VOL. CLXXI NO.147
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Kuster, Shaheen rally student voters
MOSTLY CLOUDY HIGH 54 LOW 40
‘Make the effort,’ Kuster says. B y REBECCA ASOULIN The Dartmouth Staff
TREVELYAN WING/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
SPORTS WEEKLY
WOMEN’S SOCCER TAKES DOWN CRIMSON PAGE SW2
FOOTBALL FALLS TO HARVARD 23-12 AT HOME PAGE SW2
OPINION
SELLERS: IMMORAL UNPAID INTERNSHIPS PAGE 4
ARTS
MECHANICALS DO ‘MACBETH’ PAGE 8 READ US ON
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When Rep. Ann McLane Kuster ’78, D-N.H., was a student at the College, her first trip home was to vote. The 1974 New Hampshire race was the closest election in Senate history. “Ever since, I have said, ‘make the effort,’” Kuster said. Dartmouth students could play a crucial role on Election Day, she said, speaking alongside Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H., to a crowd of around 40 people in One Wheelock Saturday afternoon.
The politicians spoke to a crowd of about 40 people on Saturday.
SEE SHAHEEN PAGE 3
Panhellenic Council sororities gain equal representation
B y kelsey flower
Panhellenic Council sororities and Interfraternity Council fraternities now have equal representation in the Greek Leadership Council, following a vote last Thursday. Each of the eight Panhell sororities will get 1.875 votes, while the 15 IFC fraternities and other Greek organizations will
continue to have one. Panhell president Rachel Funk ’15 said she and a number of sorority presidents wondered if it was fair that Panhell and IFC organization each received one vote, given that total membership in both groups is nearly equal. As of winter 2014, the most recent data available on the Greek Letter
Symposium focuses on creativity in science B y ESTEPHANIE AQUINO
Scientists must consider the social and political backgrounds of those they seek to assist, E.E. Just postdoctoral fellow Salvador AlmagroMoreno said Saturday afternoon, explaining that local resources can be used to address disease-stricken communities. For instance, he said, scarves can filter water in areas of India affected by cholera. Infectious diseases was one of several topics covered
at the third annual E.E. Just Symposium this weekend, a two-day event comprising lectures and discussion about STEM fields that focused its theme this year on interdisciplinary creativity in the sciences. The symposium, named after Class of 1907 graduate Ernest Everett Just, celebrates scientific courage and interdisciplinary research. College President Phil
SEE STEM PAGE 2
Organizations and Societies website, IFC had 1,101 members and Panhell had 1,076. “Considering that we had about equal membership in the Greek community, we thought it was unfair for us to have seven fewer votes,” Funk said. As of winter 2014, the Gender-Inclusive Council, previously known as
the Coed Council, had 105 members, the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations had 11 and the National Pan-Hellenic Council had 18. This fall, Panhell organizations focused their attention largely on sorority recruitment rather than systemSEE PANHELL PAGE 5
BIG GREEN FALLS TO CRIMSON FOE
TREVELYAN WING/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Bo Patterson ’16 tries to dodge Crimson linebacker Connor Sheehan and defensive back Sean Ahem. But the Big Green could not grab a fourth Ivy victory, falling 23-12 to Harvard. SEE PAGE SW2.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 2
DAily debriefing
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014
Creativity stressed in weekend event
LOCAL NEWS
The 2014 New Hampshire senate race has surpassed the 2008 race to become the most expensive election campaign in state history, New Hampshire Public Radio reported Friday. Incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., has spent $11.7 million, while Republican nominee Scott Brown, a former Massachusetts Senator, has spent $6.3 million. Non-candidate groups such as party organizations, political action committees and super PACs have outspent both nominees, contributing $28.7 million to the race. These groups have spent about $4 million in support of Brown, about $1.3 million in support of Shaheen, about $11.9 million against Brown and about $11.6 against Shaheen. In the 2008 New Hampshire Senate race, the two candidates and outside groups spent a total of about $44.4 million, compared to more than $46 million this year as of Friday. A state ban on “ballot selfies” violates the first amendment, says the New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a lawsuit responding to the New Hampshire ban, Boston.com reported Friday. The law prohibits voters from taking photos of their ballots to prevent people from selling their votes, and in June this law was updated to include sharing the image on social media. Since the law was implemented on Sept. 1, three people have been investigated by New Hampshire’s attorney general for posting photos of their ballots on Twitter and Facebook. The ACLU lawsuit’s plaintiffs claim that “ballot selfies” are political speech and thus protected under the first amendment. Three people have been arrested in connection to pumpkin festival riots that occurred in Keene on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19, Boston. com reported on Oct. 29. Forest Wilkinson, 18, Michael Bulman, 19, and Tory Knaff, 18, were identified in pictures from the festival and were arrested and released on bail. Wilkinson faces a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief for allegedly ripping up a sign, while Bulman and Knaff were each charged with one felony count of reckless conduct for allegedly hurling beers in a crowd. At the festival, crowds were hostile, shouting expletives at officers, starting fires in the road and attempting to flip over a vehicle, CNN reported on Oct. 19. — Compiled by Lauren Budd
Corrections We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com. “Big Green to take on Harvard Saturday in battle of Ivy titans” (Oct. 30, 2014): The Big Green played Harvard on Saturday, not Friday, as the headline originally indicated.
