Newsmakers

“Jon Batiste is not afraid of a jazzy suit,” writes André-Naquian Wheeler for Vogue. Photography by Visiting Artist in Residence Jasmine Clarke ’18 accompanies Wheeler’s article, showing Batiste preparing for his first performance at the White House. Batiste, who performed “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and France’s national anthem “La Marseillaise,” requested that his family be in attendance, and especially his wife, the writer Suleika Jaouad, who has written about her diagnosis of an aggressive form of leukemia. “Seeing Suleika step out for her first public outing in a year after her cancer treatment meant a lot,” Batiste said. Batiste’s 89-year-old grandfather, an activist, also in attendance, commented on the symbolism of Batiste’s inclusion in the state dinner. “Discussing with [him] how the original builders of the White House were enslaved Americans whilst walking into the State Dinner as honored guests was quite a moment,” Batiste said. Clarke’s photography captures Batiste and guests preparing for the event, the musician’s excitement clear from Clarke’s vulnerable candids and striking portraits.

A “flurry of news” from COP27, the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, meant that a policy change in the United States has gone largely unnoticed, writes Peter Howard ’03 in an opinion piece coauthored with Max Sarinsky for the Hill. It involves a change to the way the government measures the “social cost of carbon,” which “places a dollar value on greenhouse gas emissions and enables government decision-makers to weigh the costs and benefits of policies that affect climate pollution,” they write. First established under the Bush administration in 2008, the previous social cost of carbon was widely considered a “conservative underestimate.” Based in part on work done by Howard, the EPA revised the official social cost of carbon in 2020, from $51 to $190 for each ton of carbon-dioxide emissions. Now, because of action by the Biden administration, “decision-makers weighing critical policy choices will be equipped with a much more accurate tool for understanding climate impacts.”

American classical singer Julia Bullock VAP ’11 released Walking in the Dark, her debut solo album, on December 9, 2022, on Nonesuch Records. NPR named the album one of the “10 Best Classical Albums of 2022" and listed it as number 14 on the “Top 50 Albums of 2022.” “Soprano Julia Bullock's affecting solo debut, with its breathtaking spin on a deep cut by the enigmatic Connie Converse and a sublime rendition of Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, traces the tenuous connections individuals share with one another and their own senses of purpose on earth,” writes NPR Music producer Tom Huizenga.

“Here’s how a popcorn company ended up buying a roller rink,” writes Alexandra Zissu for the Times Union. BjornQorn, the popular popcorn company coowned by Jamie O’Shea ’03, Bjorn Quenemoen ’03, and Stephanie Bauman ’05 needed a new facility as they expanded their business. Quenemoen and Bauman, who are married, spoke with the Times Union about their recent purchase of Skate Time 209 in Accord, New York, for just that purpose. “We were looking at a lot of the standard factory buildings. They weren’t particularly appealing to us,” said Bauman. Around the same time, a local real estate broker learned BjornQorn was in the market for a new facility. “He was like, you guys are the right people for this building,” Bauman said. Alongside converting part of the space for production, BjornQorn plans to continue operating the skate rink, including possibly adding a “sort of indoor beer garden situation.” “As long as we’re expanding, bring some joy into it. Have a laugh, drink a beer,” Bauman said. “And why not put on roller skates?”

At the 66th Evening Standard Theatre Awards celebration in London, Daniel Fish’s UK iteration of his Tony Award–winning re-orchestrated revival of Oklahoma! was named Best Musical, and Patrick Vaill ’07 took home the Best Musical Performance Award for his role as Jud Fry in the play. Vaill originated the role 15 years ago as a theater and performance senior in Fish’s 2007 Bard staging, which had been commissioned by the then Director of Bard’s Theater Program JoAnne Akalaitis. When Fish adapted the production for Bard’s 2015 SummerScape season, Vaill was cast again as Jud Fry and stayed in this role as the production went from off-Broadway to Broadway. The only remaining original cast member, Vaill joins a mixed British and American cast for the London production. “To be received by the audience and the city in this way is beyond anybody’s reasonable expectation of life,” Vaill said.

“I’m relieved this bill passed, but I don’t feel any safer or protected than we were last week,” writes Nikkya Hargrove ’05 for Parents magazine in response to the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA) in the Senate. The act would require states to recognize same-sex and interracial marriage licenses no matter the issuing state, but Hargrove ultimately questions the RFMA’s reach and ramifications. “The bill forces us to think about what ‘protection’ means for the LGBTQIA+ community,” she writes. “It's not a one-size-fits-all kind of bill.” Hargrove remains thankful for the passage of the RFMA, but says the work continues. “We celebrate, but our fight goes on for true equality for all.”

Print magazine profiles animator Jeff Scher ’76 and looks at his most recent work: a video for Tom Petty’s “Call Me the Breeze,” from the late musician’s recently released Live at the Fillmore compilation. “All Scher needs to make his movie magic is some live-action film, a chromatic supply of watercolor and pastels and a rotoscope to get his cinematic juices boiling,” writes Steven Heller. “His films can be joyful, unforgettable and heartbreaking.”

Eliminating bail for low-level offenses has proved that you can maximize freedom while not endangering public safety, write Dyjuan Tatro ’18 and Scott Hechinger. Cash bail and the pretrial detention system disproportionately penalize poorer defendants; eliminating the requirement allows people to continue to work and support their families while fighting their charges. Yet in spite of bail reform successes, including in New York State, some Democrats have allowed Republicans to control the narrative around the policy and have even blamed bail reform efforts for midterm losses.