The Dartmouth Mirror 1/24/18

MIR ROR 1.24.2018

ARE WE TECH ADDICTS? | 3

EVOLUTION OF THE COLLEGE CREST | 4-5

THE MODERN WOMAN | 6 SAMANTHA BURACK AND MIA ZHANG NACKE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

2 //MIRR OR

Editors’ Note

Department of the Digital Age STORY

MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

The 21st century. THE modern era. A time when most things are a click away, a time when waiting more than five minutes for any piece of information is too long, a time when self-promotion is embedded into our online presence. Most of all, it is our century. Our lives, especially our college experience, have been forever transformed by the inventions of the 21st century. It is easy to forget that only 15 years ago essays were written on paper and required a trip to the depths of the Stacks. We forget that we are among the very first to experience society in the wake of a technological revolution. We have developed an arrogance, a confident sense of knowing who, what, where and when, all the time. How has the 21st century impacted our lives? What was the world like before you could order a latte from your phone and browse through the library from your bed? In this issue, we explore the ways the 21st century has made us unique, but also what it has cost us: what we have let slip through the cracks.

follow @thedmirror 1.24.18 VOL. CLXXIV NO. 166 MIRROR EDITORS MARIE-CAPUCINE PINEAUVALENCIENNE CAROLYN ZHOU EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RAY LU PUBLISHER PHILIP RASANSKY EXECUTIVE EDITOR ERIN LEE PHOTO EDITORS TIFFANY ZHAI MICHAEL LIN

By Zachary Gorman

The perks of living in the The constant innovation in said. “I think that the way a lot of Digital Age are plenty. Computing computing technology may be CS courses are structured, your technology has revolutionized one factor that lures students T.A. can be really, really helpful in communication, entertainment and into computer science courses. addition to the professor.” work. The overwhelming demand The department utilizes new and Despite the high enrollment for this technology has led to a evolving technologies in order to in many courses within the similar demand for the knowledge prepare students for the modern department, there is still a feeling of those behind the scenes in the age. among students that the department industry.

“I’m taking a class, [Computer provides sufficient support for their Dartmouth’s computer science S c i e n c e 8 9 . 1 1 , “ C o g n i t i v e academic goals. department has certainly felt that Computing with Watson”] that uses “I think a lot of people say that demand. Enrollment in computer IBM’s Watson ... so that’s obviously it’s the hardest major, and I definitely science courses has soared in very cutting-edge,” Thakkar said. think the courses I’ve taken are recent years. Computer Science 1, “I think Dartmouth has been challenging and a lot of work, but I “Introduction to Programming and developing new courses and a lot also feel like there is a lot of support Computation,” of professors in place for students,” Thakkar said. has become the will take recent “I think there are a lot of ways to College’s most “The curriculum’s things that are succeed in a computer science class. highly-enrolled always trying h a p p e n i n g Professors, for the most part, do a courses. and use them good job of trying to make students to change and Computer for courses, so know about resources and know that s c i e n c e reflect the current Dartmouth has you can come to office hours.” professor Lorie environment ...” done a good job Van Uden agrees that, despite Loeb, who is also of keeping up misconceptions from other students, the executive with the times.” learning computer science is not d i re c t o r a n d -LORIE LOEB, COMPUTER D e s p i t e t h e an insurmountable challenge for co-founder of changes being anyone.

