<![CDATA[Jezebel: Yale]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jezebel.com.png <![CDATA[Jezebel: Yale]]> http://jezebel.com/tag/yale http://jezebel.com/tag/yale <![CDATA[ It looks like Aliza Shvarts' 15 seconds are ... ]]> shvarts43008.jpgIt looks like Aliza Shvarts' 15 seconds are up: the plucky Yale senior has submitted a new, non-embryonic art project in lieu of her original project, a representation of nine months of self-induced miscarriages that included her own blood. (She would have failed the course had she not displayed any work at all.) In related news, those gross frat boys who held up the "We Love Yale Sluts" sign in front of the Yale Women's Center have been found not guilty of intimidation and harassment charges stemming from the incident. [YDN, Feministing]

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Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:20:00 EDT Jessica http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=385827&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Our favorite art school provocateur, Aliza ... ]]> alizashvarts42108.jpgOur favorite art school provocateur, Aliza Shvarts, may not get to show her controversial abortion art project — predicated upon a series of artificial inseminations and alleged miscarriages — after all. According to the Yale Daily News, "The University will not allow Aliza Shvarts '08 to display her controversial senior art project at its scheduled opening Tuesday unless she confesses in writing that the exhibition is a work of fiction, Yale officials said Sunday." In addition, two of Shvarts' advisers, lecturer Pia Lindman and School of Art Director of Undergraduate Studies Henk van Assen, who allowed the project to go forward, have been disciplined. Shvarts has also weighed in on the debacle: "I started out with the University on board with what I was doing, and because of the media frenzy they've been trying to dissociate with me...Ultimately, I want to get back to a point where they renew their support, because ultimately this was something they supported." [YDN]

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Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:30:00 EDT Jessica http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=382241&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Aliza Shvarts: The Halloween How-To For Harvard Students ]]> alizashvarts41808.jpgAliza Shvarts '08 is more than just an alleged abortion-inducer; according to our commenters, she is also a style icon of sorts. In fact, we predict that come Halloween, students all over Cambridge and other rival Ivies will be dressing up as the suddenly-notorious art student from that other East Coast institution of higher learning. In order to help them along, we decided to create a handy guide to recreating Aliza's look... Black leggings? Check! Fringe boots? Check! Leopard-print shorts? Of course. Everything they need to create a Shvarts costume (except for the discarded uterine lining), after the jump.









The foundation of Aliza's outfit is, naturally, built upon the shopping mecca of aspiring hipster poseurs everywhere: American Apparel. Below, the leggings, scoop-neck leotard and black hoody.
alizaamericaapparel.gif

(Unisex flex fleece zip hoody, $40; cotton spandex jersey legging, $26; jersey short sleeve t-shirt leotard, $28.)



And her boots? White fringe stylings are something that could only be found at a place called the Boot Barn.
alizabootsreal.jpg

(Oak Tree Farm "Oasis" fringe boot, $89.99)



And don't forget the hair! This Beverly Johnson wig in Shade 4 ought to do the trick.
alizawig.jpg

(H-214 by Beverly Johnson wig, $45.90)



But to really encapsulate Aliza-style, you've gotta rock the baggy leopard-print short. Where to go? The men's underwear section of WildFree, naturally.
alizaleopardshorts.jpg

(Wild Free men's lingerie silk leopard-print boxer shorts, $24)



Related: Shvarts Explains Her 'Repeated Self-Induced Miscarriages [Yale Daily News]

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Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:30:00 EDT Jennifer http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=381470&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ One Thing Is Certain: Right Now, Yale University & Aliza Shvarts '08 Are 100% Annoying ]]> alizashvarts41708.jpgI seem to be the only one of the Jezebels online and — lucky for me! — now we're hearing that Aliza Shvarts is disputing Yale University's claim that her performance piece was a work of fiction. Reports the Yale Daily News:
Shvarts stood by her project, calling the University's statement "ultimately inaccurate."...But Shvarts reiterated Thursday that she repeatedly used a needleless syringe to insert semen into herself. At the end of her menstrual cycle, she took abortifacient herbs to induce bleeding, she said. She said she does not know whether or not she was ever pregnant. "No one can say with 100-percent certainty that anything in the piece did or did not happen," Shvarts said, "because the nature of the piece is that it did not consist of certainties."
Oh, Christ. Anyway, interested (and still-awake) readers can learn more here. I, for one, have had about enough of this youngster and am going to exercise my right to control my body and go to bed.


University Calls Art Project A Fiction; Shvarts '08 Disputes Yale's Claim [Yale Daily News]

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Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:50:00 EDT Anna http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=381279&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Yale: Abortion Art Piece Was "Creative Fiction" ]]> alizashvarts41708.jpgSo it turns out that Aliza Shvarts, the Yale student who said she impregnated herself only to abort her embryos using "herbal" methods several times over for an art project, totally pulled one over on everyone. (Well, everyone except Moe.) She didn't really get pregnant a bunch of times, and she didn't really give herself abortions. According to a statement issued by Yale spokesperson Helaine S. Klasky, the entire stunt — Shvarts' press release, visual presentation, and narrative materials — was all part of Shvarts' real art project: Proving people are gullible weenies.

