VOL. CLXXIV NO.59
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Court upholds ruling against AD
PARTLY SUNNY HIGH 59 LOW 30
By PETER CHARALAMBOUS The Dartmouth Staff
NATALIE CANTAVE/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
OPINION
QU: CHECK THIS BOX PAGE 6
GHAVRI: ANTIAMERICANISM? PAGE 7
SOLOMON: DARTMOUTH’S FEAR OF REJECTION PAGE 7
ARTS
ALUMNUS Q&A: NOVELIST HENRY JOSEPH RUSSELL ’15 PAGE 8 READ US ON
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Following the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s decision, Alpha Delta fraternity will not be able to use its house on 9 East Wheelock as a student residence.
In an opinion issued Tuesday morning, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in favor of the town of Hanover in the case of Dartmouth Corporation of Alpha Delta v. Town of Hanover. The opinion reaffirmed a ruling by Hanover’s Zoning Board of Adjustment, which determined that using Alpha Delta’s house on 9 East Wheelock as a student residence violates the town’s zoning ordinance.
Alpha Delta’s legal battle began on April 13, 2015, when the College revoked the fraternity’s status as a student organization following a “violation of the school’s standards of conduct” in which members of the fraternity were branded with the Alpha Delta letters. Because of this derecognition, the College revoked Alpha Delta’s residential status. On April 23, 2015, the town notified Alpha Delta that their use of SEE AD PAGE 2
Haldeman family gives $5 million to College athletics By PETER CHARALAMBOUS The Dartmouth Staff
The Haldeman family recently donated $5 million to the College in order to increase and supplement programs that assist studentathletes. This donation, made through the Haldemans’ family foundation, will increase College athletic director Harry Sheehy’s funding through the Athletic Directors Fund for Excellence to invest in and pioneer athletic
programs. Sheehy said he plans to use the funding to supplement programs and teams, offer more competitive retention bonuses, enhance contract flexibility and create new programs and initiatives within his department. This donation by Barbara Haldeman and Ed Haldeman ’70 and their family follows the Haldemans’ $10 million donation in 2004 to the Haldeman Center, which was named in honor of Ed Haldeman’s parents. Ed
Haldeman served as the chair of the College’s Board of Trustees from 2007 until 2010. Charlotte Haldeman Whitmore ’03 and Catherine Haldeman Hale ’08, the Haldemans’ daughters, both competed on the College’s varsity squash team. “My hope would be that athletics continues to be an integral part of the Dartmouth experience for those who come SEE HALDEMAN PAGE 3
PAULA KUTSCHERA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
The Haldemans’ donation will support student-athletes.
Sierra Club discusses Students start new renewable energy sports analytics club
By MIKA JEHOON LEE The Dartmouth Staff
On Wednesday evening, Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune and Hanover town manager Julia Griffin spoke to nearly 70 Upper Valley community members and Dartmouth students at the Hanover Town Hall about the nationwide transition to renewable energy and Hanover’s
upcoming May 9 vote to commit to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. Vice chair of the Upper Valley Group of the Sierra Club Judi Colla opened the event by introducing Ready for 100, which is a national campaign organized by the Sierra Club to accelerate the country’s move toward 100 percent clean energy. SEE SIERRA CLUB PAGE 3
By VIGNESH CHOKALINGAM The Dartmouth Staff
Last Monday, Andrew Wolff ’18 and Josh Ufland ’18 led the inaugural meeting of Dartmouth Sports Analytics, a recentlyformed club focused on the intersection of sports and statistics. The club was first conceived in the fall of 2015 under the leadership of Richard Shen ’17, who developed an interest in sports analytics after taking a “Sports Analytics” class taught by government professor
Michael Herron and College President Phil Hanlon. Herron said that the class, offered by the quantitative social sciences department, combined students’ interest in a substantive area like sports with the science of statistics. “It showed students the power of statistical thinking,” he said. Shen, who was interested in the numbers behind sports, approached Herron about starting a club centered around sports analytics, Wolff said. The group gained SEE ANALYTICS PAGE 4
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
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DAILY DEBRIEFING The drought in New Hampshire last year was beneficial to the moose population. A moose mortality project that puts tracking collars on moose shows in its preliminary data that only one tracked moose calf died from winter ticks in New Hampshire this year, compared to almost 75 percent of the calves tracked last year. In an article from the Valley News, moose biologist Kristine Rines said that the blood-sucking parasites had a higher mortality rate because they were deprived of moisture. Vermont, which joined the project this year and did not experience as serious a drought as did New Hampshire, has had five of 30 tracked calves die so far. A New Hampshire state commission prepares to vote on a proposed 51 permits for the annual moose hunt, the lowest in almost 30 years. Last year, 71 permits were given. Permit numbers have declined partly because of the ticks and brainworms affecting the moose population. While it does not oppose the moose hunting season, the New Hampshire Wildlife Federation said it supports fewer hunting permits. Other citizens feel that permits should be suspended completely in order to allow the moose population to recover. In New Hampshire, there were only around 50 moose in 1950. By 1988, there were 4,100 moose in the state, and the state started the annual hunt. Today, that number is now 3,600. Rines said the hunt only targets around one percent of the state moose population, and that parasites are a bigger threat to the species. The number of permits issued are lowered or suspended if the number of moose falls below management goals. Police have arrested a West Lebanon man and a Vermont woman in relation to an active methamphetamine lab in West Lebanon, as reported by the Valley News. The two individuals have been charged with the felony of manufacturing methamphetamine. Lebanon police said in a Tuesday news release that Stanley Sousa, 26, of West Lebanon, and Damian Sumner, 21, of Moretown, Vermont, were staying at a Baymont Inn & Suites and walking back and forth to a campsite with materials for methamphetamine production. The lab, which has since been cleaned up, was located in the woods off of Airport Road in West Lebanon. After receiving a tip, police located Sousa and Sumner during a traffic stop around 3 p.m. on Monday. Police said that Sousa was out on parole for robbery at the time. On Tuesday, Sousa and Sumner were arraigned in Grafton Superior Court in North Haverhill, New Hampshire. It remains unclear whether they entered pleas. Police from Hartford, Vermont, are investigating whether the intruders who broke into several Advent Camp cottages Monday morning did so as an act of vandalism or burglary, according to the Valley News. Hartford Deputy Police Chief Brad Vail said that since many cottage owners do not reside in the area, authorities have not yet discovered if anything was taken in the early morning act. Advent Camp is a Christian meeting camp located off Route 5. It dates back to 1887 and comprises about 30 buildings. The National Register of Historic Places has eyed the campsite for historic designation. This is the first instance of a break-in at the camp that has caused major damage, caretaker Joe Trottier said to the Valley News. At the time of the incident, Trottier and another man, Tom Lossee, were the only two people residing in cottages on the grounds. Trottier noticed the damage Monday morning. One cottage suffered a kicked-in front door, a smashed glass-topped table that contained heirlooms or memorabilia and a missing television that is thought to have been stolen. Trottier said that the break-in will likely lead to increased security measures at the campground. The police investigation into the incident is ongoing.