ABIAH PRITCHARD/THE DARTMOUTH
About 50 people attended the symposium, which brought a number of distinguished speakers to the College. FROM STEM PAGE 1
Hanlon spoke Saturday, saying that the E.E. Just Program at the College has increased the number of minority students in STEM fields. Physics professor Stephon Alexander, who has directed the symposium since its inception in 2012, said he hopes it draws more attention to the breadth of interdisciplinary research at the College. “A lot of the times students are only exposed to this one dimension of studies in the classroom if they are questioning whether or not they wanted to go into STEM or become a scientist,” he said. “I wanted to show them what real scientists do in a format they could enjoy.” Speakers included Sylvester Jim Gates, who serves on President Barack Obama’s Council on Advisors on Science and Technology, Margaret Geller, an astrophysicist
at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Andrea Hayes-Jordan ’87, a professor of pediatric surgery at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, among others. The lectures were followed by a panel discussion where guest
“We need to get back to actually caring about learning, not just getting a job.” - Michael casey, MUSIC PROFESSOR speakers and Dartmouth faculty spoke about creativity in interdisciplinary studies and their own experiences with research and education. “We need to get back to actu-
ABIAH PRITCHARD/THE DARTMOUTH
Lecturers and professors talked about creativity in the sciences at the event.
ally caring about learning, not just getting a job,” said music professor Michael Casey. Geisel Medical School professor Scott Williams said institutions should work to foster curiosity, which will in turn spark creativity. Computer science professor Hany Farid said he has seen growing interest in the field. He said he is optimistic for this generation’s understanding of the intersection between science and other studies. The real problem, he said, is that student concern over GPA can overpower their desire to learn. Symposium attendees included undergraduates, post-doctoral students, community members and students from nearby high schools. About 50 people attended the event, which was held in Oopik Auditorium. Of seven attendees interviewed, four were graduate students who said the symposium reassured them that any type of creativity within the interdisciplinary studies is necessary for the success or creation of a project. A number of students from Kimball Union Academy, a high school in Meriden that E. E. Just attended, came to the symposium. Kelley Dole, a parent of a Kimball student, said exposing young people to sophisticated scientists ignites curiosity. Emily Golitzin ’18 said the symposium addressed her concerns over the applications of her planned double major in physics and music. “It’s nice knowing that I can integrate both of my passions, I don’t have to choose between them,” Golitzin said.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014
PAGE 3
Democratic politicians highlight importance of voting FROM SHAHEEN PAGE 1
College students care about the same issues most voters prioritize — jobs, the economy and increasing opportunity, Kuster said, noting that she plans to continue working with Shaheen and Gov. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., to make the state an attractive place for students to settle. “You’re going to dream up and create new businesses,” Kuster said. “That’s great for our economy and for a wonderful quality of life.” The 2008 elections “flipped the legislature,” Shaheen said, noting that high student turnout contributed to a Democratic victory. When fewer students voted in 2010, the party fared poorly, she said. In 2012, 55.6 percent of New Hampshire voters between the ages of 18 and 29 participated. That number was about 22 percent in 2010, according to data from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Shaheen said she prioritizes equal pay for equal work, increasing the minimum wage and refinancing student loans. Though the race is close, most recent polls show Shaheen leading her Republican challenger Scott Brown, a former U.S. senator in
Massachusetts, and Hassan leading Walt Havenstein, a Republican businessman in the race for governor. WMUR and the University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll results released Oct. 28 showed Kuster with a wide lead over Republican state Rep. Marilinda Garcia. “This race is important not just for New Hampshire, but it is critically important for the country,” Kuster said. The candidates’ speeches motivated Lily Brown ’15, who said she will try to get other students to vote on Tuesday. Livia Clandorf ’17, who also attended the event, said many important issues are at play in this midterm — issues important to her, college students in general and women. The event reinforced the importance of voting in this election, Haley Reicher ’17 said, adding that it did not change her view on either candidate. “I think people aren’t really aware of how important it is for college students to vote,” Reicher said. “They don’t know that it’s such a narrow margin and that their vote can actually swing the election.” Hosting events for students to learn about the candidates is valuable in a high-stakes election, said College
Democrats president Spencer Blair ’17. While some students may not consider midterms to be as important as presidential elections, Blair said, others recognize that this election will determine the nation’s policy makers. Blair said he has seen a lot of enthusiasm from both College Democrats and College Republicans in the weels leading up to the elections. College Republicans hosted Garcia earlier this term during a forum on foreign policy with former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. College Republicans president Michelle Knesbach ’17 wrote in an email that the group supports both Brown and Garcia, who she said will make choices that would “keep Americans working.” “Economic policy is extremely important for college kids seeing as we are all on the brink of joining the labor force,” Knesbach wrote. “If we have poor economic and tax policy, come graduation, many students will be hurt by this.” Both groups are focusing on getting people to commit to vote and “correcting misinformation,” including on voter registration laws, Blair said.
