VOL. CLXXIV NO.170
CLOUDY
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
DHMC updates security measures following shooting
MAY THE FORCE BE BUILDING
HIGH 29 LOW
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By JACOB CHALIF The Dartmouth
Officials at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center are finalizing changes to the hospital’s security and emergency coordination policies in the wake of last fall’s fatal shooting according to DHMC director of security Daniel Dahmen. These changes, estimated at a cost of $400,000, aim to increase the visibility of security personnel, upgrade existing security technologies and better prepare employees for emergency situations. On Sept.12, Pamela Ferriere, 70, was shot and killed in the intensive care unit at DHMC by her son, Travis Frink. Frink,
NATALIE DAMERON/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
ARTS
BREAKING DOWN A CAPPELLA ARRANGEMENTS PAGE 8
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: DIRECTOR GRICELDA RAMOS ’18 PAGE 7
Construction of this year’s snow sculpture for Winter Carnival has already begun.
Influenza cases Sorority winter recruitment surge at DHMC sees 125 participants By WALLY JOE COOK The Dartmouth
With f lu season in full swing, DartmouthHitchcock Medical Center is seeing a greater number of influenza cases than any time since the 201415 season, according to M i ch a e l C a l d e r wo o d ,
infectious disease physician and regional hospital epidemiologist at DHMC. The Center for Disease Control is expecting similar numbers this year to the 2014-2015 season, during which the H3N2 strain was also the dominant strain SEE INFLUENZA PAGE 3
By MIKA JEHOON LEE The Dartmouth Staff
During this year’s sorority winter term recruitment, which ended on Jan. 29, 125 women participated, up from 106 last winter, a c c o rd i n g t o a n e m a i l statement from Office of Greek Life director Brian
OPINION
ZEHNER: AN UNLIKELY PARTNERSHIP PAGE 4
FISHBEIN: DISCOVERING DACHAU PAGE 4
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Joyce. The seven houses that p a r t i c i p at e d i n fo r m a l recruitment through the Inter-Sorority Council this winter extended 105 bids, all of which were accepted, Joyce wrote. Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority, which uses a shakeout process, extended 11 bids. Last year, a total
of 92 students received bids through either formal recruitment or shakeout. Seventeen women accepted bids at Alpha Phi sorority, 14 at Alpha Xi Delta sorority, 16 at Chi Delta sorority, 10 at Kappa Delta sorority, 12 at SEE RECRUITMENT PAGE 5
Courtyard Café offers healthier menu options By JULIAN NATHAN
The Dartmouth Staff
Last fall, Dartmouth Dining Services implemented a series of changes to the menus at the Courtyard Café. While DDS director Jon Plodzik said that his organization made the changes to improve students’ experiences, a survey conducted by The Dartmouth from Jan. 22 to Jan. 29 through Pulse reveals that 52.2 percent of the 901 student respondents
— a majority — reported feeling very or somewhat dissatisfied with menu changes at the café at press time. Only 12.9 percent of respondents indicated that they were very or somewhat satisfied with the changes. One of the most obvious changes at the Courtyard Café was the replacement of the sandwich and burrito station with the Gathering Greens salad bar. The bar — SEE MENU PAGE 3
MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
The Courtyard Café introduced a salad bar station this winter.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center adjusts security measures FROM SECURITY PAGE 1
49, was indicted in December on charges of both first- and seconddegree murder. Following a peer-reviewed study with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, both of which h ave ex p e r i e n c e d s h o o t i n g s in the past, DHMC’s security team drafted policy changes and planned equipment upgrades to help it respond to or prevent future emergency situations, said DHMC’s emergency management coordinator Jim Alexander. DHMC is also coordinating with Lebanon Police Department for additional safety measures. Communication is one emergency response component the hospital aims to improve. When Frink fired shots in the hospital, a Code Silver, which according to DHMC Institutional Safety indicates “life-threatening workplace violence,” was issued over the intercom. But according to William Baddoo ’19, who was inside the hospital when it was evacuated, very few people knew what was going on. “It would’ve been smoother if people knew exactly what was going on,” Baddoo said, adding that the hospital should enhance communication channels in emergency procedures. Addressing this issue, the hospital is looking at ways to improve its communication with DHMC and College employees and students who might be at the hospital. On the day of the shooting, students, faculty and staff received four email alerts about the unfolding situation; the first was sent about 40 minutes after the Code Silver announcement. Alexander said that the hospital will be opening up access to its Alertus system, which will allow College personnel to see the same emergency alerts that employees do. A d d i t i o n a l l y, D H M C i s improving its security force. There will be a temporary security officer in the ICU until the hospital can find a permanent receptionist
