Matt and Kim’s New Glow, released this spring, offers nothing new. Any song off Matt and Kim’s new album sounds as if could just as well have come from their 2009 album Grand. They use the same drums, the same horns, and the same keyboard. Their sound hasn’t changed over the span of five albums, and inertia is their biggest, most glaring problem. What was once original in 2009 is now boring in 2015. That’s not to say their music isn’t good. Their use of drum sets is still different from any other sound I’ve heard. Matt has a unique voice that is automatically identifiable. It’s great pump-up music, but that’s all it is, and all it has been for six years.

Their music consists of heavy drums (played by Kim) and typically some kind of brass. They occasionally include electronic components, such as in “Stirred Up” or “Overexposed.” Their best songs are the ones with the fewest instruments, the ones that are not just walls of sound and more stripped down, such as in “Killin’ Me” or “Not Alone.”

The most original songs on the album are the slower ones. Matt and Kim are definitely not known for slow jams, but on each album they have tried one or two. I appreciate Matt and Kim for trying to write songs, “The World is Ending” and “I See You,” that are different than what listeners expect of them. But neither of these songs on New Glow are that good. “The World is Ending” gets boring after about a minute, and “I See Ya” is kind of annoying. Matt’s voice is not as great without the heavy drums behind it. Matt and Kim seem to be a one trick pony. Matt and Kim’s music is certainly catchy but nothing can be catchy for six years.

“Well this doesn’t directly answer what you’re asking,” Dr. Lorraine Siggins began, prompting mumbles of “of course not,” “shocker,” and “obviously” among the 200 students in the room.
Dr. Paul Genecin, director of Yale Health, invited students to participate in this hour-long forum on mental health issues. On Wed., Feb. 25., Genecin fielded student concerns alongside Chief of Yale Mental Health and Counseling Dr. Lorraine Siggins, Dean of Yale College Jonathan Holloway, Clinician Dr. Howard Blue, and Professor John Rogers, chairman of a committee that is reviewing Yale College’s policies on withdrawal and readmission. Genecin and Siggins were contacted multiple times by phone and email, and I also spoke with their assistants for this article; both physicians declined to answer questions, citing unavailability. Multiple therapists were also contacted via email and phone, but none responded.
The forum is only a recent development in a discussion on Mental Health and Counseling (MHC) at Yale. A month prior, on Tuesday, January 27th, Holloway sent an email to Yale College students informing them that Luchang Wang, SM ’17, had died of an apparent suicide. The 20-year-old had posted on Facebook a few hours before her death. “Dear Yale: I loved being here. I only wish I could’ve had some time. I needed time to work things out and to wait for new medication to kick in, but I couldn’t do it in school, and I couldn’t bear the thought of having to leave for a full year, or of leaving and never being readmitted. Love, Luchang.”
The tragedy of her death and the contents of what appears to be her suicide note set off a campus wide discussion about the issues Luchang mentioned, including mental health and the withdrawal and readmission policy. The conversation has expanded to national media outlets (including the Atlantic and Bloomberg), which have reprinted her note and commented on the state of mental health at Yale.
Students attending the forum voiced a range of grievances against the administration based on personal experiences and those of friends. If the forum meant to clarify Yale’s policies, it didn’t.
***
“A tiny number [of students] must withdraw involuntarily when the risks to their health reach the level where staying in school is not possible,” Genecin wrote in an op-ed for the Yale Daily News published on March 2. In an interview with the Herald, Holloway offered furthered clarification on the policy: “An involuntary withdrawal is when they have no choice, the University takes action.” Yet Holloway explained that students and administrators still have different understandings of what constitutes involuntary withdrawal; some students believe they were forced to withdraw, but did so based on a suggestion and not university action, Holloway said. “Involuntary withdrawal is a very rare action, and it’s a last resort action, as well,” he added.
These inconsistent expectations explain the concern for involuntary withdrawals voiced by students during the forum. “In my own experience, I intentionally lied about the extremity of my condition” Korbin Richards, PC ’15, said. “There is a fear that we’ll be sent home if you approach Yale Mental Health and disclose your symptoms like a responsible patient to these medical professionals.” Adriana Miele, BK ’16, acknowledged that while her personal experiences were positive, a culture of distrust persists among students and MHC. Carlee Jensen, MC ’15, who has used MHC services, agreed that students don’t always feel safe expressing themselves to therapists.
In an open letter published in the Yale Daily News on March 5, 17 students requested clarification regarding involuntary withdrawals. “In particular, we request publication of the operative standards for involuntary withdrawal and an overview of the involuntary withdrawal process. This is absolutely necessary when Yale administrators, rather than clinical professionals, have the ultimate say in determining a student’s future,” the students wrote. In light of Holloway’s comments, this confusion is no surprise.
When Caroline Posner, BK ’17, asked for statistics on involuntary withdrawals at the forum, the panel members representing Yale Health said the Dean’s Office keeps this information. Holloway said this surprised him: “That was actually news to me, I didn’t know who kept that data,” he said in an interview with the Herald following the forum.
The Dean’s Office is currently debating whether to release the exact numbers of involuntary withdrawals while also respecting confidentiality. “The rationale is that the numbers are so low, that if you release the data, someone could say, ‘Wait you’re talking about me.’ It’s really as simple as that. Absolutely, our first priority is to protect the identity of students,” Holloway said. He added that this concern had made him initially hesitant to hold the forum.
Miele said she would like to see statistics released, but acknowledged the necessity that confidentiality must remain a top concern for the administration. “I know a number of people who have attempted suicide or have come very close to it, and I do not at all feel comfortable with Yale Health releasing details that would make it obvious who that person was. I think protecting identity in very certain cases is important,” Miele said.