SCIENCE PROFESSOR D a r t m o u t h ’s made to keep “I had never coded before and I D igita l A r ts, pace with an had actually been told a couple of Leadership and ever-changing times that I should stay away from Innovation Lab, w o r l d , t h e computer science because they think has a unique perspective on the department still prioritizes the ‘Oh, you want to be a doctor, right? growth of the department. underlying principles of computer Computer science is for people who “I came here in 2002 when … science that have existed for decades. have been coding for a long time,’” some of the dot-com stuff was kind “We try to create courses that fit Van Uden said. “It’s just a lot of of going through a recession,” Loeb with the changing landscape of what’s having confidence in yourself and said. “And things were tough. Since happening in computer science and realizing that a lot of computer then, the dot-com industry has been also hold true to the fundamentals science is problem-solving on the sort of a leader in coming back and of what computer science is,” fly.” people have understood just how Loeb said. “The curriculum’s Responding to growing student important computers are in every a l w a y s t r y i n g demand is not field. So students are taking more to change and the only way and more computer science courses reflect the current “I think there in which the even if they don’t major or minor e n v i r o n m e n t , are a lot of ways department in computer science.” but the core of h a s to succeed in a Even students with no prior what computer moder nized intention to major or minor in science is and the computer science itself. Like computer science are enticed to do concepts that are class.” in many of so by the department’s courses. Cara behind it haven’t Dartmouth’s Van Uden ’19, who is a double major changed.” other STEM in computer science and cognitive T h e -NEERJA THAKKAR ’19 departments, science, discovered her appreciation department also computer for the subject after taking Computer understands the science faculty Science 1. drawbacks of and students “I had never done computer having large class h ave b e g u n science before and I took Computer sizes. In order to accommodate to emphasize the importance of Science 1 in my freshman fall,” the growing number of students gender diversity.

Van Uden said. “I came in as a who become hooked by comptuter In July 2017, education startup bioengineering major. I took [the science, the department has made StudySoup ranked Dartmouth as class] on a whim … I just really some necessary changes. the nation’s second-best computer liked it, it just feels very creative, “We’re growing!” Loeb said. science program for women. The but still nicely structured. It feels “We’re adding more faculty and Women in Computer Science like learning a new language.” we’re offering more sections of our program, of which both Thakkar Neerja Thakkar ’19, another most popular courses in order to and Van Uden are members, computer science major, had a keep the numbers realistic.” provides women with mentorship similar experience when introduced Students have also noticed an and support for their goals in to the computer science department increase in the number of teaching computer science. through Computer Science 1. assistants hired by the department, In a field that has changed “I just fell in love with the which some believe may minimize in many ways, Dartmouth’s discipline,” Thakkar said. “It was a the disadvantages of having a high department of computer science really well-structured class, and even student-to-professor ratio. has done its best to keep up with though I had no experience before, “I’ve a had a few professors ask the times and guide its students.

I felt like I was able to get ahold of me to T.A. and say that they want The department may be molding the concepts and get the help that more T.A.’s so that they can let more the future just as much as the future I needed.” people into the course,” Thakkar will mold the department.

MIRROR //3

An iPhone in Hand ... Worth Two In the Bush?

STORY

By Laura Jeliazkov

In the know. Savvy. Informed. assignments are completed and Tuned in. Appraised. Knowing submitted online and pages what’s what. With it. Au courant. of online shopping and social Plugged in. All of these qualify the media outlets slide up and down state of the average human being laptop screens with alar ming today. Technology has stretched its frequency. The moment that class web over and around the world. The is dismissed, iPhones emerge from strands are pulling people from all pockets, earphones go in and eyes corners of the world together into are cast downwards to the screen close quarters; they cross paths in for a recalibration with the social the same online markets, the same world. news servers, Humans the same online are a very forums, game “When we disclose s o c i a l rooms, articles, information about species. chat messages According to ourselves, we are and FaceTimes.

Facebook in Pe o p l e h a v e activating reward 2014, each access t o circuitry in the brain.” of their 1.23 information billion users and answers might sign b eyo n d wh at -MEGHAN MEYER, onto the could be found site for an i n a s t a c k PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR average of encyclopedias.

17 minutes They observe, d a y. T h i s or even might not participate, in seem like technological m u c h , innovation but those happening in minutes the fields of eventually science and tally up to health and society every day. more than a collective 39,757 They have the power to order years of time spent on the site in a things to their doorstep, finish single day. Humans are also a very errands with the flick of a finger narcissistic species. This is not just and get directions to anywhere and a value statement. There exists, in everywhere they would like. the brain, a neural circuit called Technology has given us all this the default network — a series of — plus some more. And people regions that is actively firing when seem to be making good use of the brain is not occupied by any these privileges. They seem to be task. This is considered a state of enjoying it all, quite a lot, quite “restful wake,” or daydream. What often — almost constantly. Very is interesting is this: one of those rarely are people of the developed active default regions is in the world unplugged. Laptops and medial prefrontal cortex, which iPhones are attached to the lap also engages when the mind is in and the hand, lines and waiting restful wake, as when the mind is rooms are now times for (almost thinking about oneself. obligatorily) catching up on T h i s o v e r l a p i n n e u r a l Instagram instead of places to engagement is what psychology stand around. Commercialism professor Meghan Meyer, has is at a high as Amazon packages been investigating in her research veer left and right along the roads. o f h u m a n s o c i a l c o g n i t i ve Workspaces, fueled by startup neuroscience. culture, are dominated by virtual “The tendency [of the human interaction and online platforms. brain] to activate those regions at The 21st century might be rest basically nudges you to think afflicted with a slight addiction. about yourself,” Meyer explained.

