The Dartmouth Mirror 1/17/18

MIR ROR 1.17.2018

DNA FOR SALE? | 3

BUMP: VALENTINA GARCIA-GONZALEZ '19 | 2-3

CAMPUS TRENDS: COLD AND CANADA GOOSE | 6 JEE SEOB JUNG AND TANYA SHAH/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

2 //MIRR OR

Editors’ Note

’18s Over the Map: Where to Next?

STORY

MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Migration. During the winter geese take refuge from the harsh winter winds. They flock south to the sand and sun while Dartmouth students migrate back to the great north we call home. However, the geese aren’t the only ones who are affected by each season’s, or term’s, migration patterns. The concept of migration, of movement and patterns, is not exclusive to birds. We, like the geese, whom we loyally watch journey south, have, and will, undergo periods of migrations — although in different directions. We migrate to campus, to clubs, to Greek houses on weekends, to the library on weekdays and Sundays — and to our beds on especially cold winter nights.

This week the Mirror explores the different factors that effect our pattern of migration. Are we as loyal as the geese? Do we ebb and flow across campus in a faithful rhythm at the drop of every degree?

Where will the ’18s migrate after graduation? Some of us on campus are curious about where their ancestors may have migrated from, turning to genetic testing companies to discover their roots.

Does our pattern of migration across campus change depending on the term? Where will you migrate to next? Look no further for inspiration.

follow @thedmirror 1.17.18 VOL. CLXXIV NO. 161 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 Farid Djamalov

As flocks of geese escape winter’s York is Maqsood, planning to work drastically relocated, as he originally frigid grip, seniors are similarly in the technology division of a hails from London, England. preparing to embark on their finance firm. Maqsood is part of “I have a little bit of experience o w n j o u r n e y. her class’s 8 percent with [maintaining long-distance T he g raduating i n t e r n a t i o n a l friendships], having moved from class hails from “I love how all new student population, London,” he said. “It’s probably various parts of the things come to a w i t h r o o t s i n more difficult with London [than it world, enriching Pakistan. will be with Dartmouth] because of the College with city first ... In New “[The transition time zone differences, but otherwise, diversity, and upon York, you can find from Pakistan to you have to make an active effort to leaving the College, H a n o v e r ] w a s be proactive [in maintaining these will rebuild their something at every definitely a culture relationships].” homes elsewhere. block — shock,” Maqsood As seniors prepare to build their ­ anything Three seniors, s a i d . “ I w a s n’t new homes, many do not plan to stay B e n j i H a n n a m that you need is with my family. in their new locations long term. ’ 1 8 , M a h n o o r always really close I’m an only child “If I want fried chicken at 3 a.m., Maqsood ’18 and and I’m really close I would only find that in New York Alex Vasques ’18, to you.” t o my p a r e n t s. ... [New York] is a fast-paced city sat down with The Generally, a lot and this is the only point in my life Dartmouth and of things here are when I actually would want to live shared their plans -ALEX VASQUES ’18 different. ... Food is there,” Maqsood said. “I probably for next year. not seasoned here, won’t be living in New York in 10 Va s q u e s , a n so that was weird. years,” Maqsood said. engineering modified with economics Also, people eat dinner at 6 p.m. here.

Sharing a similar view, Vasques major, is originally from Alexandria, My parents eat dinner at 8 p.m., and acknowledges the financial difficulties Virginia, a suburb of Washington, that’s considered really early back at of raising a family in the city.

D.C. Although nominally a city, home.”

“As a young person, living in Alexandria, in Vasques’ opinion, is Maqsood, however, does not the city is great,” Vasques said. imbued with a suburban energy. worry about “For family and “There’s a main street with a her transition to life planning, I “It’s probably more bunch of shops, but there are no New York City. plan to move to high-rises or apartment buildings; “All my best a suburb, but I difficult with London it’s townhouses and cul-de-sacs,” friends will be wouldn’t mind Vasques said. moving to [New ... but otherwise, you working in a city As she prepares to relocate in the York City and] I love have to ... be proactive forever. fall to New York City, she reminisces I think that it’s New York.” back to her childhood days, when i m p o r t a n t t o [in maintaining these

she would visit her aunt and uncle have a strong relationships].”

Further more, that live in the city. Vasques credits support system members of those relatives for contributing to ... Also, New the graduating her excitement to live in that city.

Yo r k i s s o -BENJI HANNAM ’18 class also factor “I’m excited to move [to New multicultural, their parents into York],” she said. “I love how all new which is why I their job location things come to a city first. I also like am so excited to move.” Maqsood decisions. that I get to walk everywhere and not said. “[My parents] come to New York have to take the car for a 15-minute However, some members of the a lot ... so they are pretty comfortable drive. In New York, you can find graduating class are not planning to doing the drive from D.C. — it’s a something at every block ­— anything move to cities with big Dartmouth three and a half to four-hour drive, that you need is always really close alumni bases. One of such people so it’s not too big of a concern for to you.” is Hannam. Hannam plans to them,” Vasques said.

However, Vasques was not always move to Beaverton, a suburb of However, for some internationals, so set on her prospective job location. Portland, Oregon, to work at Nike’s keeping in contact with their family During one of her off-terms, she headquarters. will be difficult while they work in worked in San Francisco for a small “Last winter I was lucky to have the United States. private equity firm and the opportunity to go “It’s hard because once I start wavered between the “If I want fried work at Nike to do work, I can no longer go away for five East and West Coasts. software-engineering weeks because there is no winterim Upon reflection, she chicken at 3 ... I didn’t k now during work,” Maqsood said. “I came to a pragmatic a.m., I would much about Portland think my parents are going to come conclusion. because it’s not as visit me and I will probably go visit “ I w a n t t o d o only find that in international as New them too, but it is going to be hard. something in finance, New York ... this York. I went there However, I feel like this is a great and obviously, New c o m p l e t e l y b l i n d stepping stone to my career and [my York is a big finance is the only point and ended up loving parents] understand this and want hub ... I really liked my in my life when it there and had a this for me too” time in San Francisco, really great summer. Hannam, however, does not but I am born and I would actually For me, accepting believe that distance is detrimental bred East Coast,” want to live [their offer] was a to relationships.

Vasques said. “I vibe no-brainer,” he said. “I don’t think it will be too much there.” more with the culture

H a n n a m of a problem to stay in touch with and fit in better with claims that while friends,” Hannam said. “The friends the people of New t h e D a r t m o u t h you stay in contact with will probably -MAHNOOR York. Maybe in the n e t w o r k s p r e a d s be your friends no matter what long term I can [move MAQSOOD ’18 thin in his region, happens ­— even if you don’t talk to the West Coast] if through his summer to them over long periods of time.”

I get tired of the fastinternship, he had the Even as the graduating class paced New York, but now, I want it opportunity to already start building prepares to fly off into the real world, as intense as I can get it.” his community there. Furthermore, they are all still connected by their Another senior moving to New this is not the first time Hannam has ties to the College.

MIRROR //3

DNA For Sale? — Commercial Genetic Testing STORY

By Eliza Jane Schaeffer

You can learn a lot from a cup of spit and $200. You can learn the precise breakdown of your racial heritage, how your hair curls, individualized weight loss strategies, whether you can smell asparagus in your pee, whether you might be susceptible to breast cancer or Alzheimer’s … the list of potential knowledge goes on. Access to our biological information has all been made possible thanks to advances in genotyping and commercialization of genetic testing. 23andMe, founded in 2006, monetizes these advances by analyzing customers’ DNA samples for a fee. Their service is expensive but not inaccessible, boasting three million genotyped customers worldwide.

David Sinegal ’21 signed up for a 23andMe test after receiving an email with a 20-percent-off coupon. He said he had always wanted to know what ethnicity his ancestors were, since no one in his family knew.

“My grandpa never knew his dad, and his dad left his family when he was really young, but he’s always identified as Italian just because that’s what his stepdad was,” Sinegal said.

He spit in a cup, signed a consent form and shipped it off to 23andMe. A few months later, he received his results.

“It wasn’t as comprehensive as I expected it to be,” he said. “It told me I was more British than I ever anticipated, like 20 percent British, and I was like 16 percent Mediterranean, but it doesn’t give you any specifics other than that.”

Is it really possible that all a team of biologists need is a spit sample to precisely map the origins of your ancestors? Actually, it’s not.

23andMe relies on customer selfreporting to form links between genetic information and race. When a customer claims to have four grandparents belonging to a specific racial group, their DNA is logged in a database — supplemented with information from external datasets — specific to that group. Variants in new customers’ DNA is then compared against common variants in the reference population.

This is problematic for multiple reasons, the first being the model’s reliance on bias-ridden self-reporting.

Furthermore, the genetics of race is not a precise science. Y chromosome DNA and mitochondrial DNA, which are used to trace ancestry, only make up 2 percent of the genome; the rest is autosomal DNA. Autosomal DNA is made up of thousands of segments with their own divergent lineages. We do not pass neat chunks of genetic information on to our offspring, and with 10 generations containing 1,024 ancestors, there is so much overlap that a precise lineage is difficult to derive. Race itself is more culturally constructed than biologically, and there is a higher amount of genetic variation within racial groups than between them. So, to provide customers with percent breakdowns of their race — to the tenth decimal place — is misleading at best.

However, the seemingly random

mix of results conveys an important message about the complexity of our heredity. Aine Donovan, executive director of the Ethics Institute and education professor, shed light on the intricacies of our genetic system.

“We have a much more mixed bag of genes that we’re carrying around than we thought we did,” Donovan said. “Could it break down racism?

Yeah, sure it could … We find out that we’re actually more connected than divided.”

Similarly to Sinegal, Duncan McCallum ’20 was surprised by his results.

“I had a fraction of East Asian heritage, which I didn’t expect, and a fraction of Native American heritage, which I didn’t expect,” he said.

However, because the model’s analysis relies on previously reported information, gaps in collected data across ethnic groups result in substantive biases. Out of 83 million Koreans worldwide, 23andMe has a reference data set of 76 entries. Furthermore, the company’s sample of Sub-Saharan Africa is 2,800 percent smaller than the size of the European sample. According to 23andMe’s website, confidence scales for their results range from 50 percent to 90 percent, a large range that is far less promising than the assurances of self-discovery of your “ancestral origins” plastered on their website.

Donovan acknowledges that this advertising may be misleading but recognizes that as a business, 23andMe’s end goal is to make money.

“Those advertising campaigns are trying to get people to spend money on something,” she said. “It’s a commercial endeavor.”

In 2009, three years after its founding, 23andMe tested NFL players for genetic correlates of athleticism, marking its first venture into the world of health genetics. In 2010, the company began providing healthrelated information to its customers without securing the requisite FDA approval for sale of a “medical device,” eventually resulting in a sales ban from 2013 to 2015. Now, the company primarily focuses on extracting health-related information from its customers’ DNA. It has identified genetic indicators of breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other diseases, as well as information about how individuals with certain genes respond to different types of food and physical activity. This latter feature is what convinced McCallum to use 23andMe’s services. His mother, a nutritionist, had told him the company’s name was circulating around in her professional circles.

The benefits of unearthing these genetic correlates of disease and health cannot be understated.

“Cracking the secrets of the human genome has produced untold riches for medical research, for curing diseases, for finding early warning signs of diseases,” Donovan said. “But along with that, the ethical issues are unfolding on a daily basis.”

For one, customers may receive traumatizing results without subsequent access to counseling. For example, Sinegal had to sign a consent form promising not to pursue legal action if he found out that he was susceptible to a chronic disease. Donovan questions the ethics of sharing such information with no acknowledgment of its transformative nature, aside from the fine print of a consent form.

“They’re simply getting a letter in the mail saying you have some kind of marker for a disease,” Donovan explained. “Those are life-altering pieces of information and should always be tethered to somebody who really knows something about counseling.”

And while customers pay to receive this loosely accurate and potentially traumatizing feedback, 23andMe stores genetic data, either using it to fuel their own research or selling it to pharmaceutical companies for tens of millions of dollars. Certainly, there is a long history in the medical field of profiting off of genetic data. In 1951, the cancer cells of impoverished, African-American tobacco farmer Henrietta Lacks were immortalized, sold and studied without her knowledge. Discoveries using her

cells led to vital advances in medicine — and the enrichment of the researchers involved.

As a customer, Sinegal is not bothered by this, arguing that it is promoting public health.

“Even though drugs are profitable for companies, they are saving people’s lives… And Facebook sells all your data,” he said.

The analogy Sinegal makes is an interesting one: personal genetic testing companies are to your DNA as websites are to your browsing history. McCallum also mentioned this connection, and though he does not object to the use of his genetic information for potentially life-saving research, he is bothered by the practice of selling DNA. “If your genetic data becomes something you can sell, that starts opening the door for selling organs and other biological material … The potential for it to be used and the ways in which it can be used are more serious than just what websites you spend your time at,” he said. “It’s your biological data. There are more permanent and malicious uses.”

When it comes to 23andMe, the commercialization of DNA and the potential ramifications are Donovan’s deepest concern.

“We know that history is replete with examples of people abusing information that they are given. Whether it’s genes or intellectual material, we should be very, very cautious about material we give someone else,” she said.

McCallum was reminded of the debate surrounding the National Security Agency in 2013 when whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the extent to which the government monitors citizens.

“It’s never about privacy, it’s about power,’” McCallum said. “It just depends on how much you trust the institutions that have this data.”

And that is where the problem lies — 23andMe may have its customers’ data now, but there is always the potential for bankruptcy or a transfer in ownership. As Donovan said, “You’re giving some information about yourself that you cannot put back into a locked box.”

23andMe promises its customers that their data cannot be personally identifiable, but when that data is your DNA, and your DNA is you, that promise is not so reassuring. You — and the medical community — can potentially gain a lot from a cup of spit and $200, but there may also be a lot to lose along the way.

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4// MIRROR

Bump: Valentina Garcia STORY

W h i l e m a ny s t u d e n t s i n deported into a country that I don’t Hanover may feel far removed remember and don’t know.” from the current immigration Garcia-Gonzalez added debate occurring across America, that although she initially felt seeing only “worthless” in an occasional "Every day, my heart the aftermath social media of the 2016 p o s t o r a is in my throat. I presidential s p o r a d i c continually find election, when s n i p p e t f ro m she said students myself asking, 'What CNN in King yelled slurs and Arthur F lour, is [President Donald shouted profor Valentina Trump] going to do Trump slogans G a r c i a in front of Gonzalez ’19, now?' I fear being La Casa, t h e s e S e n at e deported into a the Spanish floor speeches language Living country that I don't and presidential Lear ning t w e e t s c a r r y remember and don't C o m m u n i t y, s i g n i f i c a n t know." she also weight. received an Like a outpouring of n u m b e r o f -VALENTINA GARCIAsupport. other students at “ S o GONZALEZ '19 Dartmouth and many students approximately came up to 800,000 other me or wrote Americans, Garcia-Gonzalez is an reassuring messages in Foco or undocumented immigrant whose Collis after the election,” Garciastatus under the Deferred Action Gonzalez said. “It made me realize for Childhood Arrivals program that my voice matters and it is remains in jeopardy. DACA, which important for me to speak.” then-President Barack Obama The DREAM Act, a proposed introduced via executive order in piece of legislation that would June 2012, protected individuals provide a path for those eligible who entered the U. S . unlawfully during their childhoods f r o m deportation and allowed them to seek legal employment .

This past S e p t e m b e r, h o w e v e r, President D o n a l d T r u m p ter minated the measure, g i v i n g Congress a window of six months to find a permanent solution.

“Every day, my heart is in my throat,” said GarciaGonzalez, who was born in Uruguay.

“I continually f i n d my s e l f asking, ‘What is he going to do now?’

I fear being

By Jacob

under DACA toward lawful permanent residency status in the U.S., has been debated fiercely in Congress for 16 years but has failed to pass multiple times.

Though 34 House Republicans and all 193 House Democrats have expressed interest in solving the DACA issue before the six-month deadline coming up on March 5, no single solution has been agreed upon.

Trump has also expressed that a permanent DACA solution will need to be tied to new immigration laws and funding for his proposed Mexican border wall.

But Garcia-Gonzalez, who moved from Uruguay to the United States when she was 6 years old, believes that her life, as well as the lives of her fellow undocumented immigrants, should be worth more than a bargaining chip in Washington, D.C. “DREAMers, including me, are worthy,” Garcia-Gonzalez said. “I speak English fluently and I have worked to assimilate into society. But my mom, a stay-at-home parent who has spent her time raising a family, is worthy as well, and so are millions of other undocumented Americans.”

Garcia-Gonzalez, who spent most of her childhood in Gwinnett County, Georgia, the state’s second-most populous county, grew up in a poor but nurturing household.

COURTESY OF VALENTINA

-Gonzalez '19, a journey

b Maguire

“ We o f t e n s t r u g g l e d t o m a k e ends meet,” Garcia-Gonzalez said.

“Sometimes, we even stole donations from the Salvation Army parking lot in order to get clothing and other household items that we would not have otherwise had.”

Garcia-Gonzalez learned during her first year of high school, a year-andand-half into Obama’s first term, that she had entered the U.S. unlawfully as a child. Her undocumented immigration status felt like the missing puzzle piece in a childhood that had perplexed her at times.

“I was conditioned to live in the shadows,” she said. “I was taught not to go out at certain times of the month, the week and the day. For example, my parents told me not to go out on the weekends because the police often do many DUI stops at that time.”

Despite her difficult upbringing, Garcia-Gonzalez g raduated from Berkmar High School at the top of her class in 2014. She had been in her district’s program for gifted students since elementary school, and she took 14 Advanced Placement courses at Berkmar.

Garcia-Gonzalez had intended to attend a public college or university in Georgia, but she learned during her senior year of high school that Georgia’s laws excluded her from applying.

Georgia’s Board of Regents, the state’s education policy decisionmakers, enacted a policy in 2010 that banned undocumented students from attending the five top public universities in Georgia and forced them to pay out-of-state tuition at Georgia. “ M y f r i e n d s we re applying to [the Georgia Institute of Technology] and [the University of Georgia] and all of these other places, but that wasn’t an option for me,” Garcia-Gonzalez said.

“So, I decided to apply to community college with the mantra that, ‘It’s not where you start, it’s where you end,’ because I hoped to finish my education somewhere better.”

A l t h o u g h G a rc i a Gonzalez was accepted into community college, she ultimately decided to take a gap year and join Freedom University Georgia, a college preparatory school and nonprofit organization that strives to improve undocumented students’ access to higher education.

“I went across the country with Freedom

A GARCIA-GONZALEZ

University Georgia to speak and Dartmouth going to follow current share my story during my gap immigration law when people’s year,” Garcia-Gonzalez said. lives are literally at stake?”

“We encouraged many schools CoFIRED’s letter called upon to change their D a r t m o u t h ’s policies.”

"The 'American Dream' administration Garciato provide G o n z a l e z is a fallacy today, and leg al counsel applied to nine it is often used to and additional institutions of aid for divide people on lines financial higher learning undocumented d u r i n g h e r of race or class. Many s t u d e n t s gap year, and people in this country because they learned of her c a n n o t w o rk acceptance to don't have the boots, legally. It also D a r t m o u t h so how can they pull asked that on March 31, he College themselves up by their tdeclare, 2015. along “Dartmouth bootstraps?" with Safety and was my top Security, that school, and they will not i t w a s a l s o -VALENTINA GARCIAcooperate with the one that GONZALEZ '19 Immigration seemed like the and Customs furthest reach,” Enforcement she said. “But I in localizing got in, and that and detaining year, I went with my family in our students. minivan on the 27-hour drive from Similarly, Garcia-Gonzalez Georgia to Dartmouth.” hopes that Dartmouth’s alumni will Garcia-Gonzalez is a geography use their power and connections major and global health minor in order to create a permanent at Dartmouth. She juggles four solution for DACA recipients. For campus jobs: supervisor at Novack example, five Dartmouth graduates Café, undergraduate adviser in currently serve in the United States Butterfield Hall, student intern Senate, including Sen. Kirsten at the Office of Pluralism and Gillibrand ’88 (D-NY), Sen. John Leadership and film projectionist Hoeven ’79 (R-ND), Angus King at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. ’66 (I-ME), Rob Portman ’78 In her free time, Garcia-Gonzalez (R-OH) and Tina Smith TU’84 serves as the director of CoFIRED, (D-MN). Garcia-Gonzalez also the Dartmouth Coalition For believes that Americans should Immigration Reform, Equality recommit themselves to expanding and DREAMers. opportunities for marginalized As the director of CoFIRED, groups and valuing, rather than Garcia-Gonzalez helped to draft scorning, diversity. a letter in response to College “The ‘American Dream’ is a President Phil Hanlon’s statement fallacy today, and it is often used on Sept. 5, 2017 after the Trump to divide people on lines of race administration scrapped DACA. or class,” Garcia-Gonzalez said. “[We] will do everything in “Many people in this country don’t our power, within the bounds of have the boots, so how can they pull the law, to support these members themselves up by their bootstraps? of our campus community most I might seem like an example of directly affected by potential the ‘American Dream’ because I’ve changes and challenges to our gone from stealing Salvation Army nation’s immigration laws and donations to the Ivy League, but will continue to decline to disclose most people do not have the same information about students except opportunities that I’ve had.” as required by law,” Hanlon said Garcia-Gonzalez encourages in his statement.

Dartmouth students, faculty and Garcia-Gonzalez contends, alumni to become more informed h oweve r, t h at c u r re n t U. S. about immigration issues and to immigration law is the problem use their personal platforms to because it leaves undocumented raise awareness. students at Dartmouth vulnerable “A t t h e e n d o f t h e d ay, to deportation. individuals have a choice to care, “ W h e n P re s i d e n t H a n l o n and I hope that they do,” Garciaand the administration said that Gonzalez said. “People have an they would ‘do everything … opportunity both to express their within the bounds of the law,’ I support for these issues and to give thought that was [ridiculous],” undocumented students a platform Garcia-Gonzalez said. “Why is by handing over the microphone.”

MIRROR //5

6 //MIRR OR

Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Canada Goose Jackets STORY

By Jaden Young

A new bird has migrated south the arm, so you always know who’s for the winter, settling in snowy wearing it, but wearing it, I think, Hanover: Canada Goose. The brands you as practical, which is the Canadian outerwear brand’s parkas most interesting, non-fashion way are the coat of choice for many of thinking of branding,” Carroll Dartmouth students braving the said. “This is saying, ‘I understand harsh New Hampshire winter. cold, I am coping with it, and I have While warmth and practicality spent a lot of money to cope with it.’ may seem to be the clear drivers of So, what this does is it labels you as this trend, the high costs of these spending your money on practical parkas may lend new meaning to things, but still, spending a lot of their popularity. money.“ The company traces its origins The easily recognizable branding, to 1957, when a c c o rd i n g t o it was founded Carroll, is only as M e t r o “There’s a long part of the Sportswear Ltd. tradition of using coats Canada Goose In those early — something that you phenomenon. days it outfitted The coats carry Canadian police wear out in the open, with them d e p a r t m e n t s not just with friends, ve r y s p e c i f i c and municipal connotations. w o r k e r s so it’s seen by a wider “There’s a long w h o w o r k e d crowd.” tradition of outdoors often. using coats— In recent something that d e c a d e s t h e -JANE CARROLL, ART you wear out in company has HISTORY PROFESSOR the open, not seen massive just with friends, g rowth as it so it’s seen by has shifted its a wider crowd business model to provide high- rather than those cognoscenti in our weather — he hails from Chicago. end, Canada-made outerwear to inner circle,” she said. “The trench “It was like -30 [deg rees the public. coat, for example, which dates back Fahrenheit] when I left home in Its coats have been seen on to World War I, was worn only by the beginning of the year,” he said. celebrities from model Kate Upton officers, and had connotations, H a n n a h Wi l c z y n s k i ’ 2 0 to rapper Drake, and their reliable therefore, of both practicality and purchased her parka four years warmth has made them the brand elitism. I think the Canada Goose ago, before the trend was in full of choice for people from Arctic comes closer to the trench coat than force, to combat the cold. researchers to Hollywood crews it does to branded designer garb.” “I went to a school in Connecticut filming on location in cold regions. Ruben Gallardo ’18 has had — a boarding school — so a lot The first Canadian to summit Mt. his red Canada Goose parka since of people had them, and it’s like Everest, Laurie Skreslet, did so December 2016, when he needed Dartmouth, super cold there,” wearing Canada Goose. And for to replace a winter jacket he had she said. “I needed a good winter coat and that was what my friend anyone who’s walked across the outgrown.

Green in the last few months, it’s “I decided to get it because I liked recommended to me.” clear the brand’s popularity has the practicality of it,” she said. “It’s Wilczynski’s parka is black, and spread to Dartmouth. really warm, so that’s number one. despite it being a very common To art history professor Jane It’s forever trendy, if you think about color, she prizes the parka’s versatility.

Carroll, these popular parkas lie it; it’s simple “ When I was at the intersection between fashion e n o u g h t h at “ ... Once I leave choosing mine and function. The brand’s signature you can wear I didn’t know blue, white and red “Canada Goose it everywhere, Dartmouth I’m Arctic Program” patch mimics the and it’s also probably going to keep i f I w a n t e d or red,” branding of companies like Louis simple enough using [my parka] until black Wilczynski said.

Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana. that you can’t “But, I went with The logo is meant to communicate really see it it falls apart.” black because something about who the wearer is, falling out of it’s kind of like Carroll said. fashion anytime -RUBEN GALLARDO ’18 an investment “In a sense you become a soon.” piece, if you billboard for them,” she said. “You F o r will— I use it become that person that shows Gallardo, the year after year.

‘I have taste,’ and it’s a mutual versatility of agreement between you. You carry the parka’s simple design placed it Wilczynski isn’t alone in viewing or wear these things and it shows the in a category above similarly warm the pricey parkas as investment taste and culture that you want to coats from other outdoor retailers. pieces. portray, and at the same time, you “If you need to go somewhere “Once I leave Dartmouth I’m are supposed to, in your élan and super cold, you can just throw this probably going to keep using it until the way you put yourself together, jacket on and it looks pretty fly,” he it falls apart, which hopefully is a enhance the brand that you are said. “That’s what made me get it. while from now,” Gallardo said. wearing.”

It’s very simple. The quality of the This stylish outerwear, however, is not without controversy. Animal But Canada Goose, she said, jacket speaks for itself.” does branding slightly differently.

The warmth and reliability of rights activists have taken aim at the “Canada Goose is fascinating his parka is vital to Gallardo, who brand for its use of animal products; because it has that big patch on is no novice when it comes to winter most of its signature parkas are filled

with duck down, with hoods lined with coyote fur.

And with the exorbitant costs of their parkas, Canada Goose outfits a very particular clientele.

“When they first came on the scene, which was a couple years ago, people really didn’t know right away what the cost was,” Carroll said.

“They looked like well-tailored, extremely well put-together coats that were practical, and it was only as the information sort of seeped through the campus and society at large that I think it was understood that these coats are also extremely expensive, and that put another spin on them.”

With prices ranging from $450 to nearly $1,500, the cost of Canada Goose parkas makes them an unrealistic luxury for many.

At Dartmouth, a school where roughly half of students receive no financial aid, these recognizable jackets may be a highly visible reminder of real class divisions — to some, a status symbol.

Carroll suspects the high price, paired with the parkas’ ubiquity, may be the root of the attraction for some students.

“It’s the very exceptional student or young person who has the money to invest into clothing that is not accepted in one way or another within their peer group,” she said.

“The groundbreakers are few and far between. It is the people where money is not a problem who can afford to buy a piece of clothing that doesn’t help them establish who they are — [students are] all trying to find [their] identity at this point — and

can also live through the ridicule if they misstep. So, investing in more expensive clothing like the Canada Goose, for a student, it puts you into a rarefied group because of the money, but it doesn’t take you too far out of the norm and allows you to be part of a community as well.”

According to Gallardo, there’s only a small subset of those who are aware of the brand who give him a hard time about it.

“They think it’s elitist, given the cost of the jacket,” he said. “I think it’s worth the money. If I ever go on an expedition to Antarctica I’m going to use this jacket.”

Wilczynski, likewise, isn’t much concerned with the parkas’ reputation.

“I guess because I’ve had it for so long, I didn’t ever really think about it as a status symbol, though I could definitely see how it could be perceived as such,” she said.

While the brand’s workwear origins have transitioned to its new, celebrity-fuelled high-fashion aspirations, for Carroll, the jury’s still out on just what Canada Goose parkas represent.

“The trench coat talks about leader ship, myster y, action, practicality ­— all of the above — from its long history,” she said.

“The interesting thing for me is I don’t know if there is a long enough history of the Canada Goose brand for it to have those kind of connotations. I think they’ll build over time if it lasts, but at this point it’s still in the process of becoming what it’s going to be.”

Winter’s Effects on Social Life: Migration Indoors STORY

MIRROR //7

By Annie Farrell

As we settle further into winter then I go home. I like the snow ... largely to the cold weather, but also term, the snow and the schoolwork but I don’t know if the trade off is acknowledged that many Dartmouth pile up. Bean boots and backpacks necessarily great.” students choose to take the winter come out.

According to the term off.

But along “I look for events that survey, 59.6 percent Alternatively, Madeline Hess with the o f r e s p o n d e n t s ’19, a member of the Coffee Club, changes in are much closer to c o n s i d e r “ G r e e k said meetings are significantly more w e a t h e r , where I live rather life” as their choice popular in the winter. Hess enjoys workload social scene during taking part in social activities such as and attire, than venturing places the winter. A similar Coffee Club during which she is able w i n t e r ... in the winter I p e rc e n t a g e, 5 0 . 8 to sit down and have a meaningful term brings percent, of students discussions. a b o u t basically don’t leave indicated “A lot of the changes in my dorm area.” that they crowds that Dartmouth own a “... I think come through is students’ “fracket,” people the crowd that social life. a jacket happens to be -KAYLA RIVERAA f i ve one wears definitely are around One day survey HOSKINSON ’20 o u t t o cold and want Wheelock or conducted fraternity inside … when through p a r t i e s some hot we send out an polling application Pulse found that, in case it gets stolen. coffee in winter. email,” Hess said. out of a sample of 677 students, 42.6 However, 72.5 percent “Additionally, I percent of students think that winter of students also selected There is a clear think people impacts their social lives in a negative “Hanging in bed” as their correlation definitely are way. Kayla Rivera-Hoskinson ’20 usual social scene during cold and want between the said her social activities change in the winter. some hot coffee in the winter.

According to Alpha two.” winter. There is a “My likeliness to be able to go out Chi Alpha frater nity clear correlation and do things is definitely down,” social chair Sam Colello between the two.” she said. “What I would do is also ’ 1 8 , t h e e ve n t s t h e -MADELINE HESS S t u d e n t s m ay different. I look for events that are fraternity plans in the choose to migrate ’19 much closer to where I live rather winter are not nearly indoor s during than venturing places ... in the winter as popular as they are the winter, and I basically don’t leave my dorm in other terms. Colello many designate area. I go to class and meetings and attributed this lack of attendance the winter term as a time to focus

more on academics. Hess said she embrace the winter a lot more, typically plans for a more difficult whereas the rest of the term you just academic schedule in the winter. have to live in it,” Rivera-Hoskinson Similarly, Rivera-Hoskinson chose said. “Winter Carnival is a time to to take four classes this winter celebrate [winter]. It makes it nicer.” term because she knows she will be While Rivera-Hoskinson, Colello spending more time inside her dorm and Hess all thought that there is room. some fun to be had during winter, “I usually they also agreed take harder that spring is classes in winter “Spring term is the most because I know exc iting ter m defi nitely the best. that I’m going to at Dartmouth. be inside more,” Everybody is in a good The spring term Hess said. “I tend mood because it’s brings warmer to overcorrect weather, more there and then sunny as opposed to hours of I end up being overcast like it was all daylight and an stuck inside abundance of because I chose winter. ” social activities harder classes.” during the week H o w e v e r, of Green Key. Winter Carnival -SAM COLELLO ’18 “Spring ter m brings welcome is definitely relief to the the best,” indoors and Colello said. a c a d e m i c “Everybody is intensity for in a good mood some. Colello b ec a u s e i t’s is looking forward to Alpha Chi’s sunny as opposed to overcast like it annual “Beach Party” during was all winter.” the Carnival week, and RiveraUntil spring rolls around, get out Hoskinson is looking forward to a fracket, grab a hot cup of coffee taking advantage of what winter at or try to enjoy the snow. It is only Dartmouth has to offer. week three of the winter term — try “During Winter Carnival people to make the most of what’s left.

8// MIRROR

Migration PHOTO

By Divya Kopalle