MIR ROR 4.19.2017
BIG GIRLS DO CRY | 2
CONFORMITY, CAREERS AND COURSE SELECTION | 4-5
TTLG: ONE SIZE FITS NONE | 7 ERIC WANG/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
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Editors’ Note
Big girls do cry PROFILE
ELIZA MCDONOUGH/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
This evening, all three intrepid editors walked into Robinson Hall wearing a Dartmouth shirt, leggings and running shoes. They then decided to discuss conformity: when, how and why it exists at the College. From the pervasiveness of Canada Goose jackets during winter term to the mob mentality driving corporate recruitment season, Dartmouth appears to take a certain type of individual and thrust them to the forefront of the student body’s collective consciousness, supposedly epitomizing the ideal student. This student is usually tall (but not too tall), athletic (or was in high school and won’t let you forget it), wealthy (usually suburban), ragey (while maintaining perfect grades) and involved in so many activities that their iCal is a rainbow of meetings and commitments, but not too full to “grab a meal” with a peon like you. Does this person actually exist, though? Other than the godly rower Lauren crushed on in her freshman psychology class, the editors firmly believe that everyone at Dartmouth has at least one quirk, flaw or personality trait that keeps them from achieving that impossible ideal. In this issue, we attempted to highlight those who stand out in some way or another: through their art, through their passions or through the paths they choose to follow. We hope you are inspired to keep from fitting into the Dartmouth mold, cultivate your own imperfections and celebrate deviation from the norm. Enjoy the issue!
follow @thedmirror 4.19.17 VOL. CLXXIV NO. 63 MIRROR EDITORS LAUREN BUDD ANNETTE DENEKAS MAY MANSOUR
ASSOCIATE MIRROR CAROLYN ZHOU EDITOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RAY LU
PUBLISHER PHILIP RASANSKY
EXECUTIVE EDITOR ERIN LEE
PHOTO EDITORS ELIZA MCDONOUGH HOLLYE SWINEHART TIFFANY ZHAI
By Jaden Young
At an institution defined by tradition, that with the other end of the spectrum of breaking down taboos around touchy subjects eating disorders. There are these Renaissance can be a difficult battle. Charlotte Grussing pictures of really lush, plump women, so I ’19 is working with her sorority, Kappa Delta was thinking like that — making everyone’s Epsilon, to open a dialogue about both mental bodies beautiful.” illness and the underrepresentation of female In the past, Grussing focused on mixed artists with the upcoming art exhibition titled, media sculpture, but for this project, she “Big Girls Cry.” turned to photography so she could widen “[KDE] wanted to do an exhibition her outreach. including the work I’d been doing on my off “It was the best medium to involve the term, and instead, I suggested that I curate most people,” she said. “I enjoy making things this and help put it together,” Grussing with my hands and identify with sculpting said. “We’ll involve the whole campus and more, but for me, I needed to involve as many try to start a dialogue on mental health in a people in the project as possible. This isn’t way that’s accessible and enjoyable. Doing just me and my sister, this is a lot of people. A it through art’s not scary, and it can move lot of people are dealing with similar things, people in different ways.” or feel the same way due to something else.” The exhibition — April 28 from 4:30 to Along with photography, Grussing 6:30 p.m. at KDE — will feature the works documented her experiences with video, of female artists on campus. which she says she plans to return to for “It’s really bad how little exhibition inspiration to expand the ideas and feelings space female artists of this project into new get compared to male mediums. artists in places like the “There are these “When I was in Met[ropolitan Museum Renaissance pictures Germany, I actually of Art],” Grussing said. couldn’t speak any “It’s exciting that this of really lush, plump Ger man,” Grussing is going to be an all women, so I was thinking said. “In one of the girls exhibition. We’re biggest homes I went like that — making going to try to make it to in Europe, a boy a really joyous occasion everyone’s bodies with the disability was — put things outside, beautiful.” my translator, and get a band, have it be [videotaping] was just a celebration of female kind of to capture the art, bring up mental -CHARLOTTE GRUSSING ’19 mood. I’m the only health and create a one who’s had this space where it’s okay experience of going to talk about it. Make to this home from something beautiful.” England, not speaking the language and just According to Grussing, the organizers shooting them and their joy of having their expect to be accepting submissions of artwork photos taken. Some of them put on their best up to the Wednesday before the show. She outfits and were all dolled up, and I wanted emphasized that she wanted as many artists to capture that mood.” across campus to submit work as possible, Grussing spoke with reverence about her even if they have never taken an art class. experiences photographing people with PraderGrussing’s own work will be featured as well. Willi syndrome, calling them “incredible.” “I’m more nervous about that,” she said. “The people, they’re so full of life and “It’s quite personal, and it has that same happiness and joy,” she said. “One of them dialogue on mental health. Mental health actually passed away just after I shot them, and at Dartmouth is quite a closed-off topic I’m just excited to bring this here and get people sometimes. There will be some of my work, to think about how every body is beautiful and but I’d rather get everyone else’s work than how mental health is