***
In the forum, Posner claimed her therapist is “willfully violating [Yale Health’s] rules” to give her proper treatment. Her therapist does not limit her to 12 visits in a school year, despite Yale Health’s suggestion to cap student visits at a dozen. “We don’t have an absolute number of sessions, what we do say, as all counseling services do, is that it’s roughly more of a short term model of treatment,” Siggins explained. Posner asked students to raise their hands if they were told about the 12-session policy. Nearly 50 hands rose.
“That was really exciting when [Siggins] said it but I don’t believe it’s true,” Posner told me in an interview.
In the week following the forum, I spoke to several students who have used Yale’s Mental Health and Counseling services, and many were familiar with the 12-session cap.
Richards was told about it in her first therapy session. “I took it in stride,” Richards wrote in an email. “But because of a lack of experience I didn’t understand that this was absurd. I called my other therapist, and she said never to go back.”
Posner added that the implications of such a limit are troubling, making students seem like a “logistical problem” and something of a burden. Both Jensen and Miele were also informed of the limit, though neither believed it is strictly imposed. The University has yet to clarify the extent to which the cap is meant to be enforced.
Corinne Ruth, SY ’15, a member of an MHC student advisory committee, explained that to the best of her knowledge, “As stated by Dr. Siggins at the recent forum, there is no hard limit as to the number of therapy sessions that a student can receive at MHC.” Ruth explained that if a student requires long-term care, MHC will work to provide that. However, they simply don’t have the resources to provide long-term treatment for every student who visits. Moreover, that level of treatment is not required for many students who seek help.
“I don’t think that the short term care model is necessarily a bad one for students seeking supportive counseling. For students experiencing chronic mental illness, long term care is often absolutely essential,” Jensen said. “I do think that Yale needs to be more explicit about these policies so students that do need longer term care feel safe going to Yale Health to pursue treatment.”
As of now, the University does not outline a clear distinction between short-term and long-term care plans for students. Rather, the two seem to be inappropriately lumped together under the broader umbrella of “MHC.”
***
Holloway called sitting through the mental health forum “painful.”
“I walked away honestly feeling like I had made things worse, by suggesting we have the town hall, because it was so heated. I thought, ‘oh my God, I’ve just agitated people, and they couldn’t get answers.’ I just felt terrible,” Holloway explained.
But after the forum, his opinion began to change. Students emailed and told him in person that, while the forum was difficult, it was important that it occurred. He said he began to realize that the forum was, in the end, a good step forward in determining what the major complaints and confusions were on campus. Students seem to agree that the forum was a necessary step. The first line in the open letter in the YDN expressed gratitude for the forum and the opportunity it offered students.
However, many students were left unsatisfied. Posner believes the forum contained a large amount of diplomatic rhetoric that didn’t place blame on either side of the discussion. She also said that before that day, she had never seen Siggins or Genecin. “So these are people who are really never visible to students going through this process, and it kind of parallels how opaque the process is,” she said.
Still, the administration has begun to make changes. In an email sent to Yale College students, Genecin announced that the University is hiring more psychologists, psychiatrists, and clinical social workers. Yale Health is also hoping to expedite the transition from a patient’s first visit to the beginning of treatment.
“I want to believe everyone who is involved in this conversation has good intentions,” Jensen said.
An MHC advisory committee formed in spring 2014 to provide a student opinion on policies and practices to ultimately improve campus culture. The committee includes four students, Cory Myers, BK ’15, Olivia Pollak, DC ’16, Madeline Bauer, CC ’17, and Ruth, who was previously mentioned in response to Siggins’ claims on the 12-cap policy.
Myers stated in an email that he has seen a shift in campus discussion this semester, switching from a broad effort to raise awareness towards specific critiques. When asked why he thought the expectations are different between students and administrators, Myers wrote: “I think this problem, although real, is a misnomer. Students don’t experience policy, per se, which is general and abstract. Students have direct encounters with specific treatment and concrete administrative decisions. Both Yale Health and the administration can and should make their policies more transparent, but aspects of individual treatment will always be private.”
“I think we’re all confused,” Richards said in an email. “Our experiences say one thing and Dr. Siggins another. There is no reliable source of information, including the MHC website. Patients need to know their rights.”
Right now, students do not know what constitutes an involuntary withdrawal. Students do not know how Yale determines short or long term care plans for individual needs, and they fear a 12-session cap. Both Myers and Richards agree that students and the University approach these ideas from vastly different perspectives. The forum brought this mutual misunderstanding to light, but an hour wasn’t long enough to reconcile the two sides. In the meantime, Myers directed students in search of clarity to the Mental Health and Counseling section of Yale Health’s online FAQ.