to fill that position, according to Dahmen. Security officers’ patrol routes are being changed in order to be more visible in high-profile areas, though this measure was in planning “well before” the September incident, he added. The hospital is also looking to upgrade its security equipment. According to Dahmen, DHMC has ordered bulletproof vests to increase officer safety and some security cameras are being upgraded, though these upgrades are more routine. DHMC is working to better prepare their employees for emergency situations. Every year, each DartmouthHitchcock employee must pass a series of 12 training recertifications, according to Mike Barwell, the hospital’s media relations manager. To ensure proper emergency response, the hospital ordered 1,000 one-page emergency pamphlets that will be easily accessible anywhere in the hospital. According to Alexander, employees will also be getting “badge buddies,” emergency directions that will hang from their ID. These pamphlets and badge buddies will tell employees or readers what to do in the first minutes of an emergency situation. The Lebanon Police Department’s main concern following the shooting was a lack of useful maps. According to Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello, the maps available to police officers that day were engineering maps that show superfluous information, such as water and ventilation systems, which is not pertinent to first responders’ needs. Mello said he is working with the hospital to develop maps that are “more tactical in nature.” He added that these maps would be “better suited to show us where things are, where closets are, where accessways are and things of that nature.” After consideration, the hospital chose not to pursue certain safety measures, specifically arming its security officers and installing metal detectors at all entrances. The question of arming guards is reviewed annually, and Dahmen decided that the need is not great enough to necessitate ar med guards. There is an inherent difficulty in maintaining an armed force. The cost
of training officers and the liability of having armed officers would both be substantial, so it is not a decision to be made lightly, Mello said. “You’re dealing with a private force that has no academy training, no police training,” he said. “That’s a tall order.” The hospital also decided not to implement metal detectors at the hospital entrance. They “would certainly be intrusive to the populations we serve,” Dahmen said. Nicole Knape ’19, a hospital volunteer who was at DHMC on Sept. 12 before the shooting, agreed with the hospital’s decision not to install metal detectors. She said that metal detectors would slow access to the hospital and would foster fear of a security risk. “The hospital is supposed to be a safe place for people,” Knape said. Looking back, the hospital security staff and the police are both pleased with their emergency response to the shooting. Mello called the police and fire department’s response to the incident “outstanding.” “I’m quite proud of how the institution responded to this event,” Dahmen said.
GENERATING ACTION
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com. Correction Appended (Jan. 29, 2018): The original version of the Jan. 29 article “With Riley headed to Notre Dame, Danilack and Omsberg bound for MLS, men’s soccer confident it will maintain identity” attributed a quote to Danilack instead of Omsberg. The article has been updated to correct this error.
HANNAH MCGRATH/THE DARTMOUTH
Josie Pinto, the New Hampshire public affairs associate of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, visited the College yesterday evening for an event hosted by Dartmouth’s Planned Parenthood Generation Action group.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018
PAGE 3
Cases of influenza surge to highest levels since 2015 FROM INFLUENZA PAGE 1
of influenza and about 34 million Americans contracted the flu and about 56,000 died, he said. “Any season when we have H3N2 being the predominant strain we tend to see more severe illness and more hospitalizations,” said Calderwood, adding that these more severe flu seasons are cyclical and arise once every few years. Calderwood said that this flu season has been dramatic on a national level; 6 to 7 percent of outpatient visits have been for influenza-like illnesses. “For three weeks in a row, we have had 49 out of the 50 states reporting widespread activity,” said Calderwood. However, because this flu season was so intense early on, Calderwood said there is hope that it has already peaked and will end quickly. “There is some thought that things are beginning to improve on the West Coast, but it is thought that up in New England things are still on the rise,” Calderwood said. This year’s flu season has also affected the Hanover area. According to Calderwood, during the first week of January, DHMC saw more outpatient visits for influenza-like illnesses that it had seen in the prior two years.