But what kind of addiction is This could very well be an this? Is it serving us well? The indication of why we, as humans advancement of technology is in this day and age of technology, spinning at a stunning pace — are so smitten with social media. It and the global stage it is setting is a medium where we may spend is unlike anything the world has all the time that we would like ever experienced before. How has pondering and playing with our it changed the way in which the virtual image and its relation to human mind works? Is it truly a those around it. benefit?

“When we disclose information Take the classroom here at about ourselves, we are activating Dartmouth, for instance. More reward circuitry in the brain,” and more curricula revolve around Meyer said. online resources. Lesson plans However, Meyer points out integrate and make use of media, that how these inherent neural

MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

With today’s technology, a near infinite amount of information is readily available in the palms of our hands.

patterns are going to play out on the evolving social stage is unclear.

“We have all this new technology, but we have evolutionarily old systems that are dealing with it; it might be what’s leading to some of these odd behaviors,” she said.

Developmental psychologist Howard Gardner proposed a theory of what he coined the “naturalist intelligence.” This, according to his theory, is the human’s ability to make critical decisions in the natural world.

Our naturalist intelligence is our reference book of instinct for use in the navigation of our world — it is the Charles Darwin intelligence, a vestige of our ancestry, the tailbone of the brain, one might say. We may no longer be picking between the poisonous and the edible mushroom. We may not be out hunting. We may not be fashioning a dagger from a rock and stick.

But we are choosing which winter jacket to buy or which haircut to get. We are choosing which photo to post on social media or when best to buy that plane ticket. We are still making decisions with the aim of optimizing our safety and our status. The cognitive processes remain fundamentally the same.

We have just evolved to reapply them to a different setting.

Technology presents us with a wealth of choice. It takes time and attention to filter through all of the available possibilities put before us. Education professor Holly Taylor tries for this very reason to discourage her students from having laptops out in class.

“There are lots of things that are happening cognitively within the classroom,” she said.

Taylor will use multimedia

resources to supplement her lesson pushing off the critical thinking. plans, which she believes bolsters Taylor cited Gardner, saying that if engagement with the material we went back out into the woods to and encourages active, real-time be with our naturalist intelligences, investigation into class topics. The people would have time to think variety of modalities with which again. But today this may not be Taylor can share her curriculum, possible. can round out the lear ning “Ever-present technology is experience for her students. But taking over the time to think,” therein lies the irony: the same Taylor said. variety of modalities can also Matt Magann ’21 is an anomaly become overwhelming. If students — he does not have a Facebook. have access to the internet during He deleted it a year ago. And now? class time, the possibilities are “I think I have a pretty healthy endless. They can check the news, relationship [with my phone] — I’ll Facebook, read their emails and use it like I use any other practical messages, check that online sale thing,” he said. and then check Facebook again. I found him and two other The student’s students, Fracis attention Sapienza ’21 can become “Ever-present and David d i v i d e d . technology is taking Vo n d e r h e i d e Why is his ’21, coming technological over the time to back to campus juggling act think.”

S u n d a y so addictive? afternoon from Is it an a d ay i n t h e earnest desire -HOLLY TAYLOR, mountains of to k n o w EDUCATION PROFESSOR Coos County, everything New Hampshire. a b o u t W h e n ever ything? questioned Most of the about the alleged time, Taylor “addiction” of a rg u e s, i t ’s the 21st century, not. there was a “People are cognitively lazy” chorus of ardent agreement, yet she said. the three of them managed to Humans are categorizer s, escape it for a day. Their phones taking incoming information and snapped a couple photos of the quickly, reflexively sorting it. In view from the snow-covered this way we are able to manage summit of the 4,000-footer in the rich and complex and fast- the 20-degree weather — but paced world around us. Too much otherwise they remained ininformation could be paralyzing. pocket.