Imagine that you and your best friends are locked in a room. You start to look around and realize that some things in the room are a little… off. The lighting is just a bit different; something strange is going on in that mirror; you’re hearing odd sounds that you can’t quite place. You start to realize that all of these anomalies are clues, and connect in various ways. You and your friends have to solve these puzzles in order to escape the locked room. And you have to do it in under an hour.

This is the experience that Yale alums Ethan Rodriguez-Torrent, DC ’13, and Max Sutter, CC ’11, promise with Escape New Haven, which opens Feb. 12. “Escape the room” is a new form of interactive entertainment that hit the East Coast just last year, popping up all across New York City. The new craze places a group of endeavoring puzzle-solvers in a room and gives them an hour to use the clues to escape. In May, Rodriguez-Torrent went to Manhattan to experience the phenomenon, roping a high-school friend, Dylan Connor, into coming along. After successfully escaping the room, he began to formulate an idea.

“The New York one was a lot of fun and I loved the concept, but there were a lot of things that I would do differently if it were me creating the puzzle,” he explained.

This is when Sutter, a mechanical engineer, came into the picture. Though both Yalies, the pair didn’t meet each other until after graduation, when they moved across the street from one another in New Haven. Rodriguez-Torrent explained to Sutter his idea for Escape the Room games, and the pair decided to run a beta test in Sutter’s basement over the summer.

Tragically, the test only ran for a week. Unbeknownst to Sutter, his neighbor served on the condo board, and wasn’t thrilled when the pair began building a wall, installing a door, and putting together a makeshift wooden gate in their room. The neighbor had heard the loud sounds of construction coming out of the basement and strolled over one day to see what was going on. When she found out, she quickly reported them.

