Culture | 12:53 pm | February 27, 2012 | By Akbar Ahmed

Senior a cappella groups choose new juniors

Whiffenpoofs Photo by Yale Whiffenpoofs.

Fourteen dreams came true Sunday evening as the Whiffenpoofs — the nation’s oldest collegiate a cappella group — let its newest members know they’re in. (Tap night is Wednesday.)

The list below includes the junior men who were admitted, and the a cappella group they were in when they were summoned forth to Valhalla:

Andy Berry – Spizzwinks(?)

Alex Caron – The Duke’s Men

Julian de Freitas – The Alley Cats

Brandon Hayse – The Duke’s Men

Reuben Hendler – The Duke’s Men

Max Henke – Spizzwinks(?)

Henry Gottfried – The Duke’s Men

Spencer Klavan – Redhot and Blue

Brandon Levin – Spizzwinks(?)

McKaye Nield – Mixed Company

Michael Protacio – The Alley Cats

Daniel Reardon – Out of the Blue

Bradley Travis – The Baker’s Dozen

Mike Young – The Baker’s Dozen

Levin, who is currently a member of the Spizzwinks(?) and President of the Yale College Council, told the News he is “just so, so excited and honored to be part of such a great group of singers.” Aw.

UPDATED: This afternoon the News was able to confirm the names of the 14 women chosen late last night to join Whim ‘n Rhythm, Yale’s all-senior, all-women a cappella group.

Just as above, the list below includes the names of junior women admitted, as well as the a cappella group they were in before they were summoned to Fólkvangr:

Stephanie Brandon – Mixed Company

Gale Harrington – Shades

Annie Hoang – New Blue

Jessica Jollie – Proof of the Pudding

Mary Kleshefsky – Redhot & Blue

Margaret Lazzarini – Proof of the Pudding

Hannah LaPalombara – Redhot & Blue

Dakota McCoy – New Blue

Katy Naples-Mitchell – Redhot & Blue

Julia Osterman – New Blue

Caitlin Parmer – Proof of the Pudding

Maeve Ricaurte – Mixed Company

Sara Stalla – Something Extra

Wan Joo Teo – New Blue

There they are, folks — the future kings and queens of Yale a cappella. Belt your heart out.

Comments

River_Tam

Duke’s Men ftw
knm

It’s disappointing that the YDN has been focusing on these very exciting events in an inegalitarian light. As Cross Campus has publicized the Whiff audition process over the past few days, and now the full acceptance list, they’ve left a glaring omission of any mention of Whim ‘n Rhythm, the all-female, all-senior counterpart. The 2013 Whiff tap class is considered newsworthy, but as a parallel process unfolded for the women of 2013 this weekend, the YDN was remarkably silent. This sort of gender inequality should not be present on Yale’s campus and in its most widely distributed newspaper. The Yale Herald has published both tap lists. What gives, YDN?

ohno

Completely spot on. 2013 are set to be an amazingly talented class, with a competitive audition class, and they’re going to do it all while staying students. Get with the Herald, YDN.
River_Tam

> This sort of gender inequality should not be present on Yale’s campus and in its most widely distributed newspaper.

Whiffs are way more famous than Whim (it comes from being 4x as old and the oldest college acappella group in the US). Get over it.

knm

It’s a matter of principle, not something to “get over.” Whim was created as a response to the Whiffs. I’m not arguing that Whim is a mirror institution. But, if the Whiffs are more famous on campus and in the global community as you purport, the YDN could have a role in changing that and shaping a culture of gender equity. Regardless of whether the Whiffs are “more famous,” it’s undeniable that the formation of a new Whim class is also important and relevant campus news.

The YDN has chosen to ignore an opportunity to promote basic gender equity by not publicizing the simultaneous tap processes. Thus, the YDN is (perhaps inadvertently) choosing to perpetuate the perception that the Whiffs (1) are more famous, and (2) deserve to be. And it’s hard to ignore the gendered ramifications of this.

For more on this, look no further than a piece published in Broad Recognition a few years ago by current Whim member Hannah Loeb. http://broadrecognition.com/arts/whim-n-rhythm-n-term-papers-2/

River_Tam

The YDN reports the news – it doesn’t have a responsibility (nor should it) to make Whim N Rhythm as famous as the Whiffs.

It’s not perception that the Whiffs are way more famous, just reality. Whether or not they “deserve” to be is not a question that the YDN needs to consider or should take into account when deciding to write stories.

It’s the same reason there are more pieces on sighting James Franco on campus than there are about sighting me on campus. I may deserve to be way more famous than James Franco, but reality is that no one gives a crap if I buy a Wenzel.

knm

Journalism is an activist profession and the YDN decides what is news. It shapes mass consciousness and campus perceptions by reaching the biggest readership on campus. By publishing the Whiff audition times and Whiff list over the past 4 days without any mention of Whim, they were taking a stance against gender equality.