When students perfor m this juggling act, they are skimming Magann is a member of T he the surface for the information, but Dartmouth.

4// MIRROR

The Evolution of Dartmouth's Visual Identity STORY

By Veselin Nanov

COURTESY OF RAUNER SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY

A Dartmouth College banner from the 20th century.

A History on the Seal On Aug. 25, 1773, four years after the granting of its charter, Dartmouth obtained an official seal. The coat of arms familiar to many of us from College memorabilia and apparel that we own and constantly encounter on others during our daily walks through campus is much different from that official seal. Indeed, the coat of arms was created much later than the seal, in the 1940’s at a time when the kitsch style of the former was largely outdated. Back in 1926 College trustees encouraged the use of the seal for official practices only but it was not until 1944 that

the Canadian artist Thoreau MacDonald was commissioned to draw an unofficial shield. Since the shield came into use, it has become the main pictorial association that students, alumni and the general public associate with Dartmouth, leaving the seal to sink into relative obscurity. However, the coat of arms we associate with Dartmouth stems from the history of the seal and several updates it has been through since the founding of the College.

From the outset, the images on the seal corresponded with its pur pose. College founder Eleazer Wheelock’s endeavors to establish the school depended

on a trust established under the William Legge, the second earl of Dartmouth, and financed by a group of wealthy Englishmen, a group that included King George III. That trust had been set up to fund Wheelock’s Moor’s Indian Charity School in Connecticut, which was established to teach Native American youth the ways of Christianity. However, in the 1760s Wheelock received a request from the colony of New Hampshire to grant the school a charter of incorporation. The local governor granted Wheelock a royal charter that Wheelock was to compose himself. Wheelock transformed the nature of the school by allowing the admission of English youth and establishing a Board of Trustees in America. The latter group would assume governing authority over the institution. In attempt to maintain favor with his financial benefactors in England, Wheelock proposed that Dartmouth’s seal incorporate one of the seals of the noblemen who presided over the trust — however, the trust members were not flattered by Wheelock’s proposal. Instead, they continued to send funds on the sole condition that those funds be used for the education of Native Americans. That forced Wheelock to keep Moor's running alongside D a r t m o u t h . M o s t re s o u rc e s provided for Moor’s were likely used for the development of the College.

Regardless, the college seal that the Board of Trustees approved in 1773 largely propagandized the mission of the school. The seal, meant for stamping official

COURTESY OF RAUNER SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY

A Dartmouth College logo from the 20th century.

documents, depicts a shield guarded by personified versions of “religion” and “justice” who are illuminated by a triangle that represents divine supervision over the school’s mission to educate Native Americans. A group of them emerges from the woods and approaches the stately colonial building on a hill that houses the college. The Biblical phrase “Vox Clamantis in Deserto” shines down on the scene. Dartmouth’s seal departs from the heraldic tradition in which most other universities in the English-speaking world designed their coats of arms. Rather than a simple arrangement of objects, Dartmouth’s seal contains a shield with a crowded scene.

This is the first sign that Wheelock intended to show that although he transformed his school into a university, it remained unlike traditional academic institutions in that it focused on the divine mission to enlighten Native Americans.

The whole scene embodies the Western view that Christianity is the superior faith the Native Americans, depicted as small and unclothed.

God’s pronouncement shining down represents the Protestant ideal of enlightenment through the divine word. The person at the forefront carrying a cane seems to be a farmer. Wheelock provided husbandry and housewifery as subjects at Moor’s under the belief that a settled agricultural life was more civilized. Those details on the seal show the propaganda Wheelock wanted to provide to his benefactors in England and the general public.

It’s unclear what the final of the seal were. Soon after the seal was adopted, the trust was exhausted

and the American Revolution cut down any further communication between the colonial college and its British benefactors.

From 1817 to 1819 the state of New Hampshire took over the College and renamed it Dartmouth University. A new seal was designed for the institution, but no depictions of it survive. Afterwards, the College assumed the original seal from 1773. The line drawing of the seal was also used by souvenir merchants whose business grew with the rise in intercollegiate athletics at the time.