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
Court rules Alpha Delta’s use of property violates zoning rules FROM AD PAGE 1
the property violated town zoning ordinances and that the occupancy of their property “must cease immediately,” according to the Supreme Court’s opinion. Alpha Delta appealed this decision to the ZBA on April 29, 2015. After a hearing, the ZBA issued a statement in June 2015 in favor of the town’s previous decision. In its statement, the ZBA rejected Alpha Delta’s argument that the house is grandfathered, meaning it is exempt from the town’s zoning ordinance because students had lived in the house before the zoning ordinance was adopted. The ZBA also found that Alpha Delta did not sustain the burden of proving its property falls under a “nonconforming use,” which would have allowed the lawful use of the house as a student residence even without conforming to the ordinance requirements. The board also rejected Alpha Delta’s argument that it met the town’s “in conjunction with” requirement,
which would have allowed use of the house in conjunction with another institution besides the College, because all residents of the house have been students of the College. Following this decision, Alpha Delta requested a rehearing with the ZBA, which was denied. Alpha Delta then appealed to the Grafton County Superior Court in September 2015. The superior court found that ZBA’s decision was “neither legally erroneous nor unreasonable.” The court rejected Alpha Delta’s grandfathering argument as well as its argument regarding the “in conjunction with” requirement. The court also noted that Alpha Delta provided no evidence to show an association with the College after derecognition “apart from the fact that the residents of [the property] are ... college students.” Alpha Delta appealed this decision to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, which heard the case in February and released its opinion Tuesday morning.
The court did not find Alpha Delta’s example of a 2014 zoning board decision regarding Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity to be convincing because the examples did not address the “in conjunction with” language. Furthermore, the court did not think that past examples of laxness by the ZBA prohibits future enforcement. The court also agreed with the ZBA’s finding that because the College derecognized Alpha Delta as a student organization, the fraternity has no association with the College and therefore cannot operate in conjunction with the College. T h e c o u r t c o n c l u d e d by reiterating its affirmation of the trial court’s decision that Alpha Delta’s use of its property as a student residence violates zoning rules. In addition, the court found that any further arguments by Alpha Delta do not merit any further discussion. A full story will be released in the near future.
INTELLECTUAL SNACKS AT NOVACK
-COMPILED BY SONIA QIN
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
MORGAN MOINIAN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Student ambassadors for the Office of Pluralism and Leadership host a table at Novack Cafe.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
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Haldemans contribute $5 million Sierra Club holds meeting to discuss clean energy transition resources to support student-athletes. Ed Haldeman said that both there and want to have a great successful programs like DP2 and academic life but also excel on the Sheehy’s welcoming personality have encouraged the Haldeman family to athletic field,” Ed Haldeman said. The Haldemans’ relationship with support Sheehy’s work with the College. Sheehy began in the 1990s when In late 2016, Sheehy was personally their son Matt Haldeman played notified that the Haldeman family had decided squash and tennis to endow at Williams College. the athletic During this time, “We hope this d i re c t o r ’s Sheehy served as enables Dartmouth position, the athletic director to continue to a decision at Williams. announced When for mer support student by the College College President Jim athletes and honor on April 3. Kim was searching “ W e for a new athletic Harry as a great hope this director in 2010, the athletic director.” enables College reached out Dartmouth to Sheehy. When to continue Sheehy accepted the - CHARLOTTE HALDEMAN to support position, Kim called WHITMORE `03 student Ed Haldeman to athletes and notify him of the honor [Sheehy] as a great athletic news, Ed Haldeman said. “What really drew me here was the director,” Whitmore said. challenge of the job,” Sheehy said. “I Ed Haldeman said his family believes wanted a place where I could roll my that athletics is a core component of sleeves up and really attack and try to a Dartmouth education. For the help, try to help a place figure out what College’s 1,000 student-athletes and over 75 percent of the student body it could really be.” Since Sheehy’s appointment, the who participate in athletic activity Haldemans have been impressed by the each year, the Haldeman family programs Sheehy has enacted through wants to help foster a meaningful and the College’s Department of Athletics productive athletic experience, he and Recreation, Ed Haldeman said. added. One of the more notable programs, Sheehy’s position is now titled the Dartmouth Peak Performance, which Haldeman Family Director of Athletics Sheehy launched in July 2011, provides and Recreation. The money will leadership training and academic primarily fund the Athletic Directors FROM HALDEMAN PAGE 1
Fund for Excellence, which gives the athletic director ongoing flexible funding. “I value the flexibility because Harry is the expert and he knows where the greatest need is,” Ed Haldeman said. The Haldeman family’s donation follows a series of other donations which have substantially increased the potential for the Department of Athletics in Recreation. Alumni and friends of the College have given over $24 million to the Department of Athletics in Recreation through endowments of various coaching positions. Sheehy said he hopes to use these donations to better the department as a whole. “I am not happy with the amount of athletic success we have — I would like to build more,” Sheehy said. “I would like to make this the preeminent student-athlete experience in the United States, which is what DP2 is all about.” According to Sheehy, who follows the mantra that “coaching at its core is just good teaching,” athletics offer unique benefits and teach skills to students, such as embracing teamwork and learning to overcome public failure. In addition, Sheehy said he believes that athletics can unite the College in a unique and powerful way. “When you go to the Homecoming game against Harvard [University], everyone feels the same way — beat Harvard,” he said. “There isn’t much that unifies us and I think that one of the things sports does is unify us.”