In New Hampshire, students can decide whether to vote in their home state or in New Hampshire. Students can register to vote on Election Day with photo identification. Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily’s List, a political action committee that supports Democratic female candidates, also spoke Saturday, highlighting the importance of electing women to public office. As the first state to elect an all-
female congressional delegation and governor, New Hampshire has a strong record of electing women, Schriock said. “Of course women run here and win,” Schriock said. “The rest of the country is trying to catch up.” Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Hanover High School gym. Blair is a member of The Dartmouth opinion staff.
WE’RE ALL WINNERS HERE
KATELYN JONES/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
“Cupcake Warz,” hosted by Alpha Phi sorority, raised money for Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth at a Sunday afternoon event.
VOTING IS SIMPLE KNOW YOUR RIGHTS In New Hampshire, you can register and vote at the polls on Election Day. Students, if you live in New Hampshire and go to school here, you can register and vote here!
If registering at the polls, you will be asked to show documentation of age, citizenship, identity, and where you live, but documentation is not required. You can prove these 4 qualifications by swearing to them.
On Election Day, catch the “VOTER EXPRESS” at ROBO (Robinson Hall) on North Main Street! Learn more or volunteer at COLLIS 219, or by visiting GraniteStateForward.com/Campus!
PAID FOR BY THE NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE’S COMMITTEE. NHDP.ORG.
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
PAGE 4
Staff Columnist Emily Sellers ’15
Contributing Columnist Annika Park ’18
Immoral Unpaid Internships
Reconsider the Ban
Unpaid internships are morally and economically indefensible.
Internships — and the pressure to land as many prestigious ones as possible — are constantly on college students’ minds. However, in our quest to find them, many of us settle for underpaid or unpaid positions. I wonder how many of us ask ourselves if this is a morality we want to implicitly endorse and a phenomenon in which we are content to take part. Last summer, I took an underpaid internship in an effort to grow intellectually and add the precious line to my resume. Though I feel that I achieved both of those things, my experience taught me that “invaluable” internships impose a heavy price. In order to make myself seem attractive to future employers, I contributed to a corrupt practice that upholds classist systems, disadvantages many young people and affirms corporate voraciousness. I understand why businesses, particularly non-profits and small firms, hire underpaid or unpaid interns. Oftentimes these organizations do not have enough money to finance an inexperienced worker. However, it is important to recognize the societal implications of such a practice. Unpaid internships undeniably shrink the applicant pool to those who likely benefit from privileged positions: namely, people who can afford to finance themselves and those who go to an elite school that can provide internship funding. If businesses require internships to get desirable jobs and if those internships are only available to privileged classes, “equality of opportunity/access” becomes devoid of any practical meaning. By participating in this system as an unpaid intern, I was complicit in a scheme that (1) requires young people with no bargaining power to subsidize corporations, (2) exploits labor by pretending that it is not valued as is, (3) exacerbates the income gap, (4) disadvantages lower socioeconomic classes and (5) limits the work force’s accessibility to the privileged. Though I do not entirely blame myself or the company for which I interned, the setup itself is corrupt, and both companies
and interns should demand change. A possible objection is that internships offer valuable training that could not be taught in the classroom. Perhaps this is fair. As a proponent of a liberal arts education (as opposed to technical schools), I do not think it is the place of higher education to prepare students for work in a particular field. However, I do expect employers to recognize the cognitive skills that higher education instills. That many jobs require a bachelor’s degree is evidence that many employers place stock in college education, and it is not unreasonable to ask them to act on that faith. Cognitive skills also allow for on-the-job training that could blend productive work and job-specific training. If Target pays its employees for training, so should other organizations. Further, it is irrelevant that fields that typically institute internships are more “prestigious” ones like journalism and government work — exploitation is exploitation, whether the person being exploited is a child in a textile mill in the 1900s or a 20-something in a startup today. If the labor contract is not free from undue coercion, and the two parties do not have roughly equal bargaining power, then it is not a just system. Interns might be “indispensable” for businesses, as per a Center for Professional Development lecture last Friday, but that should not be our only consideration in thinking about the morality of our current internship culture. Unpaid internships only help free-riding businesses and the elites that can afford to take them. Companies place the burden on us as young people and on our colleges, and we should not be willing to carry it. Though I understand the tricky place the College plays in this struggle, I ask administrators and students alike to demand more from prospective employers. A price cannot be put on respect and value, but demanding free labor from those who are not free to make an actual choice reduces the dignity of work and exploits the powerless.