According to a resolution the Board of Trustees signed in 1926, the seal was to be used for official purposes only. That prompted the creation of the unofficial shield drawn by MacDonald. The seal and the shield were updated for the last time in 1957 when, while preparing for the College bicentennial, the publications committee discovered that the founding date on both was mistaken.

The College moved from Connecticut to Hanover in 1770, but the Charter read 13 Dec. 1769. The new date contributed to the prestige of the College, making it a year older.

The New Visual Identity For decades after the bicentennial, the College did not centrally modify its branding strategy.

“A l o t o f t h e wo rd m a rk s a n d logos were inherited from previous usages,” Dartmouth vice president for communications Justin Anderson said.

Anderson also shared a document, compiled by the design firm the school worked with in developing the new communications strategy, containing more than 20 wordmarks that different organizations on campus have used for publications, merchandise and marketing. T he goal of the new

COURTESY OF RAUNER SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY

The Dartmouth College insignia dated 1906.

MIRROR //5

communications strategy, Dartmouth Instagram just as well as it works on announced on Monday, is to tell a an old-school letterhead.” consistent story.

The seal and coat of ar ms The three central questions that purportedly lack a versatility that guided the development of the new would allow a visual representation visual identity were: “Who are we?”, of Dartmouth to simultaneously “Why do we matter?” and “How are fulfill digital and more traditional we different?” needs. Before Monday, Dartmouth’s To answer these questions, the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter communications office turned towards avatars depicted Baker Tower the community. According to Anderson, projected against a blue sky, as other they “wanted to share a story about visual representations of the school Dartmouth were difficult to that resonates discern in small with the people sizes. Even that who know profile picture Dartmouth was too blue, best,” which and it was hard lead to a to recognize as ye a rl o n g Baker because of process of size limitations. interviews The goal of the and looking communications back through department was t h e s c h o o l ’s to create a logo history to that would be bring out what immediately defines it most recognizable accurately. and also tells A bulk of a stor y about the work on Dartmouth. the branding That’s how the s t r a t e g y “D-Pine” came r e v o l v e d about. Anderson a r o u n d commented that D a r t m o u t h ’s the new logo d i g i t a l “takes two of the COURTESY OF RAUNER SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY identity. most distinctive “ W h a t A Dartmouth College logo from the 20th century. marks associated is very with Dartmouth, important with this visual identity is [D for Dartmouth and the Lone the fact that we very much live in a Pine], and it puts them together for digital age,” said Anderson, describing maximum impact and recognition. the challenges of the task at hand. It is a bold mark that is celebrating “And so all of the stuff that we create Dartmouth and Dartmouth’s sense has to work digitally. It has to work on of place.” The inclusion of the Lone

COURTESY OF RAUNER SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY

A rare colored version of the Dartmouth College insignia of 1906.

Pine creates a narrative about Dartmouth’s sense of inclusivity that reflects the general aim of the new communications strategy to build a story.

In turn, having a consistent, authentic story about Dartmouth’s i d e n t i t y i s i m p o r t a n t wh e n controversial news about the school circulates online.

“You’ve got to be out there telling your story because if you are not, others will,” Anderson said.

P ro s p e c t i ve s t u d e n t s a n d employees of the school are free to make decisions about joining the Dartmouth community using all available information. What the new communications strategy aims to do is sell the idea about Dartmouth in a way it has not previously been sold.

The admissions office utilized the new communications strategy early on, compiling a prospectus that has been already distributed to high schools in the U.S. and abroad. T hat leaf let is visually intricate and reflects the design recommendations the communications office compiled. Many of the pictures in the pamphlet have appeared on Dartmouth social media to better emphasize a clear consistency between the school’s digital identity and its marketing to prospective students. In response to a question about the ways in which Dartmouth is presented to international or domestic students who don’t have the chance to visit campus before applying to the school, Anderson said that it is important to introduce Dartmouth

accurately.

“In the past we were not clear about our identity and we shied away from certain things like our location and we are not doing that anymore … We are embracing where we are,” Anderson said.