“The whole state is reporting the flu season, Calderwood said. widespread activity,” Calderwood According to Calderwood, flu said. vaccines are designed to protect He also mentioned that there is against circulating strains such hope that activity peaked the first as H3N2, H1N1 and one or two week of January and the situation strains of influenza B. However, may slowly be improving. circulating H3N2 strains have likely Flu vaccines mutated since have been less “Any season when the vaccines ef f ec ti ve th i s were designed we have H3N2 being season and this year, which the percent of the predominant can decrease the outpatients that strain we tend to efficacy of the come in with the shot. flu at DHMC see more severe are about 3.5 to illness and more “There is a big 4 percent, which push right now to hospitalizations.” Calderwood try and develop said is less than a universal t h e n a t i o n a l -MICHAEL CALDERWOOD, influenza rate, but still v a c c i n e, ” h e a s i g n i f i c a n t DHMC INFECTIOUS said. “Right now, number. the vaccines are DISEASE PHYSICIAN AND Typically, flu targeted against REGIONAL HOSPITAL vaccines reduce parts of the virus the risk of illness EPIDEMIOLOGIST that mutate and for 40 to 60 c h a n g e f ro m percent of users, year to year ... but this year the Trying to figure number may be out how to closer to 10 percent. However, create an influenza vaccine that is this number is only an estimation targeted at more conserved parts based on observations of southern of the virus to provide more than hemisphere countries, which have a single year of protection is kind earlier flu seasons. The true efficacy of the holy grail.” will not be known until the end of Even though the vaccine has
Courtyard Café changes menu options FROM MENU PAGE 1
these figures were only 5.6 percent of respondents and 9.4 percent of which Plodzik said has already sold respondents, respectively. 13,000 salads — was introduced to Nathan Camilo ’21 remarked that provide students with healthier dining the salad bar felt out of place at the options. However, only 30.1 percent café. of respondents reported feeling very “It’d be weird to go Wendy’s for or somewhat satisfied with the salad a salad, and that’s sort of how I feel bar, and 36.2 percent of respondents about the [Courtyard Café],” he said. reported feeling Ty l e r N e a t h very or somewhat “It takes a while ’21 echoed this dissatisfied. sentiment. F u r t h e r m o r e , to get food at the “I don’t think 45.2 percent of [Courtyard Café]... of the [Courtyard r e s p o n d e n t s there are not a Café] as a place to i n d i c at e d t h at get healthy food,” he they ate at the lot of cooks there said. s a n d w i c h a n d and lines are very DDS associate burrito station at director Don Reed least “sometimes,” long.” noted that students or about once initially pushed per week, while it -NATHAN CAMILO ’21 back against some existed. Only 30.4 changes, such as percent of students the new “Grateful surveyed said the same for the new Burger,” which contains mushroom salad bar. to reduce the burger’s fat content and The sandwich and burrito station carbon footprint. also appeared to have more regular “I’m not a big fan of the [Grateful customers than does the salad bar: 8.8 Burger],” Neath said. percent of respondents indicated that However, Reed said he now they ate at the sandwich and burrito observes long lines at the Courtyard station three or more times per week, Café, and he interprets this to mean and 13.9 percent of respondents that students have come around to indicated they ate there two to three new ideas. times per week. For the salad bar, Camilo also observed long lines
at the Courtyard Café, but said he believes they are due to staffing shortages. “It takes a while to get food at the [Courtyard Café] … there are not a lot of cooks there and lines are very long,” he said. DDS has also started to purchase prepackaged cups of fruit instead of slicing fruit on-site to save on time and labor expenses, Plodzik said. However, the price of fruit cups per ounce has not decreased, so it appears these savings have not been passed on to customers. Despite this, Neath sees a silver lining to the prepackaged cups. “I see more and more varieties of fruit cups,” he said. Reed said that although initial estimates of the cost of renovations at the Courtyard Café hovered at around $25,000, actual costs have reached the $30,000 to $35,000 range. Plodzik added that DDS staff have filled out an expansion survey distributed by the College administration and identified potential strategies to reduce the possibility of overflow that a larger student body might create. According to Plodzik, DDS might use faster equipment, new venues, a larger staff or a combination of these adjustments to accommodate a potential increase in the size of the student body.