My point was that the YDN was deciding whether the Whiffs “deserved” to be considered more famous and therefore more newsworthy in the act of publishing Whiffs sans Whim. But I agree, the YDN should ultimately just be publishing the news. And the news is, Whim also has a new tap class.
River_Tam

> Journalism is an activist profession

It’s really not.
morse_14

Editorializing can be activist. Idealized journalism, however, is objective.
knm

Activism doesn’t necessarily constitute taking a partisan stance. I stand by the comment that journalism is activism. In choosing what to write a story about, news organizations bring into common knowledge and common parlance certain issues, institutions, and events–yes, objective facts. But the selective publishing of such facts can be interpreted as having activist consequences. The YDN may not have had an activist intent in their original selective publishing, but there was an activist effect by perpetuating gender inequity.
morse_14

But this has nothing to do with gender. More people care about the Whiffs because they’re better, not because they’re male. That’s why the Whiffs are news and Whim isn’t.

ohno

I’m not like I’m asking the New York Times to publish a special, but the YDN as a student paper could do their classmates in Whim the honor of giving them the same due. Whim is never going to get any more famous if somebody doesn’t start paying attention.

Not to diminish from the 14 guys above – they’re all talented and ought to be congratulated – but it seems a little absurd for the university daily to make a big deal out of the tap list for one senior group and not even mention the other.

morse_14

But why *should* Whim be as famous? Frankly, they’re not nearly as good!

ohno

Are you kidding me?

One of these groups, because of money, the fame attached to the name before each group even gets together to sing, and alumni infrastructure to provide them with an extensive gig network, gets to take two semesters away from Yale to do nothing but devote themselves to rehearsing, touring, and performing (or if you’re their manager, acting as a full time agent). Another has to continue juggling being in a touring singing group with writing senior essays, looking for jobs/grad school, and, well, graduating. By Parents’ Weekend this year the Whiffs had already been on an extensive tour together to the western US in the heat of midterm season, and are granted weekly performance gigs at Mory’s and Union League at minimum. Whim had had time for a few gigs in New York, and to go on retreat.

Who on earth do you think is going to sound better? In terms of raw talent I’d argue the groups are matched.

weee

I agree with knm.
tgmlaw

Clearly knm misses the point: YDN is quietly creating a record to demonstrate that Yale-funded student fees continue to be used in a manner to perpetuate the type of deep-seated gender bias against women at Yale that will aid the Title 9 litigation against the University. You go YDN, offer up the proof that sexism lives at Yale.

River_Tam, too, is clearly a fiendish feminist mole, like those Democrats in Michigan today who are rooting/voting for sanctimonious Santorum: can you imagine a better and clearer admission than River_Tam’s observation that even now the many decades of exclusion of women from Yale has created such a headwind against gender equity that the YDN doesn’t even attempt to recognize the paralllel achievements of women’s voices on campus. Wow! Great strategy River_Tam.

And don’t be duped by River_Tam’s “get over it” snarky comment: what better than a brilliant example of insensitive misogynist banter to illustrate how far Yale still needs to go before the scourge of sexism is swept away.

ohno

haha…what.
morse_14

I didn’t detect even one argument that wasn’t ad hominem! Impressive!

knm

Thanks for fixing the disparity, YDN.
eli1

Im not gonna lie, I have no interest in a capella, but I did attend the joint graduation show a few years ago. My family and I could not have been more underwhelmed by both groups, but I found Whim n rythm to be especially boring. My grandmother, an a capella enthusiest who remains in an a capella group today (while in her 80s) actually fell asleep during the performance (which sucks because shes the reason we went in the first place). All I am saying is that you guys can argue all you want about whos more famous and what not, but from my untrained ear both groups seemed pretty mediocre. Don’t get me wrong they have great voices and practice hard, but the song selection could not have been more dated and uninspiring. I think its time for both groups to stop worrying about whos more famous and focus more on singing songs that actually entertain people.

ohno

The groups change completely in composition every year, so the concert 2 years ago can’t necessarily stand for the groups last year or this year or next year.

eli1

Oh and also you feminazis need to chill out with the equality stuff. Is the YDN next on your list of campus groups to sue for Title IX injustices? PLease, Im sure the “misogyny” of the YDN was unintentional, since 100% of campus knows what the Whiffenpoofs are and I would say 5% of campus knows what Whim and Rhythm is.

ohno

The YDN had their finger on the trigger to update the article upon receipt of an accurate tap list, our only concern is that it wasn’t as automatic as the Whiffs. Akbar did a great job.

ohno

“as well as the a cappella group they were in before they were summoned to Fólkvangr:”

love u ydn.
tgmlaw

Feminazis? Oh, Eli, how civil of you to elevate the debate with a touch of right-wing anti-semitism. Love you, too! And golly gee, you even may have persuaded me to Rick Santorum’s point that perhaps not everyone really should have their sites set on college! How crafty, just like your bud River_Tam, to persuade by example.
tgmlaw

Oh, and YDN you still need that group photo of the new Whims, too!

disneyguy

Haha, that is most definitely not a picture of the new Whiffs. So if you really think this Cross Campus post needs a picture of the current Whim, then sure. Otherwise, I think it’s a fine placeholder.

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