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The first-year ban is ineffective and ultimately harmful. The six-week ban on first-year students pong tables created from ripped out doors and entering Greek houses serving alcohol is over cheap alcohol hidden in suitcases. Clearly, even for the Class of 2018, but serious scrutiny of its with the ban, students are determined to take effectiveness should continue. Whether or not the part in their image of #college. ban should stay in place next year for the Class People come to Dartmouth expecting a certain of 2019 is a question that deserves serious con- party culture. I certainly felt that way — and when sideration. Given that the ban was implemented that was not satisfied, I felt like I was missing out. to deter high-risk drinking and reduce incidences With the first-year student ban, students feel a of alcohol-driven sexual assault on campus, I dissonance between the Dartmouth experience believe that its effectiveness — or, as I will argue, they envisioned and the Dartmouth experience lack thereof — should determine whether the they get, and it seemed as though students almost ban is continued. felt obligated to drink and party behind closed My first week of pre-orientation, a news report- doors. er for The Dartmouth asked me what I thought Let’s flick back 100 years, and revisit Prohibiof the ban. At the time, I was enthusiastic about tion in the 1920s, which was one of America’s it because I thought that it would allow first-year largest historical failures, giving rise to an era of students to get to meet each gangsters and bootleggers other without being thrown “At worst, the ban making millions off the into the social huddle with human desire to drink. The upperclassmen. Never have increases high-risk illegal speakeasies remind us I been more wrong. As drinking; at best, it is of dorm parties that happen I found myself roaming behind locked doors. Bar only moving high-risk from cluster to cluster to policies and police raids are find pre-games and saw drinking behind closed similar to our secret codes of alcohol being smuggled in doors in exclusively firstconduct and fear of possible and out of dorm rooms, it UGA busts. We learned didn’t take long for me to year spaces.” from Prohibition that all a realize that the ban was not ban does is make behaviors deterring high-risk drinking harder to control. Why are or encouraging first-year students to get to know we repeating history? At worst, the ban increases each other without the influence of alcohol. What high-risk drinking; at best, it is only moving highI did see was the formation of mini alcohol cartels risk drinking behind closed doors in exclusively as students bought beer and handles off one first-year spaces. another at inflated prices. I personally think that Many studies have shown that peer pressure Yik Yak became popular because of the ban, as drives high-risk drinking — the issue is the desire restless first-year students sought places that were to conform to the social expectations of the “turned up.” norm, not the existence of fraternities. Banning As a first-year student, I can attest to the fact that first-year students from fraternities at the start of the ban has made drinking more dangerous and their Dartmouth careers does not solve the root harder to control by driving alcohol consumption causes of high-risk drinking, nor does it prevent underground. During the first six weeks, I found high-risk drinking from happening in both firstthat my peers believed drinking was integral to year dormitories and other spaces on campus. “college life.” As politically incorrect as it may I urge the Greek Leadership Council to end sound, students crave drinking and partying as part the first-year ban. Instead, let us create a culture of the “Dartmouth experience.” Even with the where brothers and sisters take care of their guests ban, first-year students are determined to live the by keeping an eye on high-risk behavior in their Dartmouth experience they want with makeshift basements.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014
PAGE 5
Panhell,IFC represented equally after policy change FROM PANHELL PAGE 1