been less effective this season, I n t e r m s o f t r e a t m e n t , Calderwood still recommends Calderwood emphasized the people get the shot since there are i m p o r t a n c e o f p r e ve n t i o n . still a few months left in the flu According to Mary Nyhan, assistant season and should someone get the director for health improvement at flu, they may have a “more mild the Student Wellness Center, hand disease.” Additionally, influenza B washing, adequate sleep and healthy can circulate eating are all until around “There is some important April or May. for disease thought that things are “People prevention. say, ‘Well, it beginning to improve on N y h a n a l s o doesn’t have the West Coast, but it is emphasized great efficacy,’ that students but the point thought that up in New should contact there is the England things are still Dick’s House efficacy is not if there is any on the rise.” zero percent question of and some whether or not protection is -MICHAEL CALDERWOOD, they have the better than no flu. protection,” DHMC INFECTIOUS DISEASE “ Yo u he said. should stay out PHYSICIAN AND REGIONAL F l u classes until HOSPITAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST of symptoms your symptoms include fever have resolved,” and severe Calderwood muscle aches. said. Jada Brown ’21, who said she has He mentioned other methods had the flu for nearly two weeks, of suppression as well, such as experienced these symptoms. covering your cough and even Brown got the flu shot this year, but possibly wearing face masks if still had to miss two days of classes you are contagious. Oseltamivir because of the illness. or Tamiflu prescriptions may also “The flu is horrible, that’s all I be good prescription treatment have to say,” Brown said. options, Calderwood added.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
PAGE 4
STAFF COLUMNIST DANIEL FISHBEIN ’19
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST CALLUM ZEHNER ’21
Discovering Dachau
An Unlikely Partnership
There is much evil, but we all have goodness within ourselves. I took a Ryanair plane to Munich for less than 100 euros roundtrip. Then, I traveled toward Petershausen on the S2 subway line before taking the 720 bus from the Dachau Stadt Railway Station. Past the BMW Museum, past the beer gardens and Christmas markets, past the Golden Arches that seemed to loom over me no matter where I traveled, I finally reached my destination. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote in his 1903 book “The Souls of Black Folk,” “Herein lies the tragedy of the age: not that men are poor, — all men know something of poverty; not that men are wicked, — who is good? not that men are ignorant, — what is Truth? Nay, but that men know so little of men.” As I journeyed last December to Dachau Concentration Camp, I had Du Bois’ “Jim Crow Car” in mind, namely his desire to find the edge of civilization and go beyond it, to see the unseen, to rediscover that lost interconnection. The grates I found there caught me off guard. I do not know if I can describe them, not sure I have the words to do them justice or if justice can be done — or what justice might even mean, for that matter. But the regimenting lines that leaked the gas metaphorically encapsulate so much of what is going on in the world today. We would like to think that something has changed between 1945 and now. As of Jan. 27, Auschwitz has been closed for 73 years. Since then, humanity has built up the thriving metropolis I found myself in, paved the subway lines that got me there, developed the iPhone I used to navigate. But if change has taken place, what’s changed and how? What was the event? The words of an imprisoned poet plastered on the museum wall resonate with me. “In the camp I made a meaningful discovery: No power exists in the world that is capable of destroying humans as spiritual beings. Never had life provided so many reasons to write … the thoughts, the reflections, the impressions cried out to be written down … scribbled note could mean a death sentence … I didn’t want to write about experiences in the camp … was more important to express the thoughts and impressions that moved me …” The American capitalist system has long tried
to destroy the humans of its underclass. Despite myths of democratic progress, this fact still rings true today. The numbers should seem familiar. Wealth inequality has seen a sharp rise since the 1980s, a disparity exacerbated along racial and ethnic lines. States spend more on inmates than on public school students. The police kill hundreds of people each year. But numbers alone matter little. As the imprisoned Jewish poet attests, human strength lies in thoughts and impressions. I needed a term away from Dartmouth, a journey across an ocean and a glance at a device used in the systematic murder of thousands of my kin to remind myself of this basic nature of my selfhood. Thinking that we still have a system that feeds off of numbers and ignores the inherent value of each and every person born with the capacity for thought and feeling leaves me deeply disturbed. Yet, as the Dachau poet realized, focusing on the depravity of a system will not change it. When faced with the specter of death, the prisoners wanted to focus instead on the positivity of life. Ignoring the camp will not make it go away; it serves as an ever-present aspect of reality. The poet knew this, but the individual also knew that the prisoners could liberate their own subjectivity to inspire others. Moved to some, albeit limited, action by this reminder of the strength of the human spirit, I have gone to several Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration events this month. I did so with some hesitancy. The image of King has gotten manipulated since his assassination — the radicalness of a man critical of not only the legal but also extralegal mechanisms of coercion that have and continue to keep African-Americans in a state of poverty has been neutered. His thoughts and impressions, though, when viewed in the context of his life, cannot lose their power. In a 1957 sermon, with words that ring true to this day, King told his congregation that “every person must decide, at some point, whether they will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” Ignoring the myriad of problems society faces today will not fix them. We must make the decision that the unadulterated King believed we could make.