However, that one week of testing was enough to convince the two that their concept was worth pursuing. On Monday, they invited all of their friends to try the prototype out, and by Thursday, they had strangers coming by, having heard good things. The pair decided that the next legitimate step was to find a real space and go all in. Connor (Yep, that same friend from New York) became their first investor.

Since the pair both have day jobs, Escape New Haven has to be a night and weekend operation for now. This made looking for spaces one of the more difficult parts of the process.

“We needed a space that Yale students would feel comfortable walking to in the dark but also that non-Yalies would go to… The place we found is really accessible off the highway, so we can get out of town traffic, but still near Yale,” said Sutter.

After finding a space that fit their criteria (and avoided nosy neighbors), they began to design the rooms. Though they drew initial inspiration from Escape the Room NYC’s “The Agency,” the New Haven version incorporates many changes. For example, they took out the “Cluemaster,” who gives the participants hints, and added minimal rules such as “Don’t rewire, don’t smash anything.” They then created three possible scenarios to play: Escape the Studio, Escape The Workshop, and Escape the Library. Each scenario has its own story and feel to it.

“The Workshop is rough, utilitarian, and… workshopy; the Library is sumptuous and a little pretentious; the Studio is… a little trippy,” said Rodriguez-Torrent, describing the ambiance of each scenario. “There are also some surprises along the way, but I don’t want to give away too much.”

The pair hired Jeff Gall, a local artist, to design the art direction of The Studio, and hope to have it be the first in a series of rooms that will be styled by other New Haven designers. Every three months they plan to take away one of the scenarios and replace it with a brand new one, and looking ahead they plan for each scenario to have a life span of nine months.

The clues in the room range in what senses they test, using tools such as lighting, mirrors, and sounds. They don’t want to simply hide the clues — they want to make it hard to notice them in a creative way. “We want to make you think in different ways, such as auditory, mechanical…” said Rodriguez-Torrent. “Sometimes you actually have to build things.”

Players also are given two “Get Out of Jail Free” cards, to help if they’re really struggling with a particular puzzle. Each team is monitored by someone in the central office, who, if necessary, can help the team along with a pre-set hint that appears on a screen in the room. Rodriguez-Torrent and Sutter aim to make it hard enough that 30 percent of the participants escape under an hour using the cards, and that 10 percent escape without using them even once. They hope to attract players of various ages, ranging from college students to young families.

So, why the sudden craze of the Escape the Room industry? Sutter said he thinks it’s because it allows people to think creatively and use their brain in unique, unexpected ways.

“I think most people don’t get a chance to think creatively on a day to day basis…. I think people like [Escape the room games] because [they] give you a chance to use different problem solving skills, and you get to work together with other people,” said Sutter.

“It’s something I think Yalies will love. I think there’s going to be, like, intramural competitions: see who has the shortest time, that kind of thing,” said Rodriguez-Torrent.

So start training now, Yalies! To prepare, they recommend playing the online game the craze was based on, called Real Escape. They also recommend knowing how to read analog clocks, something that really stumped people during the beta round.

“I would say, watch Sherlock and get into his character. It’s a lot about noticing what’s weird about the room, and trying to figure out what the room is trying to teach you about how to get out,” recommended Sutter.

Escape New Haven is located at 111 Whitney Avenue. The hours are currently scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, though they may need to add another time slot —they already had 500 advanced bookings two weeks before the doors open. So start making your appointments now guys, and see if you can be in that 30 percent!

1. When in doubt, turn to “Friday Night Lights.”

I’m serious! It’s foolproof. Tim Riggins is a “Running Back,” so sprinkle that word around. And Matt Saracen is the quarterback! I think that means he’s popular. Maybe talk about how Jason Street broke his neck from a bad tackle? And just like the fact that you know what a tackle is?

2. Pretend you’re in a football movie of any kind!

I’m serious, y’all—this will also work. Call the football players “gentlemen” when you see them. Ever-so-slightly nod. Chew some gum and squint your eyes. Wear aviators. Rage against society’s unfair prejudices. Try and save your down-on-it’s-luck small hometown. Act dignified and proud of our boys out there on the field. Pretty soon people will be asking you why the heck everyone is cheering.

3. Scream bloody murder whenever anything remotely important seems to happen.

So you don’t watch “Friday Night Lights” or other football media. You’re an uncultured monster, but it’s okay! This works just as well. No matter how small the event, I want to hear you guys screaming like crazy. Use your diaphragm. Project! People will turn to you first in horror, but then respect. They’ll think, wow, that person really gives a crap about football. I didn’t think that was anything to cheer about, but they clearly know what the hell they’re doing. All it takes is confidence.

4. Tailgate like there’s no tomorrow.

Need help with that confidence? If you’re over 21 in the state of Massachusetts, the tailgate will be perfect for you. You know what people who know what the hell they’re doing on Game day do? TAILGATE! So follow their lead! Let’s see some crazy costumes, multiple drunk performances of “Wobble” by V.I.C., and beer spilt literally everywhere. You’re going to be so goddamn confident—just you wait.

5. Nobody cares!

Literally everyone else over 21 in the state of Massachusetts is going to be just as confident as you are! So no one will remotely notice if you don’t know what’s going on. Because here’s the secret: neither do they.

Throughout high school, I was ruthlessly ridiculed by friends and family alike for loving mah gurl T Swift. Look guys, sorry that she writes lyrics that speak to my soul! I feel like there should be a support group for us lovers of Tay Tay because it’s honestly quite the cross to bear.

But recently, it looks like the tide is turning in our favor. Her new album is out, and IT IS FREAKING AMAZING. Ladies and gents who love Taylor Swift, here is our chance to shut up the haters.

Here’s what you do.

As you’re hanging out with your hipster friend, casually put on one of her new songs (I recommend “New Romantics”, it sounds like something Mø might sing) and wait for he or she to say, “wow this is great, who is this?”

That is when you smugly tell them that “IT’S TAYLOR SWIFT YOU HATER” and dance around to Shake it Off in all your glory. The look on their face will be worth the previous years of ridicule.

If you want to really go above and beyond, show them the Polaroid Instagrams and retro hats she’s been rocking lately. Point out the fact that she’s best friends with Lena Dunham. That she loves “the idea of New York” now.

Pretty soon your hip friend will be singing the lyrics “Oh my god, look at that face” not in the least bit ironically.

I have recently fallen into the black hole that is Gilmore Girls due to its resurfacing on Netflix. The witty dialogue! The romance! The dated early aughts turtlenecks!

Listen up everyone. After some serious binge watching, I have concluded that Rory’s freshmen year experience is a HEINOUS LIE. Here are some of the blatant fallacies that GG spoon-fed us.

1. You will not live in your own filth.

Rory’s room is never dirty. I haven’t properly seen the floor of my room in three weeks.

2. You will not live in a broom cupboard.

RORY’S ROOM IS THE SIZE OF A MILLION DOLLAR LOFT. Their common room is the size of my entire floor.

3. Your room will be furnished like a million loft.

Rory’s grandma furnished that common room better than Martha Stewart could have furnished her penthouse jail cell. The fridge in my suite broke the first week of school, leaving us with melting food and a truly fantastic smell.

4. Your bathroom will be clean.

Rory’s bathroom sparkles with glory. Every time I bend down to pick up my shower caddy and catch a glimpse of my bathroom floor, I die a little more inside.

5. The Whiffenpoofs will randomly appear and start singing to you.

The Harvard Yale game episode is completely false!

6. You will tastefully tailgate.

Yeah no I don’t do that.

7. There will be a coffee cart right outside your door!!

This one brings tears to my eyes. My life would be drastically different if I could walk out of my dorm and immediately and grab a coffee and a scone. And Rory doesn’t even use it every day!! I would be at texting level with that guy. Probably best friends on Snapchat. Who knows, I would see where it led.

8. You will not live on the 4th floor.

This one is pretty specific to me, but I resent Rory for not having to summit a mountain three times a day. And like, everyone else who doesn’t summit a mountain three times a day.

You guys don’t know my pain.