wide changes, Funk said. On Oct. 24, Panhell found out that the GLC was going to try to institute changes, Funk said, declining to specify what they comprised. “At that point, we were like, we don’t want to have to vote on more policies until we get what we felt was equal voting rights, a concept we find neither radical or unreasonable,” Funk said. “We did not feel that it was fair to the women we represent to continue to vote on GLC matters until we felt that we were able to accurately represent them on all GLC matters.” Panhell organizations decided to boycott all GLC events, refusing to vote on anything until equal representation was addressed, Funk said. The gender-inclusive Greek organizations said that they would participate in the boycott as well. “Unsurprisingly, our organizations are ones that very highly value gender equity, and we think it was an unfair system that had as many women in sororities as there were in fraternities but only half as many votes,” said Noah Cramer ’16, president of the Gender-Inclusive Greek Council which voted to change its name last week. Panhell proposed that each sorority receive two votes, which would give them one more than the fraternities. The GLC put Panhell’s request to a vote on Oct. 30. At the meeting, Cramer said, four options were presented: leaving the current system in place, attempting to portion votes by organization size, balancing IFC fraternity and Panhell sorority votes, or giving two votes to the top 10 largest organizations, including seven sororities and three fraternities. GLC Accountability Chair Sarah Lucas ’15 wrote in an email the presidents first voted by ballot between all four options and then by a raise of hands between the most popular two — giving the 10 largest organizations two votes each and giving each Panhell sorority 1.875 votes. “I think that we’ll be able to make more meaningful and lasting policy across all Greek organizations,” Funk said of the change. Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority president Emily Reeves ’15 wrote in an email that the change was long overdue and she was excited for women to have equal representation in the Greek system. Alpha Phi sorority president Courtney Wong ’15 said she was happy about the changes. “Overall I think that it’s a great step on moving forward on everyone’s behalf because it was a coop-
erative effort between every house that’s involved with the GLC,” Wong said. “I hope that in the future, it will lead to more collaboration.” Phi Tau coed fraternity president Aylin Woodward ’15 called the changes a “step in the right direction.” Though she said she would rather every organization get a proportional number of votes to its members, she said she thinks the change will help Phi Tau, as its interests tend to be analogous with those of Panhell. “We find that our voices are most often heard when we form a coalition with them, as it makes it easier for them to represent our interests in a forum where we really don’t get a lot of voting power or say since there are only a few coed organizations,” she said. Cramer said he thinks the changes mark a positive step not only for Panhell sororities but also for gender-inclusive organizations. He said he is hopeful about what it means for the GLC moving forward. “Historically, the GLC hasn’t been used to implement that much policy, and I think a lot of that is because a lot of people saw it as a broken system where the fraternities as super enfranchised and everyone else doesn’t have that much of a voice,” Cramer said. “I hope this change will give people a lot more faith in the GLC voting system and make people feel empowered to use the GLC to pass meaningful policy for the Greek system.” GLC moderator Alistair Glover ’15 declined to comment, as did presidents of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, Delta Delta Delta sorority, Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Sigma Nu fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, Tabard coed fraternity and Zeta Psi fraternity. Presidents of Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity, Alpha Delta fraternity, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Alpha Pi Omega sorority, Alpha Theta coed fraternity, Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, Bones Gate fraternity, Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity, Chi Heorot fraternity, Gamma Delta Chi fraternity, Kappa Delta sorority, Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity, Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity, Phi Tau coed fraternity, Psi Upsilon fraternity, Sigma Delta sorority, Sigma Lambda Upsilon sorority and Theta Delta Chi fraternity could not be reached for comment Sunday afternoon or evening, nor could presidents of the IFC, NALFO or NPHC. Woodward is a member of The Dartmouth opinion staff.