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China has entered Africa in force, and the continent has benefited. Neocolonialism is a strong term, with implications of extractive and abusive control of a weak state by a strong one. It conjures up ideas of the dominant predator insidiously creeping up on its unsuspecting prey. It is also the term most frequently used to describe the fast-growing economic relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the African continent. But although this relationship certainly has grown quickly, with the value of Chinese trade with sub-Saharan Africa rising from $15 billion in 2003 to $100 billion in 2010, it cannot be described as neocolonialist. Despite how it is popularly portrayed, the relationship is not a destructive one. Africa’s industry and population have benefited from the rise of China. Increased Chinese economic involvement in Africa has been consistent with a dramatic decrease in the prices of everyday goods. For example, after the arrival of the Chinese in Zambia, the price of chicken halved, and the price of cabbage fell by 65 percent. This may sound like a trivial change in cost, but in a country where 60.5 percent of the population lived below the poverty line in 2010, such a drop can amount to a substantial difference for most people. The lowered costs expand Africans’ disposable incomes, thereby improving their quality of life. The lives of everyday Africans have also improved through Chinese-backed projects on the continent providing a source of jobs. Kenya, for instance, has seen an aggregate of 2,170 jobs created through Chinese foreign direct investment. Thus, the PRC is the fifth-largest job creator in the country. In addition to providing lower prices for the consumer, the presence of Chinesemanufactured goods exerts downward pressure on the prices of g lobally manufactured goods. This can result in improved terms of trade for resourceexporting African countries, such as Angola and Nigeria. Better terms of trade, when coupled with higher demand for exports from the massive Chinese market, allow African states to invest more readily in capital goods. This is because the capital goods are available at a much lower cost than they would be from, say, Europe. The infrastructure sector has especially benefited from this arrangement. Yet, the World Bank estimates that the African infrastructure spending needs require $93 billion annually. The current standards of infrastructure in services, roads and ports are also estimated to increase input costs by up to 200 percent and reduce firms’ productivity by 40 percent. Thus, African infrastructure problems pose a major setback, and China has undeniably led the charge of ameliorating the situation. In 2015, it invested $20.9 billion into infrastructure projects across the continent, out of a total worldwide contribution of $83.4 billion for that year. The Nairobi-Mombasa railway in Kenya, 90 percent of which was funded
by the Export-Import Bank of China, was completed only last year, and has cut travel time between the country’s capital and its main port from 10 hours to five. The Kenyan government anticipates that the railway will expand gross domestic product by 1.5 percent and that the loan will only take four years to pay back. This is just one illustration of the transport infrastructure China has helped to create. China is also investing heavily in the African workforce. It has offered scholarships to 20,000 African students, trained in excess of 30,000 African workers and has sent 350,000 technicians, volunteers and agricultural experts to the continent. And this isn’t merely a state-driven exercise, with private Chinese companies also joining this fray. Telecom giant Huawei has spearheaded a program to train 12,000 Africans a year in telecommunications practices. Through these initiatives, the African labor force has become increasingly skilled, and local enterprises can take advantage of that to boost their productivity and, therefore, competitiveness. Chinese involvement has facilitated the buildup of local African industries, assisting technological transfer, the growth of local capacity and the rising levels of intra-African exports. In the case of Zimbabwe, Chinese investors helped the local tobacco industry process their crop into cigarettes, thereby allowing the Zimbabweans to export the cigarettes as finished value-added products. Chinese investors and Zimbabweans also formed a joint venture to create a cement factory in Gweru to satisfy national demand. This idea that China merely engages with Africa to extract valuable resources, in much the same manner as the historic European imperial dynasties, is incorrect. Extensive research of 3,989 Chinesefunded projects in Africa has found that only 20 percent of projects are in the natural resources sector, with 60 percent involved in the services sector. If any countries are culpable of shameless resource extraction, it is the United States and the European powers, which have funneled the majority of their African investment into the power and energy sectors. It often seems that the collective American psyche holds China to be the nefarious arch-nemesis, a devilish instigator of selfish and destructive acts. This is certainly the case when it comes to the Middle Kingdom’s relations with Africa. A dominant power such as China could potentially exploit a region that was economically poorer but wealthier in resources. But this is not true in reality. China is simply giving much-needed attention to a historically marginalized continent, and the net effects on the ground have been positive for the African populace and its industry. And as Chinese influence in Africa grows in the future, we should be relieved that this is the case.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 5
Inter-Sorority Council sororities extend 105 winter bids FROM RECRUITMENT PAGE 1
used a shakeout process this winter. Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority, 16 During recruitment, EKT hosted at Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority two shakeout events in which and 20 at Sigma p otentia l new Delta sorority, members visited a c c o r d i n g t o “Also, with the the house and Joyce. talked to current [Class of 2021] While APhi, sisters. being so much AXiD, Chi Delt, According to K D E , K a p p a larger than prior Mickel, the ISC and Sigma Delt classes, I would shortened the all had larger duration of the w i n t e r n e w definitely say that recruitment member classes with the current process from two than those last to “about open-house system, weeks w i n t e r, K D a week and a maintained the we would need half.” same size. “ Ju s t by t h e more time.” M e a n w h i l e, nature of winter 16 students rush — there’s a s h o o k o u t a t -PAIGE MICKEL ’18, quarter as many EKT,. where 11 girls rushing, so received bids. In INTER-SORORITY the houses didn’t total, 20 students COUNCIL VICE need to provide either accepted PRESIDENT OF as much party a bid at EKT time,” Mickel or dropped for RECRUITMENT said. “It was personal reasons, easier [for the according to ISC current sisters] vice president of recruitment Paige to give [potential new members] Mickel ’18. attention without having to offer EKT was the only sorority that many more hours a time.”