The admissions is also launching a new interactive website, content for which will be generated by undergraduate bloggers. Hopefully, the new centralized marketing strategy will not overshadow the diverse opinions that members of the Dartmouth community have with regards to the institution. As the global outreach of the school expands digitally, it is important that the College tell an accurate story, so that prospective students are not misled in their choice to attend Dartmouth or, for that matter, choose to attend a competitor institution.

And while it took the College a considerable amount of time to develop a consistent visual identity online, students have been active in sharing their experience at Dartmouth for a while. Many individual bloggers, Youtubers and Instagrammers have already generated a considerable amount of content representing their life as Dartmouth students. Anderson said that the communications office is looking for ways to collaborate with students in building up Dartmouth’s digital identity.

Dartmouth’s seal and its coat of arms are part of the package that the communications office compiled with recommendations for the school’s rebranded visual

identity, so those images are not going anywhere. Yet, it is likely we will see less of them in the upcoming years. The new logo and wordmark are rolling in as Dartmouth is approaching its 250th anniversary. Looking back at the school’s history, it is at milestone dates like this that Dartmouth examines its identity and generates visual representations that match the changes in its identity. While the new communications strategy celebrates the unique character of our school, it falls short of representing the challenges we face. Plans for expanding the student body and building new campus infrastructure and allegations of sexual misconduct by faculty members are just some of the problems facing Dartmouth on the eve of its 250th year. Other important issues surfaced last year when a New York Times survey found that a significant number of Dartmouth students come from very affluent backgrounds.

The question of integ rating minorities on campus and making Dartmouth truly accessible to the brightest young women and men globally despite questions of race, class, nationality and income loom above us as members of a community that has access to this institution’s outstanding resources.

The new communications strategy is forward-looking like previous crest changes have been. To fulfill the promises Dartmouth makes to prospective members of our community, it must hold to the traditions that enrich the community and let go of those that stifle actualization.

COURTESY OF OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

The College recently unveiled a new Dartmouth logo and branding kit, meant to standardize Dartmouth's image.

6 //MIRR OR

An ‘Implicit’ Battle: Women in the 21st Century STORY

By Vanessa Smiley

The 21st century woman. Strong, Inequality, then, is embedded pursuing a combat role in the army, conform to traditional stereotypes of fierce, relentless. She no longer has in norms and expectations that in their challenge is no less formidable. femininity while keeping pace with to embrace docility and softness as turn manifest themselves as stares, Sure, Escajadillo and Feifer did not the demands of the 21st century. the markers of femininity. She no as whispers and side-comments, have to march the streets in pursuit They must be caring and aggressive, longer has to confine her identity to as the prejudice conveyed in a of freedom and breadwinners the confines of domesticity ­— the single gesture. Women today must e q u a l i t y, n o r “My unit in the army and caretakers, workforce awaits therefore fight did they have to a n d a f a i l u re her with open the battle for remain voiceless was one of the last to fulfill both “In theory, it’s all ar ms. In fact, equality on a as their male all-male units so we ro l e s w i l l , a s even her body available to me. I new “implicit” c o u n t e r p a r t s Feifer remarks, has become her t e r r a i n , took the stage, had this whole debate: provoke criticism don’t think anyone own: she can affirming their bu t t h ey d i d should women be from women flaunt it outside would stop me from ... worth n o t have to prove themselves. the context of through violence their worth and allowed in special T h e taking on a certain job but through an capabilities in operations?” marriage and pressure women f o r p u r p o s e s because I’m a woman equally-charged w a y s u n i q u e put on each other other than counter-gesture. t o w o m e n . has extended to ...” reproduction ... “ I They did have -ZACHARY JAYNES ’21 matters of body In theory. g rew up ver y to endure the image. Although Yes, the 21st -MILA ESCAJADILLO ’21 privileged,” pressure of Escajadillo century woman Fe i f e r s a i d . being the only acknowledges has entered the “ I we n t t o a girl in a room that there is corporate world.