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PAGE 6
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014
DARTMOUTH EVENTS TODAY 12:00 p.m. “When Environmental Data Communications Mumble” with Dr. Brian Zikmund-Fisher, Room 614, Vail
4:00 p.m. “Discovering the Surveillance Society in the Sixties” with Sarah Igo, Carson L01
4:15 p.m. “Reading Chinese Mountains: Writing and Landscape” with Robert E. Harrist Jr, Rockefeller 001
TOMORROW 3:30 p.m. Physics and astronomy space plasma seminar with Ben Zhu, Wilder 111
4:15 p.m. Computer science colloquium with Dr. Jon Bentley, Moore B03
4:30 p.m. “What AIDS has Taught Us: Lessons From the Global Fight Against HIV and the New Global Health Agenda” with Ambassador Eric Goosby, Filene Auditorium
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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014
PAGE 7
DALI offers opportunities Zombies, jokes lack vigor in ‘Beth’ beyond digital arts focus B y andrew kingsley The Dartmouth Staff
app, tentatively named Stitch, that will “stitch” together articles based not Ackerman and Schwartz’s experience only on content, but also on estimated as competitive skiers, would enable reading time. physical therapists to measure the angle They hope to receive assistance with of patients’ knees when they landed technical support and market research from a jump, allowing them to track to evaluate the app’s demand, Yang said. patients’ progress. Matt Ritter ’15 and Stephen Ma- The DALI Lab and DEN will also lina ’15 submitted their thesis project, hold the competition again during the Repcoin, to the competition this term. winter and spring terms. Repcoin aims to create the first market- “I see it being a regular part of the based approach to online reputation, entrepreneurial, creative, innovative through which people can receive spirit really taking off at Dartmouth,” Loeb said. “I see this investments from as an opportunity to others in various really light up the categories, much “I see it being a College with this like endorsements regular part of the idea.” on LinkedIn. entrepreneurial, Coughlin said he Without the hopes that the recompetition, it creative, innovative peatability of the would be nearly spirit really taking competition will impossible to gather make aspiring ena large audience to off at Dartmouth.” trepreneurs plan hear about Repfor the competition coin, Ritter said. - lorie loeb, dali lab going forward. Ritter and Ma As the program lina, who are DALI executive director develops, Loeb also Lab mentors, have said she hopes that already worked closely with others in the lab to develop they will better support winners and their idea further, Ritter said. Because grant more applicants the help that of the existing support, he said, they they request. are not as reliant on winning the com- “It’s a motivation to just keep on petition and will continue working on thinking creatively,” Loeb said. “There hadn’t been, up until recently, a lot Repcoin regardless of the outcome. “It’ll be tougher if we don’t win, of support for people who wanted to but we’ll basically do the same stuff: develop their own tech apps or start generate hype, work on it a lot,” Ritter businesses.” Past winner Delos Chang ’14, of said. Ke Zhao ’17, who will be pitching HousingCake, a site that automates with Amy Yang ’17, emphasized the housing searches, said that he is “imadvantage that a live audience offers mensely appreciative” of the support — presenters can gauge audience that he received from the DALI Lab after winning the Pitch competition. members’ reaction to their idea. “The great thing about The Pitch “They supported me not just finantoo is just being able to gauge the audi- cially, but also gave me a great space ence reaction during the pitch,” Zhao to work in and an incredible network,” Chang said. “It was a very supportive said. Zhao and Yang are pitching an environment.” FROM DALI PAGE 8
VIVA DíA DE LOS MUERTOS
MAY NGUYEN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Student groups hosted Día de los Muertos celebrations on Sunday evening.
Any film that designates itself a “zom-rom-com,” or zombie romantic comedy, must suffer from an identity crisis. To wed the gratuitously overused zombie and rom-com genres is parody itself, and it’s not surprising that such a film’s audiences might try to divorce the viewing experience from their minds. Jeff Baena’s “Life After Beth” (2014), which screened at the Loew Auditorium on Halloween evening, falls right into this trap. Though the film tries to distance itself from the rom-com genre — the “this-will-bedifferent” neon signs come up early — it plays like a sick joke, where the actors enjoy themselves while audience members endure their stupidity. The film begins at the end, the end of Zach (Dane DeHaan) and Beth’s (Aubrey Plaza) relationship. Hiking alone, Beth dies from a snake bite, throwing Zach into a classic “woe is me,” post-relationship maelstrom. For some inexplicable reason, however, Beth comes back to life as a zombie and haunts the screen for an hour like someone who watched a “Walking Dead” episode and said, “Hey, I can do that!” Though I’m not sure what would make an actor a “good zombie,” Plaza certainly isn’t one. She acts like the girl from “The Exorcist” (1973), but the green vomit is just her speaking. Without her “Parks and Recreation” deadpan, Plaza seems lost, unsure of how to convincingly play the funny, romantic zombie. But who wouldn’t? Plaza’s character bludgeons viewers with