This past fall, 394 students participated in ISC recruitment and 277 received bids. Mickel added that she believed the shorter duration of the recruitment process was beneficial to both current sisters as well as women who rushed. However, she said she anticipates a longer recruitment process in the fall given the greater number of women rushing. “Also, with the [Class of 2021] being so much larger than prior classes, I would definitely say that with the current open-house system, we would need more time,” Mickel said. In fall 2017, ISC implemented an “open-house” system, in which women are not scheduled into time slots when visiting sorority open houses as part of formal recruitment. ISC also used this open house system for winter recruitment. Sara Cho ’20, who accepted a bid at Sigma Delt this winter, said the atmosphere of winter rush was more relaxed compared to fall rush because there were a lot fewer people and the duration
was shorter. She said she especially “ M a y b e e i t h e r m o r e enjoyed meeting sisters in different transparency in what the computer sororities because sororities were system does and how it matches much more difficult to visit than girls with houses might help,” Soh fraternities during her freshman said. “[The computer algorithm] year. is not a total crapshoot, but there Although Cho appreciated were definitely stories that I the shortened rush process, she heard about girls that should have said women’s been matched rush this winter “[Rush] adds up to or didn’t want to r e q u i r e d a a lot of time during get matched, and substantial time the computer c o m m i t m e n t the week, and it can system ended nonetheless. up not handling get pretty stressful “[Rush] adds that perfectly.” up to a lot of time when you have M i c k e l s a i d during the week, academics on top of the ISC has and it can get gathered data that.” pretty stressful and asked when you have students to academics on -SARA CHO ’20 c o m p l e t e top of that,” s u r v e y s Cho said. throughout the K r i s t e n rush process so Soh ’20, who that it can make accepted a bid at Kappa, said improvements to it in the future. s h e h o p e s t h e C o l l e g e c a n “Now that rush is over, we communicate more information are starting to look at student to women participating in formal feedback,” Mickel said. “Once rush about the computer algorithm we can find a consensus, we will that determines house placements be able to make changes moving and increase its effectiveness. forward.”