C o n n e c t i c u t — a fact that points to the norms evidence that society is progressing Yes, the 21st century woman may not prep school, and in many ways and inequalities that underlie our with the birth of initiatives such as face overt checks on her freedom. Dartmouth is just an extension of gender binary. the body positive movement, society However, the same societal norms that. I was always encouraged to do Unfortunately, this binary has not still has ways to go. and beliefs that once denied women the things that I wanted to do.” only entangled 21st century women “A lot of women put the pressure the right to vote have not vanished. However, Feifer’s previlege did in an ideological battle that unfolds at on each other, more so than men put They have merely assumed a different not eliminate an unspoken bias the implicit level but also imposed a it on women,” she said. “I put that form, intangible, implicit, yet no less against women. newfound pressure on women — to pressure on myself. My mom, my suffocating, oppressing women as “There were situations where I both be and do it all. sisters and other women who are ideologies that package themselves as was the only girl in science and math “I think having it all is different important in my life also put it on progressive and become entrenched classes,” Feifer said. “Sometimes you for any woman,” Escajadillo said. through modes of self-discipline and feel like you have to prove yourself in “Someone may feel like they have it self-surveillance. a way that other people don’t have all when they have a lovely family, Mila Escajadillo ’21, who spent to.” and that doesn’t mean that they most of her childhood in Latin For Feifer, this counter-gesture aren’t feminist or that they aren’t America and her last two years of meant proving that her abilities strong. But I also think that women high school in Connecticut, intuits e q u a l e d t h o s e o f h e r m a l e who forego that by trying to make it the implicit nature of 21st century counterparts. big in their job can absolutely have it pressures.

E s c a j a d i l l o e ch o e s Fe i f e r ’s all. I think that a balance exists but “In theory, it’s all available to sentiments. it’s so hard to achieve. You have to me,” Escajadillo said. “I don’t “I’m in a privileged enough make sacrifices, you have to make think anyone would stop me from situation that I’m not disenfranchised compromises.” interacting with certain people or [for] being a women or [for] my Feifer expressed a similar feeling. taking on a certain job because socioeconomic status,” Escajadillo “I think it’s impossible to have it I’m a woman, but I think there said. “But I all, even though definitely could be situations where can imagine in “There were situations everyone is my gender could inhibit me from the future that constantly trying doing certain things ... Someone may I’ll definitely where I was the only to reach that,” not choose me for some job based e n c o u n t e r girl in science and she said. “It’s okay on an unconscious prejudice.” them. And I’ve for women to say, Our culture has defined the definitely been math classes ... you ‘I want to focus categories of “male” and “female” in situations feel like you have to on this or that,’ and with this expects people to w h e r e I ’ m but there’s always embrace the gender binary as an aware that I’m prove yourself in a the fear of being inevitable reality. Yet, the same the only girl.” way that other people judged by the rest culture that categorizes people on Z a c h a r y of society.” the basis of gender trumpets equality Jaynes ’21, who don’t have to.”

She points to the regardless of gender. “Women can do served as a U.S double bind that anything men can do” has become Army Ranger women today find part of our social script, reflexive before coming -DEBORAH FEIFER ’21 themselves in. but prosaic. Ironic really: categories to Dartmouth, “If you’re only presuppose difference, equality s a i d he p u r s u i n g yo u r presupposes sameness. witnessed gendered inequality first career then all of a sudden you are For Deborah Feifer ’21 this irony hand. cold and unfeeling,” she said. “But has paved the way for unspoken “My unit in the army was one if you are only with your family, prejudice, her passion for women’s of the last all-male units so we had other people will judge you. Other rights stemming from personal this whole debate: should women women will judge you and say you encounters with inequality. be allowed in special operations? aren’t motivated at all.”

“Technically, yes, I have the Would women be able to do the same Categories, by their very nature, freedom to do most things,” she said. mission, physically, emotionally, preserve stereotypes — among “In theory, anything a man can do I mentally?” he said. these the image of women as loving can do too, but I’m going to be judged D e s p i t e t h e s e d i s c u s s i o n s, wives and doting mothers. Yet, the for it in a way that a man wouldn’t “women weren’t allowed to do [the] 21st century has introduced a new be ... Not in a fair way, because we job,” he said. expectation: women should “make usually get the shorter end of the Though it’s safe to assume that it big” in the working world. The stick on that one.” most women at Dartmouth are not result? Women must know how to

themselves.”

Fe i f e r b e l i e v e s t h a t t h i s phenomenon finds its origins in the male gaze.