SWING AND A MISS
HOLLYE SWINEHART/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
The Dartmouth baseball team played two double-headers last weekend.
FROM SIERRA CLUB PAGE 1
Colla said that the Upper Valley Group decided to participate in the Ready for 100 program to prevent Liberty Utilities’ development of fossil fuel infrastructure in Hanover as well as make the town transition to a healthier energy future. After Colla’s talk, Griffin discussed Hanover’s past and current efforts to support clean energy. Griffin said that Hanover was the first town in New England t o b e c o m e a G r e e n Po w e r Community, a designation from the Environmental Protection Agency. Since 2014, Hanover has partnered with the EPA to use renewable energ y in amounts that exceed its usage requirements, which de pend on each community’s annual electricity usage. According to the EPA, 22.3 percent of Hanover’s total electricity use came from renewable energ y sources in 2017, ranking Hanover 22nd of 61 GPCs. Griffin added that the town staff has spent $50,000 every year on energy efficiency improvements. She said that Hanover has installed low-energy heat pumps, solar panels and LED lighting. The town has also been discussing a potential construction of a solar farm with the College as well as Dartmouth’s transition from the current steam-based heating system to a hot water-based system. Using hot water instead of steam to power heating systems has allowed colleges such as Stanford University to reduce carbon emissions. Brune, who spoke after Griffin, said that the current political climate increases the U.S.’s need to convert to renewable energy. He said that President Donald Trump and his allies do not believe in the existence of climate change and that they are trying to undermine t h e p ro g re s s e nv i ro n m e n t a l activists have made in the past 30 years. “We are seeing tens and millions of people facing water shortages and extreme weather events on an annual basis,” Brune said. “The threat was real on November 8, and it got a lot worse on November 9.” Brune also spoke about the economic and technological feasibility of the U.S.’s future conversion to clean energy. He
said that countries like China and India have put a freeze on new coal developments not only because coal contributes to climate change, but also because it is not economically competitive. According to Brune, solar wind and other renewable energy sources are now cheaper than coal and natural gas. During a question and answer session following Brune’s talk, Hanover resident John Schumacher asked whether Hanover will be able to commit to a goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2020 instead of 2050, given that most of the people in attendance at the event were elderly. In response to Schumacher’s question, Brune stated that any community’s transition to clean energy depends on the availability of technology and capital. There have been rapid technological developments in the renewable energy sector, but communities need to continue building political will and securing money, he said. Cornish resident Joanna Sharf asked Brune for advice on how to persuade a town resistant to committing to renewable energy to follow Hanover’s footsteps. In response, Brune said that it is important to understand your audience and their values and how climate change and energy issues address what they care about. Thetford resident Stuart Blood said that as a non-Hanover resident, he did not have a lot of information about what Hanover’s commitment to 100 percent renewable energy would entail. The event not only allowed him to become more aware about the strengths of Hanover’s commitment, but also encouraged him that Thetford can use Hanover’s green energy campaign to start its own clean energy initiative. Megan Larkin ’19, who is a member of Divest Dartmouth and former campus organizer at NextGen Climate, an organization that strives to prevent climate disaster, said that the College administration should help Hanover commit to 100 percent renewable energy to send a message that Dartmouth considers climate change and g lobal war ming as serious issues. Larkin also encouraged Dartmouth students to be active and informed citizens by supporting sustainability initiatives such as the College’s fossil fuel divestment and attending or voting at the town meeting on May 9.