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DARTMOUTHEVENTS
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
LECTURE SHMECTURE
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018
DAVID VELONA ’21
TODAY
4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Seminar: “The Precarious E Region” with Boston University graduate student Matthew Young, Spanos Auditorium, Cummings Hall
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Book Talk: “Clashing Over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy” with economics professor Doug Irwin, Haldeman 41
4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Lecture: “Accident as Repair” with artist Kader Attia, Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center
TOMORROW 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Art Exhibit: “The Zen of Watercolor,” with art teachers Rosalie desGroseilliers and Patti Warren, 7 Lebanon Street, Suite 107
4:45 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Entrepreneurship Speaker Series Fireside Chat with Langley Steinert Tu’91, co-founder and chief executive officer of online automotive shopping site CarGurus, Occom Commons
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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018
PAGE 7
Student Spotlight: performer and activist Gricelda Ramos ’18
By LEX KANG
The Dartmouth
A s Fe b r u a r y a p p ro a ch e s, Dartmouth students begin pre parations for V-Day, the global movement to end violence against girls and women. Many talented and dedicated students come together during the month of February to support the cause and promote gender equity through V-February, Dartmouth’s version of the global movement. One of these students is Gricelda Ramos ’18, a geography modified with Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean studies major. As a student with passion in both theatrical performance and social issues, Ramos will be directing the V-Feb program. According to Ramos, despite the fact that she is not a theater major, her passion for theater is immeasurable. “No matter what I study, no matter what country I go to, no matter what I do, I’ll always end up at a theater, and I’ll always end up performing,” Ramos said. R a m o s s a i d h e r fo c u s i s particularly in the performative aspects of the program — the direction of various studentrun events including Upstaging Stereotypes, Vagina Monologues and Voices. The role is a large responsibility, and Ramos was hand-picked for the job. “I had been nominated [for the job] by [the Office of Pluralism and Leadership] … My name came up because of my involvement in the arts and my commitment to social justice on campus,” Ramos said. Social activism, one of the reasons Ramos believes she was chosen for her role as the director of V- Feb, is something she believes is her responsibility. “As a woman of color ... within each one of us as humans, we all have the responsibility to understand what other people are going through and think about how we can [best] help,” Ramos said. “I think that’s a responsibility we have as citizens of the world.” As a result, Ramos does her part for social justice through her faith community. Ramos said that she centers her work not around rallies but around peaceful discussion and understanding of one another. This term, she and some of her friends gathered together to create a group that seeks to spread social awareness messages through faith. Ramos’ theater contributions at Dartmouth are also an important factor in landing her the role as director for V-Feb. Similar to her social activism, Ramos said her acting began at a young age with small skits coordinated at her local church.
“I never went to any professional schools [for acting],” Ramos said. H o w e ve r, t h o u g h R a m o s admitted to a lack of formal experience prior to coming to Dartmouth, she landed one of the lead roles for the play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf,” a thesis project by Carene Mekertichyan ’16 According to department administrator for the theater de partment, Maggie Devine-Sullivan, Ramos’ character shows in her powerful performances. “ T h e r e ’s a c o u r a g e a n d deter mination and infectious optimism about her,” said DevineSullivan, reflecting on Ramos’ acting in “For Colored Girls.” Similarly, Celeste Jennings ’18, who worked closely with Ramos in various theater productions as a costume designer, noted that each of Ramos’ performances were an extension of her own story and personality, making her acting even more resonant. “I think [Ramos] is always going to put a little bit of her story in everything,” Jennings said. As Ramos developed her acting career dramatically in her time at Dartmouth, Ramos faced her challenges as well. “I think every performer, no matter how confident, has this internal fear that ... at the end, no one will applaud, or the show ... won’t be moving,” Ramos said. “So I think the biggest challenge is knowing that the hard work you put in will pay off and going on stage totally confident that everyone will enjoy the show.” With time and experience, Ramos learned to let her love for performing itself help her overcome this challenge. According to Ramos, her secret to success has been to simply enjoy acting and act out of her love for acting rather than a desire to impress the crowd. “I see it as an invitation to the audience and the cast members to have this intimate moment,” Ramos said. “Where actors can show you what they’ve been working on, and the audience can give you feedback on it.” Ramos’ involvement in student culture doesn’t end with social activism and theater. She is cur rently also a Rockefeller Leadership fellow, a War and Peace fellow, a drill instructor for Spanish and a mentor for students in the First Year Student Enrichment Program. Devine-Sullivan said Ramos’ warmth and passion is inspiring for others, making her ideal for the mentorship and leadership roles that she takes. “She supports the work of everyone in the room,” Devine-
Sullivan said. “She’s touched so many people.” Due to Ramos’ vibrant activity in multiple areas, Ramos shows promise in various areas. “I heard her say before she’s going to be the mayor, and I’ve also heard her say before she’s going to be on Broadway,” Kelleen Moriarty ’19, who directed Ramos in “Medea” last fall, said. “And neither of these things surprise me. She’s going to make the world a better place.” Jennings added on that Ramos has also written musicals and
directed productions. “ [ R a m o s ] a lw ay s h a s a l l these ideas, some of them are theater projects, some of them are community work projects,” Jennings said. “She just has so many of them ... and I think that’s a really cool thing about her.” As Ramos faces her last couple of terms at Dartmouth, she and those around her reflected on her time here, commenting on all of her accomplishments. “I think the legacy I want to leave is that I did all things, not only with a smile, but with the best
intent for other people,” Ramos said. Currently, her main focus is putting on a successful and impactful V-Feb, as it represents causes that she passionately believes in. “I think the value of V-Feb lies only in its core values ... [that] we’re trying to promote [like] gender equity and [diminishing] gender-based violence,” Ramos said. “But it’s a moment for all kinds of women and men on campus to come together under a single mission.”