over-thetop moaning and brainatarianism, making audiences wonder if this is a spoof. It’s like the zombie version of “The Room” (2003): she’s so bad, she’s almost good. The film’s wheels begin to fall off when the dead come back to life, creating an apocalyptic wasteland that somehow only Zach can navigate safely. Zach hurtles down a rabbit hole into a bewildering nightmare. Instead of Red Queens, Jabberwocks and Mad Hatters, audiences following his adventure suffer through generic zombies recycled from any run-of-themill living dead film. Even the funny zombies, Zach’s senile grandfather and incompetent mailman, fall victim to Baena’s choice to turn the film into something like a headhunting zombie massacre video game. At this point, rom and com take back seats to the zom — and the zom bombs. Sadly, so does the com. Baena is so anxious to make audiences laugh that he forces every character to act awkwardly or foolishly. Yet audiences become so used to the forced and campy lines that the laughs dry up quickly. Generally, the “straight guy” in comedy is the serious person who
reacts to the absurdity of a routine, thus grounding it in reality. But Baena cuts the straight guy, shifting the comedic into overdrive. Luckily, the rom isn’t so lifeless. Underneath all this absurdity is a nugget of truth that brings the film back to earth — a break-up is a death of sorts, and even as lovers try to bury the past, that person can become a kind of zombie. Baena plays this out, having Plaza play a clingy, paranoid girlfriend who uses Zach like life support. Only when Zach ditches her for good does the world return to normal. The zombie genre has exploded this past decade. Television’s “The Walking Dead” and videogames like “Left For Dead” and “Resident Evil”
are nearly unrecognizable from the genre’s humble beginnings — “Night of the Living Dead” (1968). “Life After Beth” tries to find its niche here but combines the worst tropes from romantic comedies and zombie films. The film goes one for three tackling zom, rom and com, but the success of the romance plot is buried beneath the shtick and generic zombies. Ultimately, “Life After Beth” is a zombie of a film — it brings old themes to life only to kill them with its self-conscious brand of comedy.
Rating: 4.5/10 “Life After Beth” played at the Loew on Halloween night at 7:00 p.m. It was recently released on DVD.
Provost Dever invites you to Open Office Hours Tuesday, November 4 from 4-5 pm Provost’s Office, Room 102 Parkhurst Hall
Meetings are offered on a first-come, first-served basis
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
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ARTS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014
DALI and DEN contest Blood is fake, chills are real in ‘Macbeth’ supports arts, innovation B y HALEY GORDON The Dartmouth Staff
B y margarette nelson and jessica zischke The Dartmouth Staff
For students without a car on campus, how does one spend the day skiing at Killington or watching a baseball game at Fenway Park? James Furnary ’16 and Ryan Buckvar ’17 aim to solve this problem with BusMe, an event-driven bus transit service that feeds upon a crowdsourced market. Buckvar and Furnary pitched their idea to several dozen fellow contestants and organizers on Friday afternoon at The Pitch clinic, held by the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network, in preparation for the Neukom Digital Arts, Leadership and Innovation Lab’s competition, The Pitch, this term cohosted with DEN for the first time. The competition will take place on Tuesday afternoon in the Loew Auditorium, when 20 teams of hopefuls will pitch ideas to judges and a live audience. Pulling together resources for design and innovation, the DALI Lab supports ongoing projects in the digital arts, including Digital Fashion, a project produce technologically-enhanced clothing and Art2Artifact, a database for information about ancient coin collections. It also supports studentcreated apps to improve information sharing about campus housing, energy saving efforts and dining options. The DALI Lab held its first pitch competition last winter, encouraging students, faculty and staff to submit ideas for phone apps, business plans and more. Of 33 entries, judges selected eight as winners, including Word, a word game that incorporates physics; ArtxChange, an e-commerce site for art that incorporates fundraising into its sales; and RICE2 BioSurveillance, a project that collects data to help track disease prevalence in Vietnam. Those that won stood out from the rest due to their originality and feasibility, DALI Lab executive director Lorie Loeb said. “They were novel, realistic — we liked the idea,” Loeb said. “We thought the ideas were good and had the potential for impact.” Winners receive support — ranging from capital to workspace — to make their idea a reality. Loeb said that the winning ideas will not necessarily be those that have
the best business plan. “We want to see ideas that can really have a great impact on the world, whether it’s through social change or a new app,” Loeb said. “We just really want to hear those ideas more than the business model.” During the two-minute pitches, judges look for how students articulate the problem that their idea will solve for, said New Venture Incubation Programs director Jamie Coughlin, who has served as a judge. DALI and DEN bring together “the entrepreneurial perspective along with the building perspective,” Coughlin said. One of the initiatives to “increase value” for the competition was Friday afternoon’s clinic, Coughlin said. Those planning to pitch on Tuesday evening were invited to hear advice from Matt McIlwain ’87, of Madrona Venture Group. Participants could practice their pitches in front of a live audience, with McIIwain giving realtime feedback. McIlwain’s feedback at the clinic ranged from allocating pitch time to differentiating oneself from current players in the market, Coughlin said. Coughlin compared The Pitch to ABC’s competition show “Shark Tank.” But the contest is more about creating a platform to express ideas rather than sifting through and identifying who has the best ideas, like the reality show’s intention, Coughlin said. Last winter, the organizers had only received one application before the night of the event, Loeb said. This year the 20 spots filled within a few hours of the midnight opening on Oct. 21, Loeb said. By morning, they had received twice as many applicants as they had room, Coughlin said. Coughlin called the field of applicants diverse, ranging from web or mobile applicants to social venture opportunities — in line with “the spirit of our definition of entrepreneurship.” One group, comprised of Rebecca Leong ’15, Delainey Ackerman ’15, Sophia Schwartz ’13 and Patricia Neckowicz ’15, will propose an app that is intended to be a tool for physical therapists to better serve patients, Leong said. The idea, which stemmed from
The Rude Mechanicals began its rendition of “Macbeth” on Halloween night with swords clashing and witches raving. The student group, which runs one Shakespearean play per term, produced a shortened version of the famous Scottish tragedy on Thursday and Friday. The troupe staged the performance on the first floor of Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, playing for an audience seated in a comfortable assortment of couches and chairs. The dark paneled walls and formal fireplace suited the play’s brooding and ominous tone, and the two doors flanking center stage allowed for quick, easy exits to a backstage area for the cast. Executive director Steph AbbottGrobicki ’15 played the dynamic role of Lady Macbeth, evoking her descent into madness with engaging monologues that captivated the audience. Partnered with her Macbeth, Avery Feingold ’17, Abbott-Grobicki created vibrant scenes that demonstrated the complicated nature of her character, who cajoled and controlled her vulnerable husband with ease. The couple’s palpable chemistry made their scenes stand out despite their comparative lack of physical action. Feingold said he used the literature for inspiration and infused the character with relevant pieces of his own personality. Used to playing comedic
roles, Feingold said he worked to control his voice and make his fear believable rather than laughable. When the ghost of the murdered Banquo appeared before him, Feingold’s screams and terror showed that his efforts paid off. Artistic director Mike McDavid ’15 said he had been pushing to do “Macbeth” for much of his three years with the group. In addition to playing the role of Macduff, McDavid cut the script to a running time of around 75 minutes. The play, McDavid said, has “many rich themes.” “It’s constantly coming back to ideas of violence and deception, action versus speech,” he said, “And every character is touched by these ideas throughout the play.” McDavid said that cutting a Shakespearean script can be difficult, but he had a clear vision for the piece. Abbott-Grobicki said that performing in a fraternity had been in the works for a while, but logistically had proven too complicated to arrange. Audience member Calin Ackerman ’17 said that the actors made “great use of the space” by playing with lighting and using few physical set pieces. The company wore simple costumes: dark bottoms and crisp white T-shirts. As the play progressed, the clothing became stained with blood from murders, fights and discoveries. The violent image was juxtaposed with the characters’ attempts to con-
duct normal behavior and hide their involvement in brutal crimes, creating dramatic irony. “I thought that our visuals were very effective,” McDavid said. “I think we were taking a risk, asking the audience to come with us with this idea that the blood is and is not there, that what you’re seeing is and is not what you’re really seeing.” The image of Macbeth drenched with blood — and that he never changed costumes — made a big impact, audience member Nick Jensen ’15 said. The performance’s ending featured a twist of the traditional Shakespearean conclusion. While the text ends the play with a conservative speech by Malcolm, this version concluded with the witches re-emerging — the lights dimmed as they repeated their ominous curses. This effect left the audience with an eerie feeling, exacerbated by the disorientation of the darkness. McDavid said that the group collaborated to imagine the ending, working up until the week before to generate ideas and workshop them. “For us, we realized that regardless of what [Shakespeare] was going for, we wanted to punctuate our play,” McDavid said. “We wanted to leave the audience with a sense that this story is done, but the themes aren’t over — that there is more to come.” McDavid is a member of The Dartmouth opinion staff.
MAY NGUYEN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
SEE DALI PAGE 7
Avery Feingold ’17 played Macbeth and Steph Abbott-Grobicki ’15 Lady Macbeth in the fall Rude Mechanicals show.