“I think that it originated in the ways men would portray women in the media and in magazines, but it has come to the point where women are enforcing those standards,” she said.

It appears as if women have internalized the male attention to such an extent that they now embrace the size-0, toned-abs body ideals as their own, achieved through calorie counting, calculated clothing choices and other modes of self-discipline. This adds a new dimension to the fight for equality in the 21st century: the battle is not just implicit — it is inward, ingrained into the norms and standards to which women hold themselves and other women accountable.

Reframe.

The 21st century woman: strong enough to brave the workforce, but docile enough to nurture children. Appreciative of her freedom, yet embroiled in a pantomimic war of gestures and counter-gestures. Free (seemingly) from the restraints of society, but enslaved to her own.

MIRROR //7

Peters: Black Legacy Month at Dartmouth Today COLUMN

By Marley Peters

It’s funny to think about the changes that we have all witnessed on this campus.

Four years is the perfect amount of time to see and quantify change, especially in a small community such as Dartmouth.

It becomes even more intriguing when we reflect upon the fact that most changes we deem as “noticeable” are ones we either strongly agree or strongly disagree with. As someone on my way out of the College, the changes I remember are probably vastly different than the ones you have noticed. I was recently interviewed by a focus group on meaningful moments of my college experience. I talked about my professors, my friends, the acts of student-led activism I was involved in, the events and speakers I will always remember, but something that really stuck out to me was the creation of Black Legacy Month.

During my freshman year from 2014 to 2015, as surprising as it may seem, there was no campus-wide nor campus-sponsored celebration of black history during the month of February.

Fortunately, ’18s are now the only class that went without the now incredibly well-funded and supported celebration, though not many know that this programming was not always present on Dartmouth’s campus. “Heritage months” are now accepted as part of normal life here at Dartmouth, such as Latinx Heritage Month in the fall and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May. These types of programming have been intermittently present here before but were not sustained, the funding redirected elsewhere and no one the wiser.

When I came to this school from my small and southern town, I came with the expectation that the Ivy League was going to have everything! “If Panama City, Florida has heritage months, Dartmouth has to have them,” I thought.

I did not even consider that Black Legacy Month would be left out of the equation. It seemed like such a normal and elementary occurance that when February 2015 came around, I looked up, and to my surprise, noticed there was no programming. To most of my older classmates, February was “V-February,” not Black History Month. It seemed that the school had decided that the events were mutually exclusive and that people should be happy with one and not both.

While the V-Feb campaign, which promotes gender equity, was and is ever important, isn’t there enough money and potential thought power to share Dartmouth’s time and resources? Of course there is. Dartmouth has an endowment of almost $5 billion and a talented student body, faculty and staff. The students and Dartmouth community should not have to choose between V-Feb and Black Legacy Month, and now, finally, they don’t. But these collaborations and the creation of Black Legacy Month and others like it did not just fall out of the sky and appear. They took a lot of commitment, vision, support and effort.

On the last week of February 2015, my fellow classmates Thery Badin ’18 and Marcus Gresham ’18 and I got

COURTESY OF MARLEY PETERS

together and decided we wanted to have a celebration of black history.

We applied for money from the AfroAmerican Society and spoke with Dia Draper, then-interim assistant dean and advisor to black students at the Office of Pluralism and Leadership. We got a whopping $400 for our event. It was not much but that did not matter to us.

We ordered an assortment of chocolate truffles, got sparkling cider with plastic champagne flutes and balloons and shipped in elementary school Black History Month posters. We asked African and African American studies and history professor Derrick White and then-Thurgood Marshall Dissertation fellow Alphonso Saville to speak. It was small, but it was the beginning. OPAL hired a new assistant dean and advisor to black students, Kari Cooke, and she really elevated the program, creating special programming and space for black students.

It is now 2018, and Black Legacy Month is approaching once again.

We are now a Special Programs and Events Committee funded entity, and our presence has grown. It is beautiful that there are black students at this school who never had a Dartmouth without Black Legacy Month, but it is important to remember that Dartmouth will not blink an eye if those types of programming disappear. If in 10 years, we come back and see that this type of programming has continued, in whatever form, I will view that as a victory.

8// MIRROR

The Third Millennium PHOTO

By Natalie Dameron