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
PAGE 4
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
DARTMOUTHEVENTS TODAY 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Lecture: “Grexit, Brexit, Frexit” with Boğaziçi University professor Matthew Gumpert, Dartmouth Hall 206
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Mini-Seminar: “Emotional Intelligence 101” with Thayer School of Engineering professor Rachel Obbard, House Center B
7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Film: “Hitchcock/Truffaut,” directed by Kent Jones, Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center
TOMORROW
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Lecture: “Spin and Magnetism in Small Stars” with Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Elisabeth Newton, Wilder Hall 104
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Film: “The Lego Batman Movie,” directed by Chris McKay, Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts
8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Film: “The Film Critic Michael Althen,” directed by Dominik Graf, Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center RELEASE DATE– Thursday, April 13, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Jackson with a 1972 Lifetime Achievement Grammy 8 Rx watchdog 11 Wing 14 Most sober 15 Curved part 16 Md. neighbor 17 Infomercial promise 19 Md. neighbor 20 Powerful 1970s Pittsburgh defensive line, familiarly 22 Didst whack 25 Spot checker? 26 One-named Deco master 27 Swiss river 28 Loot 31 Storm warning 33 Pair 35 Algonquin Round Table member, e.g. 37 Role for Dustin 38 “The Card Players” artist 42 Amu __: Asian river 44 Verizon subsidiary 45 Undertaking 48 Anka song with the phrase “Kiss me mucho” 51 Soccer chant 53 Loving murmur 54 A giraffe has a long one 55 Org. concerned with briefs 57 “Swing Shift” Oscar nominee 59 Sticker on store fruit 63 Fill in (for) 64 Hint in a specialty crossword, and, literally, what’s found in 17-, 20-, 38- and 59-Across 68 Actor Wallach 69 Jeans name 70 Like some lunch orders 71 “Amen!” 72 Inject 73 “Seems that way to me”
DOWN 49 Revered 32 Banquet 50 Was loyal to dispenser 1 “Mrs. Miniver” 52 Picks 34 Futon kin studio 56 High point of a 36 Sweet __ 2 2001 W.S. European trip? 39 OPEC member champs 58 Foil giant 40 Madhouse 3 Guffaw sound 60 Golden St. 41 The lot 4 Stop at sea campus 42 Portrayer of 5 Hopkins role 61 Yours, to Yves “McDreamy” on 6 Scotland’s Arran, “Grey’s Anatomy” 62 Tie up e.g. 65 Not of the cloth 43 Typically 7 Perfectly, with 66 __ Nimitz 46 Boozer “to” 67 DDE’s command 47 Colorful carp 8 Leak source 9 Diminutive celeb sexologist ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 10 Taiwanese PC maker 11 Pirate on the Queen Anne’s Revenge 12 Descendants of a son of Jacob and Leah 13 Venezuelan cowboy 18 MDL ÷ X 21 Studio occupant 22 Glum 23 Kentucky Derby time 24 Latin “pray for us” 29 Barn __ 30 Light source 04/13/17 xwordeditor@aol.com
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04/13/17
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
Dartmouth club talks sports and statistics FROM ANALYTICS PAGE 1
some momentum in the fall, but Ufland and Wolff said that Dartmouth Sports Analytics’ true founding has been this term. Herron still serves as the club’s faculty advisor. The group’s first meeting on April 3 consisted of a viewing of the College Basketball National Championship. Ufland said that of the 40 people who showed up, 38 responded in a survey that they would be interested in pursuing research opportunities with the club. Ufland said he is excited by people’s enthusiasm toward the prospect of publishing original research as a club. He said that he sees the club’s purpose as two-pronged: a place for sports enthusiasts to engage with each other and a platform upon which students can channel their intellectual curiosity, bringing academics and statistics to sports. “I think we have some of the brightest young minds and people are starting to realize that we can take that intellect and put it into something that is as exciting and ingrained into American culture as sports,” Ufland said. He added that the sports analytics trend began with “Moneyball,” a movie and book about baseball statistics, which
made sports analytics “something sexy and flashy.” Ufland and Wolff said that they were also inspired to lead the club by ESPN analysts like Zach Lowe ’99 and FiveThirtyEight, a website that analyzes sports and politics through data. Wolff said he hopes that the College’s community will feel the club’s impact through its involvement with Dartmouth athletics. He added that the club has even contacted one of the College’s varsity teams. “Our contribution to campus could definitely be by informing or at least analyzing in some meaningful way the athletics that we have here,” Wolff said. On April 10, Wolff said that the club had its first research and conversation-based meeting, which focused on baseball in America after the publication of “Moneyball.” Wolff said that the discussion centered on what students wanted to talk about, and that students had various interests in sports, ranging from the debate over who should win the Most Valuable Player award in the National Basketball Association to the validity of statistical analysis compared to past methods of sports analysis. The group will reconvene at their next meeting Monday, April 17.
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THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
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CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST PELIN OZEL ’19
STAFF COLUMNIST DOROTHY QU ’19
Feeding the Brain
Check This Box
Reviving a lost desire to learn.
People go to college to build unforgettable experiences, meet amazing people and learn to be independent. Yet, last year I had forgotten one of the main reasons I chose to go to Dartmouth. Amongst the newness of college, as my freshman year closed, I became deluged with the routine that is school: wake up, go to class, grab something quick to eat, hide in the corner of 3FB and stay there until my workload seemed just a bit lighter. Whether to grab Foco or Hop for lunch grabbed my attention more than any news article. My reasons to plow through classwork changed from having a desire to learn to needing to get studying done. Everyone at Dartmouth enters college with a passion for a certain topic, whether it is health policy, South Asia or dystopian literature from the 20th century. Building a career in the field of neuroscience became my passion. Sometimes it takes a few feet of snow and a bit of isolation in the Lodge to reignite an old craving to learn. During my sophomore winter, I rediscovered why I was majoring in “the brain.” My head spun with new questions to ask my professors. I would tap my foot waiting to go back to Moore Hall to escape to the comfort of the laboratory. How did I regain the will to learn? I stopped taking two-hour lunches and started working at a lab. After sending email after email to professor after professor, I found a subject I was genuinely interested in that made me want to return to the laboratory. There is nothing more rewarding than feeling like you are a part of the research that you hear about in class. I began to feel a different sense of belonging away from the culture and bubble at Dartmouth. I used to scoff at how much people loved what they study. Now, I realize that loving what you study can be rare, but it is essential. Many freshmen have it — but they have to learn to keep it. Getting caught up in freshman year can make you numb, whether it is becoming close with random people whose faces you cannot recognize in passing, attempting to memorize all the Greek houses on campus or participating in as many clubs as possible.
Even before I arrived at Dartmouth, applying to colleges, graduating and transitioning to school distracted me and made me feel apathetic toward neuroscience and my academic goals. I hope the Class of 2021 will carry its zeal for learning into freshman year and beyond, because among the commotion of college, zeal can become buried under exposure to the culture and community of Dartmouth. Without repeating another “be yourself ” cliché, I believe that holding onto what you love is essential when most of the time you spend at Dartmouth classes will be looking at powerpoint slides, problem sets or a paperback copy of a play. Although you may have heard of the freshman plague, the real disease at Dartmouth is apathy, and it can spread like a virus. Not having a passion for anything can normalize the routine of schoolwork and, when you are surrounded by diligent students who are constantly breaking barriers, it can make you feel like you are not “Dartmouth.” The lack of passionate proactivity can make you feel like you are missing out, that you are not a part of a community and that you are not good enough. College can be a cumbersome balancing act, especially when others try to influence your beliefs. You may find that your niche is not academic, artistic or social, but we are all partial to something, though it may become compromised during this stage of transition. Even if you carry this passion through your freshman year, do not let people trivialize what you care about. Do not lose that penchant toward sports medicine. Do not forget that proclivity for song. Never satiate that appetite for 19th century history. My favorite question has always been “what can you spend hours talking about?” I promise, you will always be surprised at what people will say and what they care about most. Next time you talk to someone new, instead of mentioning the weather or asking about their class schedule, ask them about their passions. You might find a new perspective into Dartmouth’s community.
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ISSUE
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
NEWS EDITOR: Sonia Qin, NEWS LAYOUT: Sunpreet Singh
SUBMISSIONS: We welcome letters and guest columns. All submissions must include the author’s name and affiliation with Dartmouth College, and should not exceed 250 words for letters or 700 words for columns. The Dartmouth reserves the right to edit all material before publication. All material submitted becomes property of The Dartmouth. Please email submissions to editor@thedartmouth.com.
Decency is not enough to warrant an acceptance letter. Last week, a former Dartmouth admissions show a similar level of decency may not have director, Rebecca Sabky, published an any compassion beyond that. Even worse, editorial in The New York Times. Its cute, many students who are truly compassionate clickbait title, “Check This Box if You’re a to others may not even believe that decency Good Person,” caught my eye even before to a custodian is enough to warrant a letter I recognized her connection to this school. of recommendation — and may be looked With Dartmouth so rarely mentioned in over as a result. mainstream news recently, I eagerly scanned With these musings in mind, I’ve come to the article. Imagine my face falling comically believe that Sabky was attracted to this student as I reached the end. not because of his kindness but because of I want to make this clear: being a good his originality. I can scarcely imagine that person should be considered as important other recommendations detailing heartas, if not more important than, academic wrenching stories of perseverance by those and extracurricular prowess, hard work and who have conquered disease, discrimination talent. However, Sabky’s definition of what a and other hardships, while less original, good person entails is extremely flawed and are less impressive in showing kindness shows Dartmouth’s preference for a certain and character. Selective colleges such as type of person over others. Dartmouth are flooded with applicants I would first like to address the polarized touting their competence, determination reactions people have had to this article. On and benevolence; it is laughable to see one side of the spectrum, people applaud such impressive students trumped by those Sabky’s “brave” step in the right direction. with “better” — or simply more unique — Others — myself included — are alarmed connections and resources. by her loose interpretation of kindness. According to a recent New York Times In her article, Sabky states that a letter of study, Dartmouth hails more students from recommendation from a custodian “caught the top one percent of the income scale than her eye,” because the applicant “knew the from the entire bottom 60 percent, with such names of every member of the janitorial staff students making up 20.7 and 14.4 percent of … and tidied up after his peers.” He was the the student body respectively. Sabky’s low bar first student in her 15 years as an admissions for kindness may promote this favoritism by counselor to use a recommendation from giving admissions a more agreeable reason a custodian — and he was admitted by to admit privileged students. Readers who unanimous vote of the admissions counsel. agree with Sabky’s notion of goodness may Yet, human decency, fall under this trap and which he demonstrated, “...I’ve come to allow themselves to be is not kindness, and the swayed that Dartmouth believe that Sabky kindest people are the least is truly prizing kindness. likely to ask someone for was attracted to this Instead, admissions uses a recommendation letter term “kindness” to student not because the commending their kind reward originality as well acts. Indeed, to ask for of his kindness as, it seems, affluence. such a recommendation, but because of his While I one would have to be a p p r e c i a t e S a b k y ’s at least somewhat self- originality.” sentiment that her son important. This isn’t to should value compassion say that self-importance and kindness are as much as a full resume, it may be more mutually exclusive — they are not. However, self-driven — she states, “I’m happy to start from my meager 20 years of silently observing that trend” — than supportive of actual my peers, there is a strong correlation between progress in admitting higher-quality people. kindness and humility. The kindest acts are The peer recommendation that Dartmouth often left unseen, and it is unjust to praise heavily encourages is a great step in the right those who are confident enough to flaunt direction (though they let me sneak in here their kindness, while leaving others who are without one, so that’s strike one), but it is not equally kind but less upfront about it in the enough. dust. I love Dartmouth, and I believe that we are Similarly, I am not confident in the improving exponentially in understanding link Sabky makes between decency and and appreciating the adversities of many compassion. I know many students who have disadvantaged and “indistinguishable” gifted been taught to act respectfully by socially students, as Sabky describes. But do not dare adept and generally upperclass parents but fault hardworking and talented prospective fail to truly care for peers, the less fortunate, students for not being “kind” enough — or minorities and the environment, for example. if you’re being honest, eye-catching enough There is much more to goodness than just — for an acceptance. Before telling students cleaning up after your classmates or thanking to look elsewhere for recommendations, the people who do so. As an analogy, you may flaunt their kindness more visibly or stuff know the names of the entire Collis staff, their applications with soon-to-be clichés but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you about appreciating their custodial staff , would be willing to substantially help them Dartmouth’s admissions department should if they’re overworked. The student Sabky admit their preference for a certain type of mentions may actually be an outstanding student — likely one with jingly pockets — and truly kind student, but many others who over others.
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
PAGE 7
STAFF COLUMNIST IOANA SOLOMON ’19
STAFF COLUMNIST ANMOL GHAVRI ’18
Dartmouth’s Fear of Rejection
Anti-Americanism?
Dartmouth’s admissions policies are unjust and harmful in the long run.
In the writings of Howard Zinn, we find a formula for a better patriotism.
One thousand, five hundred and forty-two While this statement is perhaps reassuring to high school seniors from almost every corner some students, it is far from a denial that early of the world opened their acceptance letters to decision applicants have an advantage. Dartmouth on March 30. While they rejoiced, But what is even more convincing are the eager to become members of the Class of 2021, numbers. While Dartmouth’s general pool of around 18,000 others were met with the words, applicants has been in decline since 2012, the “We regret to inform you…” For an 18-year- number of early decision applicants has been old, rejection from an elite university can be steadily rising. If a school is actually becoming crushing. For years, academic institutions have more appealing, that discrepancy should indoctrinated their students with an obsessive not exist. We are losing interest overall, and desire for validation and an aversion to failure that is reflected by the fact that we are losing beginning from a young age. But what those applicants almost every year. The fact that students do not know is that the colleges and more and more applicants choose to apply universities of their dreams are victims of the through the early decision process means that same systematic fear of rejection. they have good reason to believe doing so gives The college admissions process has become them a strategic advantage. With only vague a game, not just for the students applying, rebuttals and an ED acceptance rate higher but for the institutions as well. At the end of than 25 percent over the last five years, that is April, Dartmouth will find out how many of far from surprising. Some students may have the newly admitted 2,092 students will actually learned to game the system, but U.S. colleges stick with us. The College, and universities invented too, will receive its own “...we reject and hurt the rules. What do these acceptance and rejection statistics actually say about letters. But in the midst too many qualified us as a school, about our of declining application regular decision admissions policies and pools, lower perceived about our administration? student satisfaction and applicants only Artificially controlling rising competition from because we think we Dartmouth’s admissions institutions of a similar rate may contribute to an caliber, Dartmouth has cannot afford to risk increased perception of found a way to maintain its losing them to other the College as elite but exclusivity. Unfortunately, does nothing to make us a schools.” it has done so not by better institution. Instead, improving itself as an it shows a disappointing institution but by artificially inflating its lack of confidence and the same fear of selectivity. rejection we see in our 17- and 18-year-old This year, Dartmouth accepted 550 students applicants. The message we are sending is that through the early decision process from a we are afraid. We take more students who show record-large pool of 1,999 applicants. These definitive interest in us because we think that admitted students will form around 47 percent when regular decision admits put us side by side of the Class of 2021. While Dartmouth’s with other universities, we will not be winning overall admission rate for this year settled many of those battles. As a result, we reject at 10.4 percent, it is fairly obvious that the and hurt too many qualified regular decision students applying early faced better chances. Of applicants only because we think we cannot course, the classic argument endures: students afford to risk losing them to other schools. applying early are mostly those who know Additionally, our admissions policies they have a fair shot at gaining entrance into inherently give an advantage to privileged a school like Dartmouth during the binding students. Those who apply early decision are application phase. They are, therefore, better often students who have had access to great candidates than a large number of those who academic resources, attentive counseling and apply through the regular decision process significant assistance in college admissions and who may be throwing their application planning. To complete all the required testing, into the pile without as real of an expectation finish all application materials and be informed of being accepted. But is that the full story? enough to make a choice that early in the Can Dartmouth truly claim that it accepts one- college application season, students have to in-four students applying early, as opposed to have had a level of preparation and support one-in-10 applying normally, simply because that low-privilege backgrounds rarely supply. those applying early form a “better” pool? Our In addition, Dartmouth is far from cheap, own admissions office’s website would suggest and many of the students who apply early otherwise. decision are those who can afford to lose a little In response to a frequently asked question bargaining power with Dartmouth’s more or on whether there is an advantage to applying less binding financial packages. early decision, the office’s listed response In the end, many of our policies are acknowledges that early decision applicants are antithetical to the progressive mask we wear. admitted at a higher rate than regular decision Instead of working to make itself more applicants but adds that the published higher appealing to prospective students, Dartmouth is percentages could be misleading because of the only playing with the numbers. Our admissions number of recruited athletes who are accepted. policies are changing the label but not the “With recruited athletes removed from the early contents, and that kind of solution is not just decision numbers, the statistical advantage immoral but one that will not suffice for the isn’t quite as large,” the office’s website states. long term.
Last month, state representative Kim have the freedom of speech protected by the Hendren introduced Arkansas House Bill 1834 U.S. Constitution; we cannot sit down, shut into the Arkansas state legislature. Its goal was up, be grateful and only listen to the narratives to ban all of the late professor Howard Zinn’s told to us by those in power. The rights we have articles and books from being used in public are meant to be used — American citizenship and open-enrollment public charter schools in requires having an opinion and expressing it Arkansas. through protest, writing, organization, public For years now, Zinn has perpetually been engagement and activism. the subject of various conservative schemes of The most patriotic and “American” thing censorship. Previous attempts to censor Zinn someone can do is tell the truth and criticize have all had similar justifications — they argue those in power, whether by writing political that his works present some satire like Jon Stewart or sort of liberally distorted “Conflating criticism Egypt’s Bassem Youssef or un-American critique or by telling stories of an of the United States of our nation’s past by unsavory past to highlight telling American history government and its our failures, our progress from the point of view past with ‘hating’ and the ways in which of Native Americans, we still need to improve. slaves, immigrants, African America or Americans If a government is so A m e r i c a n s, wo m e n , is a constant theme insecure that it cannot religious minorities, handle dissent, criticism, throughout American ridicule workers and the poor and a realistic and marginalized. This political history.” examination of the view conflates critiques past, then it is no true of national myths and government. What has government propaganda, as well as any made America exceptional, despite the presentation of our country’s failures, with uncountable number of injustices it has being “anti-American.” perpetrated against an uncountable number Zinn, a World War II veteran, historian of people, is its continual movement to correct and professor of political science at Boston those mistakes by investigating the past under University, passed away in 2010 at the age the protection of freedom of speech, thought of 87. By incorporating Zinn’s work to and opinion. complicate the standard spiel of laws, political Inquisitiveness, skepticism and dissent define parties and “manifest destiny” typically used American exceptionalism. Arkansas’ children in state-approved curriculums, my Advanced deserve to know both the beauties and the Placement U.S. History course in high school horrors of our nation’s past. They deserve made me a better citizen and thinker. A the chance to think critically about how they self-described democratic socialist and the influence the present vis-à-vis our national author of works such as “A People’s History myth. Washington, D.C. does not define the of the United States,” “A People’s History of United States; we the people do. American