled out, the “Resource
Center” located downstairs is up and
running. Of the many services offered there,
access to the school’s extensive film collection
is one of the least known.
Students have access to a wide variety of
films in many formats: DVD, VHS, and the bizarre
Laserdisc, which is sometimes fun to use
just to realize how inconvenient it is to stand
up every twenty minutes and flip the shiny,
vinyl size disc and think, “This used to be the
future.” Films are usually available to check
out for up to three days. Some however are
put on “reserve” by faculty, meaning they are
only available for three hours. Because of this,
the Resource Center has several comfortable
viewing rooms available, equipped with seating
and players. They are open to students to
view films available in the library or from their
own collection.
One note on viewing room etiquette. The
doors of the rooms have large windows on
them. It is hardly ever appropriate to watch a
movie through them when you do not know the
person inside. One of the creepiest experiences
I’ve had here at Purchase found me watching
David Cronenberg’s voyeur themed film
Videodrome, only to slowly realize that, ironically
enough, someone was peering in the door
window watching the movie. I turned to confront
him, and he merely just smiled, opened
the door, muttered “D-Burg. Good choice,” and
slipped away down the hall.
While a written catalog is available at the
Resource Center desk, the easiest way to view
the film selection is online at the library page
of the school’s website. Information such as the
video format, cast and crew, and availability are
also shown. To view the entire catalog by most
recent addition, type “videorecording” into the
search bar. When I can’t decide what movie I
want, I do this and then randomly pick a page
number and make a selection off of it.
Unfortunately, it should be known that it
is possible to place a movie into one of the
viewing rooms players only to find it skip uncontrollably.
Cleaner is available on request,
Gr e a t Fi l m s Fr e e
Mo v i e Viewing a t t h e Li b r a ry Re s o u r c e Ce n t e r
but sometimes the disc/tape is scratched and
warped due to many years of use. In this case,
ask to see if other copies are available, whether
in the same format or a different one.
So this weekend or when you have a free
bit of time, stop by the Resource Center and
browse the catalog. It’s always interesting to
pick a random number and check out whatever
film it is. City theater out of you price range?
The dark viewing rooms offer a similar and
equal experience. Avoid Cronenberg and most
science fiction to ward off window watchers.
Exploding heads and video playing stomach
cavities are what draw them near.
SUGGESTED VIEWING:
IN THEATERS:
If you’ve still got some money from that
summer job, most of the big studio films of the
summer are still playing at the City Center in
White Plains. Of these, I recommend the summer’s
funniest film, Tropic Thunder, although
many did enjoy the Judd Apatow produced
Pineapple Express (I found it very scattershot,
but perhaps I wasn’t in the right state of mind,
considering the movie’s subject matter...) Also,
there is Woody Allen’s latest, Vicky Cristina
Barcelona. It should be of interest to fans and
casuals viewers alike. Be ready for glorious
postcard cinematography, some good performances,
but not much else. Finally, the summer’s
most popular film, The Dark Knight, is being
shown on the IMAX. Director Christopher
Nolan shot many sequences of the film in the
IMAX format for extra depth and clarity. If you
haven’t seen it on the big, big, BIG screen, you
should do so merely to cringe at Heath Ledger
licking his chops in even greater detail.
AT THE LIBRARY:
Most of the films from “The Criterion Collection”
are a part of the library catalog. Fans
of director Billy Wilder should take a look at
one of the school’s more recent purchases, his
cynical masterpiece Ace In The Hole. Released
in 1951, his follow up to Sunset Boulevard finds
Kirk Douglas playing a washed up reporter
willing to do anything to get his career back
on track, even if it means manipulating and exploiting
a local man trapped in a cave. A flop
when first released, this dark, biting film is still
relevant to the circus that is media today.
By Kristen Benedict
Office Manager
the U.K. and Us...with nukes...(We’ve got about 2600 more than anybody else, whatever).??Henyway, one day, we decides, those
I
Wh a t Is CoCOaS
An y w a y ?
Whether you are a returning student or a
fresh face to campus you have probably heard
this “CoCOaS” thing mentioned on multiple
occasions. If you’re new to Purchase you know
Lord CoCOaS as the sexy shirtless RA from RAvue.
If you’ve been around the campus before
you still know Delo to be a man who looks good
with his shirt off. But he is not Lord CoCOaS;
there is no Lord CoCOaS. There is however a
student elected executive that oversees all Co-
COaS meetings. His name is Kevin Collymore.
To understand what Kevin’s job is and why
it’s important let me explain CoCOaS for you.
CoCOaS is the Council of Clubs Organizations
and Services at Purchase College. Kevin is the
Coordinator of Clubs Organizations and Services.
CoCOaS is an acronym with more than
one meaning! Every other Thursday the executives
from all clubs meet in Southside Lounge
to have business meetings. They eat pizza and
discuss everything from the budget to bylaws.
Clubs and Organizations are required to attend
all meetings. If they miss more than two
a semester they run the risk of being put on
probation and having their budget frozen, or in
the event of absences every week the club in
question may be dissolved. Services are not required
to attend these meetings because they
have their own smaller Service Board Meetings.
So yes, you either care about everything
stated above or you don’t, and that’s fine. But
why should you care? Because your Mandatory
Student Activity Fee (MSAF) is what funds all of
these groups. Built into your tuition is that $95
per semester fee that funds pretty much everything
student related on campus. The Purchase
Student Government Association and your student
executives, The Stood, all clubs and orgs.,
PTV, The Independent, The Alternative Clinic;
the list goes on. In total this year the budget for
the PSGA is $665,155. The large majority of that
budget continues the awesomeness that is Purchase
(Culture Shock, Zombie Prom, etc.) every
year, but a small amount in the form of $8,000
is in the CoCOaS General Fund. The General
Fund is there for clubs and organizations to petition
for more money for events they are planning
and to give start up clubs $50. Last year
new clubs receiving the $50 were DDR Club,
Italian Club, Gamers’ United, DIY Fashion Club,
Political Science Club, and Economics Club.
PEA petitioned for more money as did PUSH,
Anthropology Club and GLBTU for Fall Ball.
The club executives in attendance are the
people with the immediate power to approve
or deny these extra funds to a club. If you want
to have more power over where your money
goes then get involved! Join a club, come to
CoCOaS and have your voice heard. Think you
can’t go to CoCOaS just because you don’t run
a club? WRONG! Come to CoCOaS and see
this action for yourself. You can’t vote unless
“CoCOaS” Page 10...
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