Actually, "gullible weenies" isn't the term that was used, but that's pretty much what it amounted to. Here's the full statement from Klasky:

Ms. Shvarts is engaged in performance art. Her art project includes visual representations, a press release and other narrative materials. She stated to three senior Yale University officials today, including two deans, that she did not impregnate herself and that she did not induce any miscarriages. The entire project is an art piece, a creative fiction designed to draw attention to the ambiguity surrounding form and function of a woman's body.

She is an artist and has the right to express herself through performance art.

Had these acts been real, they would have violated basic ethical standards and raised serious mental and physical health concerns.

Yale Press Release [Yale]

Earlier: Yale Senior Undergoes Multiple Self-Induced Miscarriages In The Name Of Art
Just How Do You Give Yourself An Herbal Abortion?

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Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:45:00 EDT Tracie http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=381205&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Frat Boy Shown With "Sluts" Sign Says He Never Disrespects Women ]]> yalesluts12408.jpgRemember the charming boys at the Yale chapter of the Zeta Psi fraternity who posed with a sign proclaiming "We Love Yale SLUTS" directly in front of the campus women's center? Well, the frat boy holding the sign, Yale football player Giovanni Christodoulou, was interviewed yesterday by a New Haven Fox affiliate, and while he apologizes for his actions, he doesn't exactly take responsibility either. "I never disrespect women...We're all terribly sorry and we learned our lesson," Gio says. But earlier in the clip, he claims: "I never even read the sign, they gave me the sign, I held it up. They said it was a scavenger hunt." Regardless, it's unclear if the case would hold up in court, and even if it did, would it prevent future idiot frat boys from making ignorant comments to women?

And speaking of idiot college boys making ignorant comments, at a stand-up comedy competition at New Jersey's Monmouth University, more than one entrant thought rape jokes were hilarious. "The first comic told two rape jokes," reports Scienceblogs.com. "Another said he could never be a rapist because he likes to sleep after sex. Yet another said he would call his victim the next morning because he's such a nice guy... Later one of the competitors began his act by promising the audience that he wouldn't tell any rape jokes. He broke that promise two minutes later with a one-liner about using 'ropes and formaldehyde' to solve his romantic problems." Ugh. There's such a thing as crossing the line, even when you're "joking." These college boys took that line and peed all over it.

Yale Fraternity 1/23 [Fox 61 News — Scroll Down]
ndergraduate Men and Their Oh-So-Funny Rape Jokes [Scienceblogs.com]

Earlier: Yale University "Sluts" Strike Back At Sexist Frat Boys

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Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:20:00 EST Jessica http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=348700&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Yale University "Sluts" Strike Back At Sexist Frat Boys ]]> yalesluts12208.jpgYou see the gentlemen holding up a sign that reads "WE LOVE YALE SLUTS" right in front of the Yale Women's Center? That little stunt was a pledge prank for the school's Zeta Psi fraternity, and the Women's Center is now taking legal action against the frat for sexual harassment. The question of whether or not this was indeed harassment has been raised, since it was "just a joke" and the men never came in contact with any women. But I say: hell yes it's harassment! As someone who openly refers to herself as a "slut" and throws the term around rather lovingly, I have to say that it's not as benign when used by everyone. (It's kinda like how white people can't say "nigger.") And these Yale students should be smart enough to figure out that posing in front of the fucking Women's Center with such a sign would at the very least ruffle feathers. There's no two ways about it: They were intentionally being dicks.



Not only that, it was only after they were threatened with the possibility of a lawsuit that the men in Zeta Psi managed to cough up a lame excuse for an apology. And the photo wasn't an isolated incident. From the Yale Daily News:

Former Women's Center Public Relations Coordinator Jessica Svendsen '09 said she found a group of men chanting "Dick! Dick! Dick!" in front of the Elm Street entrance to the Center, which is located in Durfee Hall, shortly before midnight last Tuesday. Frightened, she decided to take a detour through the Center's Old Campus entrance, she said.
You know, I love a bit of ironic humor, and I know that us women, with all of our demands and menstrual-y mood swings can be tough characters to figure out, but for any men out there wondering, you can be safe in the assumption that you shouldn't ever call us sluts. (Unless we tell you to in bed.) Ultimately, this is just a case of smart kids acting stupidly. But someone needs to school them, whether through a lawsuit, public outcry, or something a little more than a slap on the wrist.

Zeta Psi Pledges "Love Yale Sluts," Women's Center Pledges to Sue [IvyGate]
Misogyny claim leveled at frat [Yale Daily News]
Zeta Psi apologizes for its members' 'lack of judgment' [Yale Daily News]
Women's Center calls Zeta Psi's behavior 'inexcusable' [Yale Daily News]

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Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST Slut Machine http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=347695&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Condoms: Could Your Partner Be Screwing You Over? ]]> condoms0108.pngWhile home in Atlanta last week, I was privy to a conversation involving friends of my parents debating over who should be supplying the condoms among college kids. "We told our son to always, always bring his own — you should never trust a girl's condoms. She could have tampered with them," one person said. (Which was exactly what some poor Yale freshmen were told in a prank pulled by the senior class this year.) I jumped in: "She could have tampered with them?! What about him? His condoms are probably old. And expired! And they've probably been in his wallet for the past 10 years." Said a third: "It's true, a guy wouldn't want to fuck with the condom — no way he would want to get a girl pregnant. Only a girl would try to get pregnant through deceptive condom usage...But on the other hand. Oh God. What idiot would trust a college-aged boy to bring the condoms?!"



We sat there, unsure. Then someone offered: "What if horny college kids everywhere are no longer having sex because the boys are insisting on their condoms and the girls on theirs?" In the words and spirit (sorry, guys) of Carrie Bradshaw, I got to thinking: Could a problem with rubbers bounce back and hit you in the face?

So I asked my 20-something friends to revisit their dark, dismal, skanky college days: Did they even have condom anxiety? I got a resounding, "Uh, what the fuck are you talking about?" from all the guys I talked to, all of them saying how if you're a dude and you have any opportunity to get laid, you're going for it. When I pressed one gentleman on my whole "old-condom-in-the-wallet" theory, he blew my mind in telling me that no guy actually carries condoms in his wallet. "You're either going back to her place or yours. You keep your condoms at home." One male friend shared a tale about "a guy he knew" who "used duct tape after telling a girl he was using a condom but didn't have one so he duct taped his dick and then had sex with her...He said it wasn't what you'd call a passionate session of love making, more like 100-meter dash without any clear winner. So that might have been why the girl didn't quite realize she was having sex with a guy who's dick was wrapped in duct tape."

While most the women I spoke with shared that their condom-using days were few and far between ("I asked him to get tested, he did, we never used condoms again," said one), one friend offered the following handy list of "Condoms I Do Not Trust":

Bullet shaped condoms (i.e. the long narrow ones from planned parenthood)'*; 'novelty condoms' — sounds like screwing a clown, condoms that smell like fruit see also; novelty condom; condoms that have any function asides from keeping me Not Preggers (i.e. glowing in the dark) see also; novelty condom; condoms procured from the depths of a messenger bag; faded or warm condoms pulled from pockets or wallets; condoms distributed at mass gatherings; condoms distributed by anyone with an airquoted nickname like Nick "Baby Batter" Jones, Tim "The Spermanator" Chang, Tobias "The Impregnator" Wharton.
Then a gay man threw in his two cents: "Women shouldn't trust a guy's condom because if he's a loser and carries one around in his pocket or wallet waiting for that special moment with that special girl, you don't know how old it is or if it's been so beat up in the wallet (look at what a crisp 20 dollar bill looks like after an hour in a guys wallet) — the condom could very well be damaged. Keep a stash of your own."

Then I was offered this cautionary tale, from another female freind: "A threesome in Italy. This waiter and his roommate. They both pull out Italian condoms from their wallets. I said (In Italian),'"Do you have an American condom?' They laughed. So I laughed. Maybe I said something funny in Italian. 6 weeks later when I couldn't hold anything down and I missed my period I wasn't laughing. " Note to self: Always travel with Trojans.

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Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:00:00 EST Jennifer http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=342262&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Cathy Horyn Continues Her Pro-Marc Jacobs Crusade At Yale, Students Don't Care ]]> cathyhoryn1106.pngNew York Times chief fashion critic Cathy Horyn left the ivory tower to go to the Ivy League yesterday, speaking to Yale undergrads at an informal tea. But the Yale kids, it seems, weren't exactly beating one another down to grab seats at her talk. As the article in the Yale Daily Herald on Horyn's visit begins, "Although the crowd of couture lovers at Yale may warrant a label reading size petite, fashion critic Cathy Horyn brought a critical approach Monday to an oft-neglected campus art: fashion." Well, snap. Yalies, it seems don't give a fuck about fashion on many levels. Horyn told the "predominantly female crowd of about 60 students" that she likes her job because she gets to write about whatever the fuck she wants and a firm hand is never even raised to her beloved prose: "If Armani pulls his ads, no one blames me and I don't have to worry about it — so I don't," she says. Wow. A subtle dig at the fashion mag editors who pander to designers? We're sure the students appreciated that!

Additionally, Horyn chose to once again champion Marc Jacobs' just-shown Spring/Summer 2008 collection, which most fashion critics hated. And what is it about Marc's work that makes Ms. Cathy's heart go pitter patter? "Shocking someone today on the runway is really hard. Marc Jacobs — being two hours late — was definitely shocking." Who knew it was that easy to please Cathy Horyn!

And so what did the Yalies conclude about their teatime with CH? "It was nice to have someone speak seriously and be taken seriously," said one student; "I think that a lot of what people said might have gone over people's heads," said another; "Yale students tend not to have much sense of how to dress ... but she also spoke about business, so it was geared towards its audience," said yet another. As for the dean who organized the whole gathering? "Only some of the names [she spoke of] rang a bell to me." Another great success on Cathy Horyn's part on translating the fashion industry to those outside of it!

Horyn Snubs Fawning Fashion Reviews [Yale Daily News]

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Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:00:00 EST Jennifer http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=319650&view=rss&microfeed=true