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
PAGE 8
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018
Breaking down the process of arranging music for a cappella By BETTY KIM
The Dartmouth Staff
For such a small school, it’s impressive how many great a cappella groups exist on campus — in fact, there are nine. But most of the talent and work that goes into arranging the music that is performed is not always recognized. Music director emeritus for the Brovertones Graham Rigby ’17 said arranging music is like creating an “inspired original composition. “Your arrangement of a song should be more interesting than the original,” Rigby said. “Not just reproducing [the original song] in voices but also creating some new ideas.” This flowchart outlines a generalized process of arranging music for a cappella groups.
Deciding who sings what part and how many parts there will be depends on logistical and musical factors. Voicing might change simply based on how many members are on campus. In the case of a coed group, a song that might be voiced in four parts — soprano, alto, tenor, bass, abbreviated as SATB — could be voiced in six parts instead, with three male parts and three female parts, if there are enough members that are “on,” Dodecaphonics arranger Aaron Samuels ’20 said.
Even if an original song uses a certain set of chords, arrangers can make changes to the chord progression to do interesting things with the harmony. According to Rigby, certain progressions are equivalent to each other, so a few changes won’t make the song sound too different but can take the song in a different direction. If an arranger feels that the original song isn’t very interesting, he or she can add an exciting rhythm to “keep the song moving forward,” according to Noah Lee ’18, musical director of X.ado.
This lengthy and sometimes complicated process of putting together an a cappella piece demonstrates that the performers at the College are not only talented singers but creators as well. “Its kind of a disorganized process, because all of these things happen simultaneously,” Lee said. “You get a flash of an idea, [think to yourself] ‘maybe this section could be like this’ and write it out.” A full version of this article can be found online.
Choosingasongdiffersamonggroups.Forsome,songs are picked democratically; for others, songs are picked primarily by arrangers, informed by other members’ suggestions and approved by the musical director to make sure they will fit into the term’s repertoire. After a song is chosen, arrangers start brainstorming and forming a vision for the piece.
The background is where the creative part of arranging really comes out — arrangers can add or remove elements from the original versions of a song. Most songs sung by a cappella groups use chorus form, which can get repetitive to both the audience and singers, so arrangers try to keep the arrangement interesting. These are some elements that arrangers pay attention to so their arrangement is exciting.
Voice leading refers to the movement and interaction of individual lines to create a harmony. Every part of a song pertains to a specific chord, so each vocal assignment (for example, SATB for a coed group) will sing a note that belongs to the chord. What this means is that arrangers not only have to pay attention to the way that the separate parts move but also have members harmonize in a way that sounds good.
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Some groups vary the syllables they use to sing the background part to make the piece interesting, but the varying of syllables can also help change up dynamics. Rigby uses “doo,” “do” and “da” to represent different volumes, from quietest to loudest. He pointed out that it’s a linguistic consequence of mouth-opening, where the more openness there is when sung, the louder a certain syllable sounds. It also functions as a memory device — all the music has to be memorized in the matter of a few weeks.
The next step involves laying out the song’s structure. Some arrangers map out the basic structure on paper to see the number and lengths of the verses and choruses. Getting a good sense of the chord progressions used in the song is crucial to the arrangement process and to determine the shape and direction of the song. Arrangers may refer to online sheet music or use a piano to play around with harmonies to figure out what the chord progressions are.
After figuring out large-scale organization, a music notation software is used to write out a melody or solo line as a starting point. Most groups use Sibelius to see the music vertically after the other singers’ vocal parts are added. This allows the arranger and the other group members to know exactly what’s happening musically in a certain measure or part of the arrangement, just by looking at the sheet music.
Audience interest can also be maintained by varying the dynamics of the song. Generally, arrangements tend to start quietly and progressively get louder, with the volume fluctuating based on the different moods within the song.
a Dynamics are not just varied by singing louder, though. Chord voicing in one aspect of the intricacy. Chords can be made thicker to raise volume — Rigby described it as “splitting the group up and stacking things.” Because songs tend to start off quietly and get louder, Rigby always starts with open chord arrangements and splits the parts to make the chord hit harder and enhance the overall crescendo. SAMANTHA BURACK/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF