The Dartmouth 5/16/17

VOL. CLXXIV NO.82

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2017

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

APAHM highlights identity and home

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By EMMA DEMERS

The Dartmouth Staff

EMMA DEMERS/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

OPINION

SOLOMON: ROOTED IN PAGE 4

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Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour spoke to an audience of about 80 on Friday.

This month, as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, an annual celebration of the panAsian community, the College saw several events, including a keynote address from Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour and an upcoming fashion show.

Coordinated through the Office of Pluralism and Leadership, the APAHM planning committee consists of three subcommittees: programming, marketing and finance, in addition to a general group of volunteers. The

committee is comprised of 17 students, according to assistant dean and Pan-Asian student advisor Shiella Cervantes who oversees the committee.

“My job is really to be there and help to guide the theme creation and help students go through the process,” she said. “All of the creation and events [are] really student-developed.”

The programming committee constructed each APAHM event around the theme “Navigating Home.” Members wanted to SEE APAHM PAGE 3

Rachel Muir ’20 receives civic service fellowship

By ANTHONY ROBLES The Dartmouth Staff

For Rachel Muir ’20, her path to Dartmouth has been anything but conventional. Because of her mother’s struggles with drug addiction during Muir’s childhood, which involved instances of abuse, poverty and malnutrition, she was placed in foster care when she was 13 and was adopted two and a half years later.

I n h e r f i r s t ye a r a t Dartmouth, however, Muir was awarded a 2017 Newman Civic Fellowship by Campus Compact, a national coalition of over 1,000 colleges and universities committed to civic and community engagement.

Fellows are nominated by college and university presidents for their commitment to public leadership.

“I was really confused,” Muir said. “I had no idea why

Seminar program focuses on wisdom

By PAULOMI RAO

The Dartmouth Staff

As an undergraduate student at Dartmouth and later at the Geisel School of Medicine, Daniel Lucey ’77 Med’81 wished he had had an environment in which he could learn from his peers, mentors and professors. As an alumnus, he helped found the Wisdom University Seminars to ensure that faculty and students can learn from those who came

before them.

Last week, 20 undergraduate students participated in a discussion dinner with Lucey and Geisel professor Joseph O’Donnell as part of this new seminar program sponsored by Provost Carolyn Dever.

Usually meant for faculty, the dinner allowed undergraduate students to participate in a panel SEE SEMINARS PAGE 5

I was getting this, and I initially thought it was a scam. When I heard more about it, and I talked to people in the Dartmouth Center for Service, I was like, ‘Oh, this seems really cool.’”

The yearlong fellowship will connect Muir with other college students around the nation who are committed to community service, and allow her to connect with older professionals in the SEE SERVICE PAGE 2

COURTESY OF ROBERT GILL

Rachel Muir ’20 won a 2017 Newman Civic Fellowship.

Q&A with admissions officer Jamie Mercado ’15

By SUNPREET SINGH The Dartmouth Staff

From majoring in philosophy on campus, playing club ice hockey to working in the admissions office after graduating, Jamie Mercado ’15 has had her fair share of experiences at Dartmouth. Mercado graduated from the College in 2015 with a degree in philosophy and African and African American studies. She currently works as an assistant director of admissions

for the College and has strong interests in education, social justice and college access.

What made you want to go into admissions? Was it related at all to your experiences at Dartmouth?

JM: I remember when I first came to work in admissions, they sent me to a conference for new admissions officers, and there they asked why we wanted to SEE Q&A PAGE 2

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

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TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2017

Admissions officer Jamie Mercado ’15 discusses higher education FROM Q&A PAGE 1

work for admissions, and everyone had these admissions-specific answers and I really didn’t have one. I was the outreach coordinator of the First-Year Trips program for 2015, and I had to be in Hanover until September. At the time, I had been thinking about doing education largely because of my work with [Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth] and some of my work with admissions. I was thinking, “Do I want to teach? I don’t really know.”

I had looked at a lot of outdoor stuff because I liked a lot of the work that I did with the Outing Club, but when I worked with SEAD, I didn’t know if I wanted to do that in a classroom.

When I was interning at SEAD, I knew I liked working with kids, but I didn’t think I could survive in an environment with that little support.

I didn’t apply for anything related to teaching, and I was doing Trips and I was thinking, “What can I do that is involved with students but will also make sure I am in Hanover until the middle of September?” I then thought that I could work in admissions.

What do you do for your job?

JM: One of the things I thought was super cool about Dartmouth in particular is that we are given more responsibility than your average entry level admissions position. We were fully fledged admissions officers even though we had just graduated. A former colleague of mine described the experience to me as the D-Plan

for adults. In the fall, you get to travel around to different states and countries to visit different schools and organizations to give information sessions, and then you come back in the winter and it’s freezing and you hide. In the winter, I am reading applications in my house in my onesie and snacking on Goldfish. The spring is all about convincing everyone that we admitted to come to Dartmouth.

In the summer, we do our special projects, so we run Dartmouth Bound, which brings students that are underrepresented at Dartmouth to the College to learn about the college application process, and then we do it all over again.

My first year I traveled to Connecticut, upstate New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Then this past year they switched things around, and I still went to Connecticut, but then to Rhode Island and then the Midwest, which was really cool because I hadn’t spent a lot of time in the Midwest, so I got to go to Minnesota, Michigan and Kansas. The travel to the Midwest was my favorite part of admissions because you get to go to different places and a big part of why I wanted to work in admissions is that I wanted to work with students and sit down with them and provide them with information about Dartmouth so they have an easier time in the process. A big part of why I do admissions is not just for me to work with students but because college access is very important to me. My dad was the

first in his family to graduate both from college and from high school, and my mom is a Dartmouth alumna.

On one hand, I had my whole mom’s side of the family who said, “Duh you’re going to Dartmouth,” and then my dad said that college is such an incredible opportunity, and it was awesome that that was an opportunity for me.

What are some things you take into account when reading an application?

JM: I think that’s funny because the word “holistic” is turned around a lot in the world of admissions. When I was applying to colleges, I don’t think I knew what that word meant exactly, but it means that admissions officers look at everything — it’s not just test scores and GPA. I struggle to find a genuine, non-admissions way to say this, but when I read an application, I am really trying to understand the person. I use a Harry Potter metaphor with the Pensieve where he has to go inside, and he drops into somebody else’s life and sees what that looks like.

When I read an application, that’s my goal, I’m trying to drop into their Pensieve and try to understand what their life looks like and who they are, and ultimately if I were to take them out of their life and plop them down into Dartmouth, what would that look like and how would they contribute to Dartmouth?

A huge part of the process is managing your own biases. For example, I play hockey and I love

hockey players, so when I see someone who plays hockey, I am really excited and have to put that aside and read their application for what it is. We’re looking for critical thinkers and everyone has to be academically qualified and everyone has to be engaged in some way — not just intellectually but also in the community in whatever way that looks like. One of the things that surprised me going in to admissions was when I was on First-Year Trips.

I read Trips applications, and a lot of that process was looking for things that were red flags and reasons not to accept someone whereas in admissions, because of the number of people who apply per spot, there are inevitably way more people who are qualified than there are spots in the first-year class. So when we are reading applications, it’s not that most people are doing things wrong because most people are doing a lot of things right. There is a lot more thought that goes into it rather than just saying this person is doing x, y and z. It is cool to understand how we go from so many applications to our freshman class.

What advice do you offer for incoming students, and how is that affected by your experience as a student and an admissions officer?

JM: I try not to give people advice on things unless they ask me specifically.

I don’t want to give people forceful advice because I’m not wise. It’s really

important to remember at Dartmouth that you’re there to take up space, and I hope that people remember that they’re not sort of here by mistake and there’s not a cliche reason they’re here. You are at Dartmouth because you have something to contribute, and it’s really important to remember that.

I remember when I was traveling in Minnesota this fall, my flight got in at 10 a.m., and I didn’t have anything to do until 7 that night, so I went into Minneapolis and found a pickup frisbee game. I wouldn’t have done that before coming to Dartmouth because I couldn’t throw a frisbee until my sophomore summer. And I was playing and was actually contributing to the game of frisbee, which I don’t usually do, and then I had this moment where I realized it was because at Dartmouth, people are really good at frisbee. It depends on where you come from, and some people come from schools that have really prepared them to be in an environment like Dartmouth and I didn’t. I went to a public school, and I came to Dartmouth and was like, “Everyone is smart and good at everything, and I am not.” It is important to remember as a student, especially when you first get here, that you do bring important things to the table and that just because you are surrounded by people who are also good at a lot of things doesn’t mean that you don’t also have something you’re really good at.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Rachel Muir ’20 recognized for community service efforts FROM SERVICE PAGE 1

field through web seminars and conferences. She will also receive a community mentor to guide her though her service work.

In an email statement, associate director of academic and service engagement at the Dartmouth Center for Service Ashley Doolittle wrote that the DCS coordinates the Campus Compact awards in conjunction with the President’s Office. Campus Compact offers both this undergraduate fellowship and a faculty award. DCS reviewed various undergraduates to find a student who epitomized the ethos of both public problem-solving and community-centered engagement.

“Muir’s roles with [Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth] and the Dartmouth Action Collective, alongside her rigorous coursework and devotion to equity across myriad

dimensions, made her a clear choice,” Doolittle wrote.

Muir’s first experience at the College came in 2013, when she attended SEAD as a rising high school sophomore. The fouryear program brings promising high school students from underresourced background to campus each summer for programs to help them succeed in high school and college.

During her time in high school, Muir was first exposed to the world of community service through her involvement with Key Club, which helps students perform local community service, and Amnesty International, which focuses on human rights.

“I’ve always been very interested in giving back, especially to the community and services that helped me when I was younger, but I am also interested in instances of systematic

CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.

and institutional oppression and divisive lines of privilege, gender, helping marginalized populations,” race and culture.

Muir said. “I think a lot of my Director of FYSEP Jay Davis ’90 service work meets first met Muir at the intersection “I’ve always been when she was of those two interests 1 5 , h av i n g very interested in and commitments.” just applied to On campus, Muir giving back, especially be a member is heavily involved to the community o f S E A D. in a variety of Davis, who at community service and services that the time was o r g a n i z a t i o n s . helped me when I the director She participated o f S E A D, was younger, but I in the First-Year said that Student Enrichment am also interested Muir stood Prog r a m, which in instances of out among all supports firstof the SEAD generation students, systematic and applicants and continues with institutional who had ever her involvement in applied. oppression and SEAD, where she “One will also be working helping marginalized thing that this summer. She populations.” stuck with also works for the me from her Office of Pluralism a p p l i c at i o n and Leadership as a -RACHEL MUIR ’20 was that she campus ambassador had saved up and is a member of money for two the Dartmouth Action Collective, a years, having lived in three different student organization that works to foster homes,” Davis said. “She promote dialogue across frequently had saved up money for two years

to be able to buy herself a violin as an eighth grader. I just remember thinking ‘There’s a set of values here that I really respect in an eighth grader, and there’s an interesting story here.’”

Davis will serve as Muir’s mentor over the course of her fellowship and said that she was a “delight” when he first met her and that she remains one now.

“She combines fierce commitment to social justice issues with deep levels of compassion for individuals around her,” Davis said. “Her ability to care deeply about forest-level issues while also devoting herself as keenly to the needs of the trees around her is pretty impressive.”

Heading into the future, Muir sees herself staying committed to service and social change and plans to work with non-profit organizations.

“I am really interested in social and education poverty, both of which have a lot to do with civil service, to try and improve the fields of education and social welfare for the underprivileged sections of the U.S. demographics,” Muir said.

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2017

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

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APAHM events focus on theme of ‘navigating home’ FROM APAHM PAGE 1

choose a theme that would be accessible for all students while also celebrating Pan-Asian history and achievements.

“We were all asked what it meant to be an American Asian,” programming committee member Rebecca Luo ’20 said. “A resounding theme was trying to find a balance between being Asian, being American — some students are international, some were born here — and trying to find home in all of this chaos.”

Marketing committee member Ezekiella Carlos ’19 echoed the sentiment.

“I think that the story is something everyone can relate to,” Carlos said.

Carlos added that the theme of deciphering what home means is not Asian-specific or confined to the Asian student body, which she hopes will attract a more diverse array of students to the events.

According to programming committee member Ashlynn Enriquez ’19, this year’s APAHM preparation began mid-January, when the planning committee began reaching out to speakers and performers, planning events and applying for Special Programs and Events Committee funding.

The APAHM planning committee

has garnered more student interest well as about eight protestors.

Members of Dartmouth Students over the years, which has resulted in more funding from SPEC, Cervantes for Israel protested Sarsour’s event by holding posters and Israeli flags said.

The five main events hosted by outside of Dartmouth Hall and the APAHM committee include the distributing fliers that called Sarsour kickoff, an art panel in collaboration a “fake feminist and [Boycott, Divest, Sanctions with PRIDE week movement] followed by a zine advocate.” workshop, a keynote “A resounding theme “ U s speech from Sarsour, was trying to find being out a fashion show and a here today gala. The first three a balance between in front of events have already being Asian, being occurred, but the American ... and trying Dartmouth Hall sends fashion show will be a strong held this Wednesday to find home in all of message and the gala will this chaos. to the be held in Rauner Dartmouth Special Collections community Library on May 27.

-REBECCA LUO ’20, that we stand Other events, such APAHM PROGRAMMING strongly as the Night Market u n i t e d last Saturday, are COMMITTEE MEMBER against antihosted by groups Semitism,” such as Dartmouth Asian Organization, Dartmouth DSI member Joshua Kauderer ’19 Japan Society and the Dartmouth said.

“DSI is very upset,” anthropology Taiwanese Association and will also occur throughout the rest of the and Native American studies professor Sergei Kan said, citing Sarsour’s month.

Friday’s keynote address by Sarsour, activism and outspoken support of a Palestinian-American political activist Palestine, in addition to her being who has been a target of accusations invited for an APAHM event despite of anti-Semitism, drew an audience her non-Asian heritage.

During the event, the protestors of about 80 students and faculty, as

stood in the back of the room holding flags and asked her several questions relating to her position regarding BDS during the subsequent question and answer session.

According to Enriquez, Sarsour was invited because of her involvement in political activism and the Women’s March — committee members hoped her perspective on being oppressed as a racial minority would resonate with various groups on campus.

“She’s not the usual Asian that everyone thinks about,” Enriquez said.

“I feel like her coming here would help address different issues and will be open to different types of people and won’t make it look like APAHM is being exclusive.”

During her lecture, Sarsour spoke about the 2016 election and her role in planning the Women’s March on Washington, among other topics.

“When I think of home, I think of a place where you feel safe. Home is a place where I feel dignified and respected,” she said in her introduction. “For me, my mission is to create a country where all people can call it home regardless of what it is that we believe.”

Simone Schmid ’17, who attended the event, called Sarsour’s talk “very powerful” and “validating.” She said that she was inspired by the Women’s March and Sarsour’s role in leading

the protest.

“Seeing the Women’s March and seeing her being so influential in that, I had to be present to hear what she had to say [in her keynote address],” Schmid said. “I totally see her as a role model.”

Schmid added that she believed the protestors had a right to speak and was glad they were addressed.

Carlos said she is looking forward to the many upcoming events, in particular the fashion show, because of the involvement and greater visibility of the Filipino community.

“The Filipino community is very, very small — we’re not a student organization,” she said. “But I think we’re a strong community, and this is one event where we can be visible to the greater community.”

Volunteer Makisa Bronson ’20 said she looks forward to the increased visibility of all Asian, Asian American and Pacific members of campus, teaching them about their culture and identity.

“We definitely encourage other students to come, not just Asian students, because we want to be inclusive as possible,” Enriquez said.

“APAHM is about spreading the Asian Pacific Islander experience at Dartmouth, and it would be nice if not just Asian students attended the events.”

STAFF COLUMNIST IOANA SOLOMON ’19

STAFF COLUMNIST STEVEN CHUN ’19

Rooted In

Bias is Mathematically Certain

Dartmouth’s strong community may also have a damaging influence.

When I leave Streeter Hall every morning, I am usually too distracted to notice my surroundings, but last weekend I felt unsettled after registering that my daily route is adjacent to a cemetery. There is nothing particularly odd about the cemetery itself, but its integration into campus feels unusual.

What bothered me about the cemetery was not that it was there, that it lacked a border or the feeling of encroachment on a spiritual space, but rather what its vicinity symbolized about Dartmouth.

Dartmouth plants its roots in us. This culture and microcosm we inhabit draws us in for the rest of our lives. Alumni buy homes around the campus to stay within reach. Some return as mentors, professors and parents. Some, going back centuries, have even been buried here. That kind of intimate connection is striking — it is a sign that for many, Dartmouth is home.

Dartmouth prides itself on its traditions and its loyal community. They are aspects we promote. We tell prospective students that our distinct culture will create a home for them, that they will never forget the bonds they made here and the memories they shared.

There are also countless criticisms of this mentality, claims that Dartmouth is elitist, exclusive or unhealthy. This mentality forces a universal devotion that stifles the voice of anyone who is unhappy at Dartmouth, who refuses to pretend otherwise and who wants to publicly voice concern.

Dartmouth does something far more damaging and far more consequential over the long term. It isolates us, detaches us from the people and the world around us and distances us from our own roots. This goes beyond geography and scheduling. It goes beyond the inside jokes, jargon and mannerisms our friends and family do not understand.

Overwhelmingly rich and white, arrogant and elitist, “special” and exclusive, we have created the kind of culture that is acutely toxic to those on the outside but incredibly rewarding — socially and professionally — to those inside. As a result, those of us who do not come from privileged backgrounds

might feel tempted to leave the non-white, non-rich elements of our own histories behind in search for a sense of belonging.

For many first-generation, minority or financially disadvantaged students, the education received here will create distance between them and their loved ones at home.

It will make it more difficult to communicate as intimately and to have the same feeling of understanding. But the culture of the institution itself will only widen that gap.

The pressure to conform, to belong and to plant roots in this place can force students to assimilate into a culture that is not theirs.

Dartmouth’s superiority complex, as well as its racially and socioeconomically homogenous elitism, is damaging for everyone. However, it is far more detrimental for the outsiders — those who feel the need to forget or hide their identities — to be included. In this unanimous bubble of pride and happiness, we have created an obligation to blend in, to partake in to find fulfillment.

Once we leave, many of us will feel uncomfortable in the real world. Whether alone, alienated or lethargic, we may feel a nostalgic desire to return to our more familiar surroundings, to where we felt nurtured, to where we had a buddy for every meal and to where beer pong and fraternity music were sufficient distractions. The “Lone Pine” may begin to have an entirely different meaning.

I do not think I will want to buy a house here or be buried near campus, but I can still acknowledge the magnetic pull Dartmouth will have on me throughout my life. The culture we embrace here can build friendships and memories, and it can make our experience more rewarding. But those benefits come at a cost. Our development here and our choice to root in can distance us from the outside world. It can make us forget who we are and where we came from, and it can turn us into people we did not want to become. We can enjoy Dartmouth, remember our time here and always treasure the granite in our hearts. But to avoid getting lost, we need to keep an eye on ourselves and make sure that we can carry who we are and what we have on this campus on the outside.

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ISSUE

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2017

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

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NEWS EDITOR: Sungil Ahn, NEWS LAYOUT: Jasmine Mai

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.

Investigations into algorithmic bias reveal humanity’s own flaws.

When you hear about algorithms — like the one Facebook uses to construct your personal newsfeed or the one Google is finetuning to fight the spread of fake news — it’s likely that you’re hearing about predictive analytics. An algorithm is just a series of instructions: Multiply the two, carry the three or go to class at these three times every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Predictive analytics, as the name might imply, are algorithms meant to collect and use data to generate a prediction about an outcome that cannot be definitively known until the event occurs. Based on what you know, is a given person going to make it to class? If it’s Green Key Friday, then that probability might go down.

By human standards, algorithms are incredible at what they do. Researchers at Stanford University trained a deep convolutional neural network to identify the most common and the most lethal skin cancers with the same or better accuracy than 21 board-certified dermatologists. Algorithms have been incredibly accomplished at everything from predicting Supreme Court outcomes to car collisions. We now know more about the future than at any point in history.

But recently, algorithms have been accused of bias. That’s a complicated accusation to make. One contention is that their authors are predominantly male and that more generally human programmers beget human bias. This is a valid concern, but one that is minimized because programmers rarely ever make value judgments. Rather, the decisions that would usually present opportunities for bias to creep in are instead informed by massive datasets of historical, real-world data. But this contention misses a far more worrisome discovery: When it comes to predicting the future, it is mathematically impossible to avoid bias — that goes for humans and computers. How three Cornell University and Harvard University researchers came to that conclusion is the story of America’s prison system, three different definitions of fairness and a lot of math.

Let’s start from the beginning. Courts and parole boards use an algorithm called Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions, or COMPAS, to determine recidivism risk. The algorithm uses 137 questions, ranging from criminal and family history to drug use. It doesn’t use race or geography as a consideration.

Yet, a report and accompanying statistical analysis from the public interest journalism site ProPublica found evidence of racial bias in COMPAS. The rate of false-positives — individuals the system believed had a high risk of recidivism but who did not reoffend for a two-year period — for black defendants was nearly twice that of white defendants.

Furthermore, the rate of false-negatives — individuals rated as low risk who went on to reoffend within two years — for white defendants was almost twice that of black defendants. Northpointe, the company that owns and sells COMPAS, debated the claim.

It demonstrated that COMPAS risk ratings were equally accurate for both blacks and whites. For example, roughly 60 percent of whites with a score of seven and 60 percent of blacks with a score of seven reoffended.

So what gives? How can this algorithm be biased and unbiased at the same time?

The question intrigued Cornell computer scientists Jon Kleinberg and Sendhil Mullainathan and Harvard economics professor Manish Raghavan. They realized that ProPublica and Northpointe were defining “fair” differently. In the resulting paper, they outlined three general conditions of fairness for risk assessment. First, the assessment should be well-calibrated; in short, if it says there’s a 40 percent chance of an event happening, then it should happen roughly 40 percent of the time. Second, false positives — in the case of COMPAS, low scorers who would go on to reoffend — would be identified at the same rate across groups.

Third, false negatives — high scorers who didn’t reoffend — would be identified at the same rate across groups.

ProPublica highlighted failures of the second and third conditions. Northpointe responded by showing how COMPAS met the first condition. They were both right. The researchers proved that given two groups with differing average rates of positive instances, any assessment of the risk would fail at least one of the conditions. There is no way for prediction to be fair in every sense. The authors provided an example. If a disease existed that impacted women more frequently than men, “any test designed to estimate the probability that someone is a carrier” would have an undesirable property based on the three conditions they outlined. Either “the test’s probability estimates are systematically skewed upward or downward for at least one gender,” “the test assigns a higher average risk estimate to healthy people (non-carriers) in one gender than the other” or “the test assigns a higher average risk estimate to carriers of the disease in one gender than the other.”

This proof isn’t constrained to computer programs. It holds for anything or anyone trying to make a prediction of risk. Humans make decisions and predictions through complicated biological algorithms. Our dataset is some subset of our knowledge and experiences. Yet even the most level-headed, reasonable person can’t make a prediction without having to choose between being accurate and being biased.

This realization is quite bleak, but it also seems fundamentally human. Since antiquity, we have tried to make better, fairer decisions only to come to the realization that we’ll never be perfect. The human condition is dogged by a never-ending series of tradeoffs. But equally human is the desire to relentlessly improve in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. So regardless of the decision maker, the question of bias and fairness is far murkier and more complex than anyone anticipated.

Over-simplification is anathema to progress.

It’s not quite that humans or algorithms are biased — the very act of prediction is biased.

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TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2017

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Seminar programs aims to connect faculty across departments FROM SEMINARS PAGE 1

structured the same way as the Wisdom University Seminars for faculty. Due to the success of the discussion, Lucey and O’Donnell hope to arrange further followup discussions with pre-health undergraduates in summer and fall of 2017.

In 2013, Lucey initially reached out to faculty, classmates and O’Donnell, his former professor, to discuss the creation of a seminar focused on wisdom. His inspiration to create the seminars was catalyzed by listening to College President Phil Hanlon’s inaugural speech in 2013, in which Hanlon emphasized the role of wisdom in a Dartmouth education.

The first seminar was a panel for a senior class reunion. English professor Donald Pease worked with visiting professor Kenneth Sharpe to find a way to turn the contents of the panel into a full-fledged course, called “Doing the Right Thing,” for graduate students on practical wisdom. Following the success of the course in the Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies graduate program, Sharpe taught the course again in winter 2016.

After teaching the course, Sharpe created the Wisdom University

Seminars to address the importance of wisdom discussed in the class in a more accessible manner.

Initially, the seminar targeted College faculty in order to help them recognize the importance of the wisdom initiative and communicate its significance to other faculty and administrators, particularly at the Thayer School of Engineering and Tuck School of Business.

“We are hoping to bring together people from different departments who wouldn’t normally talk to each other on a subject of mutual interest,” Sharpe said.

The seminar series has offered four dinner discussions so far, each with 15 to 25 faculty and facilitators in attendance. While faculty from a variety of departments have participated, most of them were affiliated with Geisel.

“I think the need to exercise judgment in complicated situations and the need to do the right thing, when there is really no clear rule to make a choice, really resonates with what doctors face with patients,” Sharpe said.

In the coming months, Sharpe hopes to reach out to various humanities departments to integrate issues of ethics and wisdom into the medical curriculum.

“You can make doctors much

more sensitive to understanding the perspectives of other people,” Sharpe said. He added that teaching doctors empathy can help them care for patients throughout their diagnosis and treatment.

Currently, efforts inside Geisel have already begun to teach wisdom through stories and experiences in classes.

The only way to learn how to exercise that kind of judgment is through actual practice, and part of that practice is getting people to step back and reflect, Sharpe said.

The process of continual reflection is actually what teaches people how to practice better, he added.

“I think this is a time in the world where we can all use a lot more wisdom, so if we can build that into the undergraduate level, you all would be better prepared when you go off into the world,” Pease said.

Pease also noted that regardless of career path ambitions or academic disciplines, any kind of learning or life activity is going to “demand” the exercise of tough judgment in tough situations where there are no formal rules.

In total, the seminar organizers have collected 33 stories from Geisel students who graduated or will graduate from 1955 and on. Last

month, organizers collected stories “The goal is to get people to from current fourth-year Geisel understand how to do the right students to give to second-year thing and the right time for the right students in a transitional ceremony. people,” O’Donnell said. “When Each seminar starts as a you get to my stage of my career facilitated conversation and then is and look back, you think about all opened for discussion among faculty. the things you wish people helped “ We a r e yo u w i t h o r t r y i n g t o b e “I think this is a time mentored you inclusive,” or you had in the world where we with Lucey said. time to reflect “There is no can all use a lot more about.” set answer of wisdom, so if we can what wisdom U l t i m a t e l y, t r a d i t i o n s build that into the O’Donnell we should be undergraduate level, hopes that the following.” to reflect you all would be better ability S h a r p e on wisdom will said he hopes prepared when you go help those in to develop an off into the world.” the Dartmouth undergraduate community course that b e c o m e m o d e l s t h e -JOSEPH O’DONNELL, w i s e r, m o r e Master of compassionate GEISEL SCHOOL OF Liberal Arts a n d p rov i d e course or work MEDICINE PROFESSOR them with the with Lucey tools to have to develop an the difficult institute that is dedicated to the conversations found in everyday initiatives of the wisdom project. contexts.

According to O’Donnell, one “A lot of it is about creating of the best parts of the seminar space for reflection, conversation, series are the relationships that have group work and mentoring and all been developed among faculty who of this is really the subject of the otherwise might have never gotten seminars — to encourage wisdom to know each other. in the environment,” Lucey said.

THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS

PAGE 6

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2017

DARTMOUTHEVENTS TODAY

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Lecture: “Making LatinX Art: Markets and The Profitable Vagueness of LatinX and Latin American Art,” with New York University professor Arlene Dávila, Carpenter Hall 13

4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Lecture: “European Mathematicians in 1920s America,” with University of Virginia professor Karen Parshall, Carson Hall 60

4:45 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Lecture: “Ezili’s Waters,” with University of Texas professor Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley, Rockefeller Center 001

TOMORROW

4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Presentation: “Men in Dresses, Athletic Heroism and Aesthetic Presentation,” with Kendall Christensen ’19, Current Periodicals Room, Baker Library

5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Lecture: “Will Marine Spatial Planning Save the Oceans?” with Bates College professor Áslaug Ágeirsdóttir, Fairchild 101

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Lecture: “A Hero’s Story,” with Israel Defence Forces Cmdr. Izzy Ezagui, Haldeman Center 028 RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Latvian capital 5 Sites for vows 11 Blues great __ Mahal 14 Turow book set at Harvard 15 __ pork: Chinese dish with pancakes 16 Yellowfin tuna 17 Two-time Emmy winner for “30 Rock” 19 Bart, to Homer 20 Vixen teammate 21 ’80s Indiana senator Quayle 22 Underworld river 23 Dug up dandelions, say 25 Like some bank accounts 27 Doles (out) 29 Place for bottom feeders 32 Red gemstone 35 Walked (on) 37 Avoid capture by 38 Artist Yoko 39 San Francisco neighborhood 41 Poorly lit 42 The South 44 Boo Boo’s pal 45 Analogy words 46 Squirreled away 48 Records for later watching 50 Castro of Cuba 52 Electric cars named for a physicist 55 Sports officials 57 Chinese chairman 59 Monopoly square with a question mark 61 Former White House Press Secretary Fleischer 62 Unofficial means of communication, and a hint to each set of circled letters 64 Attack, to Fido 65 Five Nations tribe 66 Tennis drop shot 67 Text giggle 68 Most weird 69 Catches sight of

DOWN 1 “Rocky __ to Dublin”: Irish tune 2 Kin by marriage 3 Sixth-day-ofChristmas gift 4 Lead-to-gold pseudoscience 5 Almond-flavored liqueur 6 Tweeter’s titter 7 Broadway barber Sweeney __ 8 Dam on the Nile 9 Safari herbivores 10 Word with screen or block 11 Umami detectors 12 Nautical cry 13 Bring bad luck 18 George Eliot’s “Adam __” 22 Navy commando 24 Annual Kentucky event 26 Intuit 28 Really sexy 30 Clean up Time?

31 Trade show model 32 Anglers’ gear 33 Textbook division

34 Where to pick up “will call” tickets 36 Entry in a sudoku square 39 “All You __ Is Love” 40 Online customer service option 43 Eye part 45 Cruise stops 47 Insist on 49 Labor Dept. arm 51 Tied, as skates

53 “Tomorrow” musical 54 Movie trailer segment 55 Itchy red area 56 Buffalo’s Great Lake 58 Sooner migrant 60 Part of BPOE 62 Ghostly greeting 63 Fixed-term investments, briefly

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

ADVERTISING

xwordeditor@aol.com

05/16/17

For advertising information, please call (603) 646-2600 or email info@thedartmouth. com. The advertising deadline is noon, two days before publication. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement.

Opinions expressed in advertisements do not necessarily reflect those of The Dartmouth, Inc. or its officers, employees and agents.

The Dartmouth, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation chartered in the state of New Hampshire. USPS 148-540 ISSN 0199-9931

By Debbie Ellerin ©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

05/16/17

THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2017

PAGE 7

New York Theater Workshop collaboration celebrates 25 years

By ZACH CHERIAN

The Dartmouth Staff

The world-renowned production company New York Theater Workshop commemorated its quarter-century-long relationship with Dartmouth College at its annual spring gala last night at the Edison Ballroom in New York City.

The ceremony was co-hosted by Rachel Dratch ’88 and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

Every summer, Dartmouth hosts the NYTW’s artists, directors and staff on campus for a three-week intensive residency. This residency forms the third segment of Theater 65, “New Plays in Performance,” a course offered to students during the summer term.

James Nicola, the artistic director of the NYTW, explained that the organization was a s y n t h e s i s o f t wo i m p o r t a n t elements in the theater world, functioning as both a performance space and an experimental space.

The experimental component functions by providing artists with opportunities to workshop ideas without forced or unhelpful artistic directions early in the creative process. Nicola noted the importance of having a space where artists could try new ideas out and collaborate without being judged.

“What I noticed when I got [to New York] was that it was almost impossible to do that in New York,” Nicola said. “The literary manager would be in the room for a reading and have an opinion about something that was still very much a process. So we thought, wouldn’t it be great to take people away from the city and put some distance between the opinion makers and the artists’ process.”

Nicola credits Esther Cohen ’79, an alumna who worked at NYTW, with initiating the link between the two institutions. The partnership formed in 1991 and shows no signs of stopping after positive results continue for both the theater department and the NYTW. On the Dartmouth side of the operation, the New York Theater Workshop’s residency represents a precious, rare opportunity for students, according to professor Jamie Horton, who currently leads Theater 65.

“The goal over the entire summer is to give them an experiential, time-intensive course designed to expose them to the creation of new work for the theater, and so they really by the time the summer’s over [have] had more exposure to the creation of new plays than I had in the first five years of my professional career,” Horton said.

The course starts off with

VoxFest, a festival that alumni theater artists participate in, and then focuses on the Frost and Dodd winners’ plays that year, according to Horton. In the final three weeks of the course, Horton introduces the students to the NYTW residency.

Dartmouth students are involved in every step of the multifaceted process, Horton said.

“Each week they’re bringing two distinguished projects to Dartmouth, and our students work on those projects as active observers, and then depending on the nature of the projects, they can sometimes be involved with them as actors, reading stage directions, they could be assistant stage managers, assistants to the directors, to the writers, and so on and so forth,” Horton said.

Sid Mehra ’18, a participant during the 2016 summer term, recounted an overwhelmingly positive experience working with the NYTW. “It was some of the best times of my life so far,” Mehra said. “I don’t think I’ve really had any sort of exposure to that sort of making of theater for such a sustained period of time.”

Mehra noted that it was a very immersive course, necessitated by the quantity of theater he and his classmates were involved in each week. Mehra estimated a weekly involvement between 20 and 30 hours.

“The learning curve was really sharp, because you were working on stuff that was really volatile, and a lot of people had poured in very intricate and vulnerable personal stories into their work,” Mehra said.

Mehra was particularly impressed by the quality of the actors and actresses who came from the NYTW to Dartmouth.

“The artists who came through were of the highest possible caliber in the American theater circuit and even the international theater circuit,” Mehra said.

Mehra noted that the group tended to be composed of students who had extensive theater experience and were very involved with productions on campus, due to the courses advertised intense curriculum and an interview process. Horton added that he teaches somewhere between 10 and 15 students each year.

He also detailed the value students reap from access to the NYTW’s famous critique method, the Liz Lerman critical response process.

“Theater 65 is a part of all of the feedback sessions, where they see a professional feedback session in process, a very particular process, that the NYTW uses in responding

to the work that’s created here,” Horton said.

Dartmouth students are not the only beneficiaries of the NYTW’s residency each summer.

Notwithstanding the primary benefit of workshopping plays and performance pieces, there are numerous advantages to moving to Hanover for three weeks according to Nicola.

“What we’ve discovered over time is in fact that maybe even more powerful and important to them is being removed from the day-to-day life and circumstances of New York,” Nicola said.

To maximize the restful part of the residency, Nicola explained that participants make sure to spend time in the Upper Valley each week, setting aside an entire day of each week to be out in nature.

Nicola recounted a time when he and his colleagues were canoeing out by the Connecticut River and saw how the peaceful environment actually was conducive to creativity and collaboration between the guest artists.

“I couldn’t hear them because they were out in the middle of the river, but they were in this intense conversation and I realized this was exactly what we should be doing here: Building a place for the artists who oftentimes in New York are competitors, to remember that they’re actually colleagues and collaborators, and to remind them they can’t be entrepreneurs — with freelance opportunities in New York — if they aren’t artists first,” Nicola said.

Wo rk i n g w i t h D a r t m o u t h students in the room also ends up being helpful for the artists’ creative process, Nicola said. Since students are encouraged to ask questions, the artists are prompted to think aloud and reiterate why they make certain creative decisions, Nicola said.

“We say at the beginning of every session there that there’s no failure possible at Dartmouth, because that’s what it’s about,” Nicola said. “The only failure that’s possible is if you don’t leave having made a new potential collaboration. We have never had that kind of failure.”

Over the span of 25 years, the nature of the NYTW residency’s structure has changed. Nicola explained that the artists who came to Dartmouth were initially tasked with teaching students, rather than the current workshop model which exists today.

“Thinking about the classroom experience — they don’t need N Y T W fo r t h at , t h ey h ave wonderful faculty there that can provide that,” Nicola said. “What we provide is something very different.”

In the workshop-based model, there are numerous opportunities for Dartmouth students to get to know these world-class theater professionals. Mehra said that being able to have dinner regularly with the artists was helpful to get to know them as people, and he still keeps in contact with many of them. According to Nicola, some Dartmouth students whom he met

during their undergraduate theater careers end up joining the NYTW in professional capacities.

“We have a strong track record of them coming and being interns here. We’ve employed people we first met as students there — it’s really a way that we’ve built relationships with artists really before they were even calling themselves artists,” Nicola said.

THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

PAGE 8

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2017

45th annual Powwow showcases dance, art and native culture

By BETTY KIM

The Dartmouth Staff

This past Saturday and Sunday, Dartmouth’s 45th annual Powwow took place in Leede Arena. Despite the rainy weather and resulting move from the Green, the event was successful in celebrating Native American culture and excellence, promoting inclusivity and diversity and honoring veterans and Joshua Monette ’19, a native student who recently passed away.

The powwow committee is run by two chairs, with five separate committees under them comprised of two to three students each: head staff, fundraising, vending, advertising and logistics.

Anna Reed ’19 was one of the co-chairs for the powwow as well as a member of the fundraising and logistics committees. Appointed by last year’s co-chairs, she started planning for the 2017 event in the fall of 2016 with her cochair, Shelbi Fitzpatrick ’19. Together, the two oversaw all five committees and worked in direct contact with the Native American Program, Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said that most of the students who organized the powwow identify as Native American.

The event is organized mostly by Native Americans at Dartmouth, an organization for students that identify as full or part Native American. Many of the committee members also tend to be freshmen excited about the event, Fitzpatrick noted.

According to Evan Barton ’20, the planning process required much time and effort but was ultimately rewarding. Between the co-chairs and the subcommittees, there are weekly meetings to go over explanations and about goals for the powwow.

Fundraising was probably the most time consuming position, Barton said, as the budget totals about $45,000.

Reserving Leede Arena and paying for flooring was especially expensive.

As a part of the fundraising committee, Barton organized the budget, which was templated by last year’s budget with a few alterations. Most significantly, this year the budget increased $10,000.

Fitzpatrick and Reed also talked to the Special Program and Events Committee and College President Phil Hanlon about the budget.

“We brought up to [Hanlon] that within the [Ivy League] and high tier schools, our powwow isn’t as well funded as the others, and we think being a school that has Native Americans in the charter, that should be what’s going

on,” Reed said. “Constantly reminding the administration of our purpose as an institution and keeping up a conversation in a constructive way that doesn’t tear down our cultural values is super important.”

Because a higher budget means the committee can increase the prizes offered for the dance and drum competitions, more people tend to participate, creating a better powwow overall, Barton said.

A prominent part of the powwow was the dancing and drumming contests, complete with expert dancers and drummers, spectacular regalia and a lively audience. The head staff of the powwow committee is focused on finding the head woman, head man and, for the first time, the head person, all of whom are the lead dancers for the event.

Niyo Moraza-Keeswood, a recent graduate of Brown University and the head man for this year’s dance, said it was a big honor to be able to lead the other dancers in the powwow.

“I’m a grass dancer. Our style goes way back to the plains areas — they have a lot of tall grass so they would send their men out to go dance and pat down the grass and get it nice and flat for everyone else to come in and set up,” Moraza-Keeswood said. “It’s a big part of my culture. When I’m dancing I forget about everything else and feel at peace.”

JoRee LaFrance ’17 was the head woman for this event. This year, the head person was Sherenté Harris, who identifies as two-spirit, a term that’s used in Native American history as someone who doesn’t conform to one gender or another, but somewhere in the middle, Barton said. According to Barton, Reed and Fitzpatrick, the addition served the two major goals of the Powwow committee: to promote diversity and inclusivity.

Aside from the all-day dance competitions which included a great variety of dances — the Men and Women’s Fancy, Jingle, Traditional, Golden Age, the Intertribal Dances and more — Harris led a dance called “Completing the Circle Special,” which had men and women dancing together.

The dance has never been done at Dartmouth until this year’s powwow, Reed said.

Another major part of the event was the many vendors that set up in half of Leede Arena, selling many different kinds of items, from jewelry and clothing to children’s books and toys. The vendors applied three months

BETTY KIM/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Last weekend in Leede Arena, dancers performed at the 45th annual Powwow.

in advance to sell their products at the powwow, Reed said.

Many of the vendors are from the Upper Valley area, which has a large, if spread out, native population, Barton said. The powwow is an opportunity for vendors to make connections, and these connections are what help the committee find more vendors.

The powwow committee tries to get the most authentic vendors as possible to come to the event, Barton said.

“We’ve had instances in the past where you find non-native artists making native things, and it’s a bit appropriative, so we try to stay true to finding native artists to come sell their things to us,” Barton said. “That’s a way to give back to the community, in a way.”

Chris Bullock, who both participated in vending and dancing, has been vending at the Dartmouth Powwow for five or six years. His father started their business in 1969, and Bullock and his wife now sell craft supplies, books and raw materials like sage, sweetgrass and botanicals.

“The powwow is always very positive, a good environment to come to, and it’s a good place to [bring] kids because all the adults look out for all the kids,” Bullock said.

Bob and Cindy Shelley of Up the Creek Traders sell genuine Native American crafts and products like sterling and silver jewelry, buffalo turkey, frybread and herbal teas from the Pine Woods Reservation. They ensure the quality and genuineness of the products

because they know the people they buy from, Bob Shelley said.

“We travel to most of the powwows in New England and other [nearby] places like Pennsylvania — this powwow brings the finest people,” Shelley said.

“The committee is always wonderful, really good singers and dancers, and the regalias are just fabulous and the vendors bring the most precious things that you could find.”

The powwow is important and supportive for Native American community members in the greater Upper Valley who have these heritages and need a place to celebrate their heritage, Reed said. According to Fitzpatrick, Dartmouth has the most native students among all of the Ivies percentage wise, so Dartmouth has a very diverse range of students from different tribes, inner cities and reservations.

“Our powwow in and of itself is a diverse one, and it’s very unconventional in that way that we have tribal affiliations from all over the place,” said Fitzpatrick, who is of Blackfoot descent. “That’s really amazing to see when we come here on the East Coast; I’m from Montana and I’m able to represent my home at an East Coast powwow.”

Reed and Barton also shared their ties with Native American culture, and their appreciation for the powwow as a cultural celebration. Reed, who is of Choctaw descent, said the powwow is reminiscent of her childhood and connecting with her grandmother.

“Hearing the first couple beats

from the drum is really emotional because those sounds remind me of my childhood. I think it’s really similar for a lot of community members, and I think that’s one thing I hold really special about powwow — being able to feel like I’m back home,” Reed said.

Shealsospokeaboutherresponsibility to continue on her legacy as a Native American. “[I am] continuing on a story that is very quickly dying out,” Reed said. “I hold it really special to me that I have this privilege of continuing on a powwow. I take this on, kind of as a responsibility as the woman who steps up and makes sure the story doesn’t get forgotten.”

Barton expressed the complexity of the situation for persons of Native American descent in Oklahoma, his home state. Barton was born in his tribe’s capital and is 1/16 Cherokee.

“Cultural identity back home is different from [those of] natives here because Oklahoma’s history with Native Americans is very complex ­— it’s hard to uncover what really happened. Once Indian territory became Oklahoma, the natives in Oklahoma were forgotten,” Barton said. “Coming to Dartmouth was a way for me to dive into my cultural identity, and I’ve really embraced that and found a lot of value in it. I feel like I’m accepted and even though I’m considered white-passing, I still stand for a lot of what the Native Americans stand for.”

Barton, who will be one of the students running the powwow next year, suggested that non-native students come to the powwow because it allows them to see Native American culture in its full glory.

“I think that so many people come to Dartmouth and don’t know what a Native American is. The only reason I think I did was because I come from Indian territory, and it was a part of my state curriculum,” he said. “But so many people don’t know American history as native history when they’re really the same thing.”

Fitzpatrick expressed the same opinion regarding the need for more education in Native American-related topics.

“It should be a requirement to take one Native American studies course because that was the reason this school was started: to educate native people,” Fitzpatrick said. “[Non-native students should] take a class with a professor in a setting where there are usually many native students, learn from one another and come to events that native students host. Be a supporter and an ally.”