Empire,” “Marx in Soho” and “La Conflating criticism of the United States Otra Historia De Los Estados Unidos,” Zinn government and its past with “hating” America has consistently challenged those in power or Americans is a constant theme throughout and their state-mandated visions of history by American political history. Yet when you ban or writing for the most voiceless among us. censor someone’s writings, you are not proving America has a history of silencing dissent, them wrong — you are only showing that you however respectful. Noam Chomsky, a close fear what they have to say. Engaging with them, friend of Zinn and a professor of linguistics debating them and refuting them is the only at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, possible way to truly discredit their arguments. has faced similar labels of anti-Americanism That is the whole point of historical scholarship for his writing on and critiques of American — not to present some mythological story of imperialism, neoliberalism and capitalism. great men and governments who benevolently Zinn had an open file at the Federal Bureau of “gave” us all freedom and opportunity from the Investigation for supporting socialist and pro- top down but to engage in a sophisticated and labor organizations considered “communist dialectical process of research from the bottom fronts” at the height of the Cold War and up. You can love your country and think its McCarthyism. For his involvement with Martin people are exceptional while acknowledging Luther King, Jr. and campaign against the the myriad ways in which its national myth has Vietnam War, he was later added to the FBI’s been untrue and its government oppressive. Security Index as a high security risk. He could Indeed, Zinn said it best in a 2002 interview therefore be summarily arrested if a state of when he argued that “dissent is the highest emergency were declared. If I am not already form of patriotism.” on a similar list for being a bearded brown Thankfully, Hendren’s bill to ban Zinn’s man with a strange name, I suspect my writing works in Arkansas public schools failed to pass and political views might have now caught the the education committee. Yet the fact that digital probes of President Donald Trump’s banning Zinn’s works is even on the legislative administration’s National Security Agency or radar in Arkansas — a state among the highest the FBI. in poverty and teen birth rates and among the Supporting your government and everything lowest in higher education attainment in the it does or has ever done is not patriotic — it’s country — speaks volumes to the priorities of blind. Americans, no matter how marginalized, those in power.
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
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THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
Alumnus Q&A: novelist Henry Joseph Russell ’15 By BETTY KIM
The Dartmouth Staff
Henry Joseph Russell ’15 majored in English and religion while at Dartmouth. His recently published novel, “The Talisman Cock!,” is about two best friends attending boarding school, one of whom procures “Jesus Powers” that allow him to fashion the perfect life for himself. Though the book may seem silly, it is rooted in meaningful concepts such as religion, the Christ story, metaphysics and faith. Can you explain the origins of the novel? HR: I guess I was always interested in writing — I wrote all the way through high school, and it was linked with my experiences running, since to me that meant going out, thinking about stories and having a lot of time to myself. I wrote a ton about running; I read everything there was on running, and I was interested in the beats and sounds of the words. Related to the running, I was also really into music, especially folk singers and the storytelling they did. My freshman year of college, I was in creative writing classes during the winter. I was writing a lot of poetry and short stories. Additionally, I was on the track team, and there was an older girl on the team who I was infatuated with intellectually. She was very into the modernists, F. Scott Fitzgerald and other authors like that, and she opened up this whole new world of writing novels. As a result, I became infatuated with the idea of writing one myself. During my sophomore year, I told my parents I wanted to be an English major; I was determined to become a famous novelist. I took my off term junior winter and stayed at Dartmouth and said to myself that I was going to write a book. I had no idea what it was going to be. I planned to meet with professor Ernest Hebert, the former head of the creative writing department. To me, he was a shaman; he was old, and he had this mysterious spirit. He had a tattoo of a key on his hand, and when I asked him what it was, he said, “I just like keys because they open things.” He had this Ernest Hemingway vibe about him. I was infatuated with him, so I asked him if he would meet with me once a week to help me write the novel. I basically started writing this fantasy thing, like “Star Wars” except about running. It was terrible. I realized if I could do anything, I could just write; I probably wrote about 100 pages of
it, and after five weeks, I showed it to Hebert, and he said, “This sucks.” So I scrapped the whole thing — literally burned the pages — and I was distraught. I decided that I still needed to write this book, but now I only had four or five weeks left. As I was burning these pages, I realized I needed to write something in first person that was based on myself, so I conjured up some memories. At the time, I was reading John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” which is a boarding school coming-of-age story, so I thought, “I’m going to tackle that genre.” I went to boarding school outside of Boston, and I started plunging back into these memories; it was my story, which made it a lot easier to write. Things just started clicking, especially because there was something Hebert had said about a writer from Dartmouth named David Benioff, author of “The 25th Hour.” He had written the book by splitting up his personality into three parts and making those the three main characters, so I decided to try that. I split myself up into these two characters at boarding school, and the book just wrote itself. I probably wrote around 150 pages in four weeks. It was a lot of coffee and gummy bears in the stacks. When I showed it to Hebert, he said it was good but still needed a lot of work. It took me another two or three years to actually get it right. I was proud of myself, but if there’s anything I know about writing now, it’s that I can write the pages, and that’s the shell of it, but — to use a cheesy pun from a recent movie — you have to put the “Ghost in the Shell.” That is, you have to put the feeling of what you’re trying to say in it. It took me three years to get that right, but I published my novel this December. It was a lot of rewriting and a lot of thinking about who I was and what I wanted. But I finished it, and I love it now. How does this seemingly silly book deal with serious issues, like faith and metaphysics? HR: I’ve always been infatuated with the Bible’s stories. People at Dartmouth in the religion department were amazing. Even outside of the school, there was a guy affiliated with Christian Union who I did Bible studies with. I’m not Christian at all; I never went to church or anything, but I loved the stories and read so much of the Bible. I also met with the rabbi at the Habbad to get familiar with the Old Testament. All of “The Talisman Cock!” was a quest to understand Jesus; that was
important to me. Basically, with my experiences running and writing, I’ve always had an embarrassing messiah complex. I’ve always had a vision of myself creating a miracle or expressing love through the pages, all those clichés. But I think when I came to Dartmouth I was a lot like the main character who tells the story in “The Talisman Cock!,” David. He believes God wrote a destiny for him, and that all the things that happen in his life are a sign from God to win the Boston Marathon. I felt the same way about myself running here. But as I read the Christ stories, I became arrogant, and this other persona was born within me that wanted to create a miracle. This is where Johnny came from, a confident guru character. He’s an a--hole, but he’s brilliant and thinks he understands miracles and God. But he’s a 16-yearold kid in the novel, so naturally, the first miracle he creates is making his d--- big and getting good at hockey. The whole metaphysics thing gets complicated in that I’m still a young man, and I’m not that wise. I wasn’t wise when I was writing the novel. The book is about kids who are struggling with faith. They’re interested in the mysteries of life, who this guy Jesus was and what these stories mean.
How did you reconcile the deep themes of the novel with its humor? HR: The wisest thing I’ve ever done is putting a huge penis on the cover on the book. I remember the day that Hebert said, “If you want this book to be what it needs to be, you need to call it ‘The Talisman Cock!’ Put a big exclamation point on it.” I wasn’t going to take myself too seriously. I can’t even say how much I was inspired by J.K. Rowling and her forbearer Roald Dahl, both of whom were able to conjure this silliness that makes their work approachable. I totally wanted that. “The Talisman Cock!” is serious stuff; I consider it a rewriting of the Christ story. At the same time, there’s also guys roughhousing in the dorms and talking about their d----, silly high school stuff like that. I think humor is a powerful thing in that way. That being said, I was hugely affected by serious writers like Fitzgerald and Hemingway. But thank God for Rowling and Dahl, who taught me that you could be serious and respected and say big things, but be funny, enjoy the puns of language and even have a d--- on your book.
What was your experience studying at Dartmouth like? What advice would you give to students who are aspiring writers? HR: You have to write. Any writer will say that. During the time I quit my day job of construction work in December, I wrote a ton. Every day I got up, and I made those shells; I was practicing writing stories and putting words on the page. But I think the part about filling in the shell is that you have to live, have relationships, fail and get up. I think writers should think about their books as being love letters. This book was a huge love letter to my friends, especially at the high school I went to, and I named my two main characters after two teachers from high school. I also took my mom and dad’s love story and implanted it into the book because they were such important supporters to me. For that reason, I would say write every day, but be focused on the gratitude and your feelings, because that’s ultimately what got me to finish the book. It was just a shell for three years until I felt the love of it. It’s bittersweet to read the book now and see how much the people and those experiences meant to me. Your experience at Dartmouth is going to be a struggle; Dartmouth can be a tough and anti-spiritual place. There’s a ton of competition socially and intellectually. I was lucky that by my senior year I realized I wanted to be someone who wasn’t trying to get ahead, but instead just find the beauty in what was happening around me and get that down on paper. I am still not trying to find a great job or make all the money; for me, it’s about finding the beauty in the things that are important. This all sounds super cliched, but I couldn’t have finished the book without so many people. I really hope that people read the book and feel my gratitude, even if it has a big penis on it.
What’s it like working in construction while also working as a writer? HR: I said to myself that when I finished the book and published it, I was going to quit construction, sell the book and write another one. I thought “The Talisman Cock!” was going to be an immediate success, that I was going to sell a million copies. While I did sell a lot, it was not enough to have it be my career. But in these last couple months, I still tried not having a job; while I was able to write a lot, it felt listless. I
missed having the camaraderie of the job site and working toward something else. To be a writer, you need to be experiencing other things as well, and there’s no better place for stories than the workplace. I’m really excited to go back to working now. Maybe the next time, when I put out another book or something happens with this one, I’ll be more ready to write full time — or not. Alternatively, I might seek out some other adventure or some other job, but I think it’s good to be doing something else. I would hope that Dartmouth students know that you don’t need to have a “real job;” in college, I worked at a fish pier, and now I work construction. I love being outside. It’s fun for me. It’s release and meditation. As someone who tried being a pure writer for three months, I’m happy to be going back and hammering some nails. Do you have any future projects coming up? HR: I’ve been doing a ton of writing and work on new projects. One is a book that takes place at Dartmouth; it’s a fraternity story and sort of a mystery. It has the same plot as “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” and involves a version of me and my best friend going on some wild adventures at Dartmouth. It’s silly but also spiritually true, but it takes the silliness of “The Talisman Cock!” to a different level. The other is a shorter book called, “The Red Fox.” This has really been my heart and soul for the past few months. It takes place in this dream reality where people have animal faces, and the main character’s a red fox, and his best friend is a muskrat. It’s a short book, maybe 20,000 words long, and it’s a spiritual parable. It’s about a man in his thirties who, after his father passes away, goes on this all-night odyssey around his seaside town. He sees old friends, his old boss, his ex-girlfriend and his widowed mother. He sort of lives his whole life in a night. At one point, he meets his maker; he goes into the church and convenes with Christ. It’s a parable about life, and it’s powerful to me. That feels like a real love letter to everything in my life, all the people. I’m really excited to put them out. I think they’re very interesting projects, and they will show different sides of me. I’ve been pushing myself to write in different ways, do what appeals to me, read as much as I can and experience other art. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.