so important. Showing show mine.” that through art, I think, is a good thing to do During a recent off term, Grussing raised here, and everywhere.” almost $2,000 and embarked on a project Mental health, Grussing said, is a difficult inspired by her oldest sister, who has Prader- subject to broach at Dartmouth. Willi syndrome. Prader-Willi syndrome is a “It’s an isolated environment where so many rare genetic disorder that results from loss people act like they’re happy all the time, and of function in certain genes affecting the it doesn’t seem like it’s okay to not be happy,” hypothalamus, leading to chronic feelings of she said. “I love Dartmouth now, but I hated it hunger and obesity. The insatiable hunger is freshman year. It sucked, but I couldn’t say that so intense that patients often require external to anyone. I think people are scared to bring it control, such as padlocking pantries and up in case they get in trouble or their friends refrigerators to limit access to food and avoid treat them differently. It seems like everyone life-threatening obesity. is so happy and you’re in this bubble that’s “I’ve grown up around this severe perfect, but it’s not, and people are maybe disability,” Grussing said. “After seeing how scared to say that.” people reacted so negatively [to people with Grussing wants the exhibition to be a space Prader-Willi syndrome] with the assumption, for open dialogue about mental health. ‘Oh, they’re just fat,’ when they can’t help it, “Doing things like this, that involve more yet anorexia and bulimia are often glamorized people, make it more accessible and less like by models and other things like that, I was someone’s talking down at you,” Grussing said. inspired. I wanted to take photographs of “We’re bringing it up in a friendly manner. But people with this rare genetic disorder and it is very hard, and this isn’t going to change make them look really beautiful, contrasting everything. It’s just a little step.”
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A house of one’s own STORY
By Chloe Jennings
Dartmouth’s Greek life is constantly in a state of flux. Conversations revolve around whether the system is inclusive, safe, welcoming for all and how we might improve upon it. The intersection between sexuality and Greek life manifests in the way that Greek life is sometimes discussed here at Dartmouth. The national versus local sorority debate lies in the foreground, with buzzwords like “female-dominated social spaces” that indicate efforts to equalize the power between men and women within the Greek system. How do sexuality and Greek life coincide here at Dartmouth? A few individuals share their experiences here, capturing just a snapshot of Greek life at Dartmouth. Alyssa Jorgensen ’17 described her personal experience with Greek life as a queer woman. “Do I personally feel comfortable as a queer woman in my house? Yes,” Jorgensen said. “I’m not going to speak for all the queer women in my house, but me, personally have I had positive experiences? Yes. Have I been treated differently because of my sexuality? No.” Jorgensen emphasized the subjectivity of her perspective. “I’m a cisgender woman, meaning that I identify as a woman,” she said. “So I do feel like I am afforded different privileges that other queer people aren’t in terms of the Greek process.” When asked to weigh in on the inclusivity
of the Greek system, Jorgensen emphasized that, while Dartmouth Greek life is inclusive to an extent, there is still progress to be made. “For me, I would not say that the Dartmouth Greek system as a whole is inclusive or accepting, but I would say, from my personal experience, that it’s more inclusive or accepting than it could be,” Jorgensen said. “But I don’t want to say that there is nothing to work on here. I think it could be better across all boards of Greek life to have more discussions on it.” Ashley Zepeda ’18 discussed her own perceptions of inclusivity within Greek life. “I feel like being non-heterosexual in the Greek system is a little taboo still,” Zepeda said. “I feel like it’s accepted — I’ve never come across anyone who’s homophobic, but I also feel like it’s always going to be a very heterosexual environment that people are trying to achieve.” Zepeda explained that finding her own niche within the Greek system has been difficult, at times. “There have been ways where we’ve found ways to express our sexuality within the Greek system, but it’s hard, yeah,” Zepeda said. “I feel like now that I’m an upperclassman, I feel way more comfortable just being who I am and not caring. I wasn’t confident enough to show that sophomore year. Then, when I started getting to know the gay women in my house, I would be like, ‘I can do this. I can be with whoever and not give a s***.’ Now I
have women that I know in the Greek system who are supportive of me, and you cycle off of that.” Alex Brown ’19 also said he has felt very included within the Greek system as a gay man. “I think that as institutions, Greek houses take you for who you are and will ingrain you into brotherhood or sisterhood and take you as an individual, and not just look at you as a trope or a stereotype,” Brown said. “People take the time to get to know you.” Jessica King Fredel ’17 said she feels the Greek system creates space for diversity. “In my experience, Dartmouth’s Greek system is very different from any other college campus’ and from the stereotypes of popular culture,” King Fredel said. “Specifically, because of the number of students who participate in Greek life at Dartmouth, there is space within the system for diversity and individuality, and I think we should continue to celebrate and cultivate that.” King Fredel said that the Greek system can perpetuate gender norms in that it sets up social spaces to be inherently sexualized. In most cases, men control the “mainstream” social spaces and the access to alcohol in these spaces. “I think the push towards more sororitysorority tails is a good thing because it creates more of a focus on community,” King Fredel said. “There has been quite a lot of debate surrounding female-dominated
social spaces, and I think it’s come from a very valuable and genuine place. I do worry that female-dominated social spaces simply serve to replicate many of the power dynamics of frats — I personally have had unsettling experiences within both sororities and fraternities.” King Fredel explained that simply changing the setting does not remove gendered power dynamics — a crucial point to remember. When asked whether Greek life pressures participants to conform to gender-based stereotypes, Brown disagreed. “I think if we get away from treating these institutions as a blanket group that has this name that we can attribute all these false and negative attributes to and actually consider them as a group of individuals — intelligent, different, unique, individuals who all were admitted to Dartmouth College and just want an experience to share with a group of individuals — I think once we start doing that, you can peel back the layers of judgment and misconception that consistently plague the Greek system,” Brown said. He stressed the importance of eliminating certain stigmas about Greek life as a whole and instead highlighting its positive aspects, such as the support system that Zepeda mentioned. “Fraternities and sororities are just groups of the same students who they admitted to the school, who find friendship and support in one another within the Greek system,” Brown said.
Choices COLUMN
By Clara Guo
The five of us sat in the corner of Molly’s. Marking the end of winter term, we celebrated our first, and most likely last, Thomas Jefferson High School Class of 2013 reunion at Dartmouth. We attended a magnet school dedicated to science and technology. In eighth grade, we successfully negotiated both rounds of the application process: Our GPAs and scores on the entrance exam were high enough, and our personal essays and teacher recommendations reflected well on our character and drive. I almost declined my offer of admission to TJ. I didn’t think I was intelligent enough, and I doubted my love for the sciences. “Would you send your kids to our high school?” my friend asked. I paused. Then, the floodgates opened. “No, the environment was too competitive,” I responded. “It was unhealthy.” I had no life during high school. All I did was study, day in and day out. My parents would yell at me to go to sleep when they found me in bed at 2 a.m., drawing notecards for a biology quiz the next day. People cheated all the time. I felt like I was an anomaly because I didn’t cheat. My best friend once broke down because he received an A- in summer chemistry. He’s at Princeton now. My classmates felt like failures when they “only” got into state schools. They kept wondering what else they could have done, why they weren’t good enough.
Everyone wanted to be a doctor or a computer scientist. Those were our two options: medicine or Silicon Valley. This is partly because we had the resources to pursue science. We had a neuroscience senior laboratory. We dissected Aplysia and cockroaches. We moved a wheelchair using neural activity. We had a robotics lab and a biology lab. We had cutting edge technology. But what if all those resources and all that technology weren’t enough to foster growth? The administration cut eighth period activities. We didn’t have the choice to relax or pursue arts after we finished our seven classes. “I hear the environment is even more caustic now,” another friend added. “Did you see the post in the alumni Facebook page about sexual assault?” I wished we’d had more resources. I wished our counselors were better trained. My Dartmouth friends understand my decision to take two years off; they tell me I should relax and work first, experience complete financial independence. But I always have to explain myself to my high school friends. They ask, “Why are you taking two years off when you know you want to be a doctor? What if you change your mind about medicine?” I never really know how to respond. Who’s ever truly done exploring? When is learning about something new ever pointless? If I decide not to pursue medicine, then that means I have SEE GUO PAGE 6
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Conformity, careers and course election STORY
By Cristian Cano
Whether you enter Dartmouth with a very specific idea of what you want to study or with no idea at all, there will be many times when you must think about your major and how it aligns with your goals. Is this a subject that interests me? Is it what my family wants me to study? Will I be able to find a job after graduation? These questions, and many more, come up again and again throughout the process of deciding a major. For students pursuing less common majors, these questions can be a perpetual reminder of their need to justify the subjects they study — both to others and to themselves. Leslie Blakney, associate director for advising and the pre-law coordinator at the Center for Professional Development, has worked for the past four years with students in all stages of the major decision process, from freshmen who are exploring their options to sophomores who have recently declared their majors to juniors and seniors who have decided that they don’t love the majors they’ve been pursuing. “First and foremost, major does not dictate career path,” Blakney said. “That is something that we emphasize very early on.” Much of the work she does with the CPD involves helping students determine how students can use both their subjects of interest and their liberal arts backgrounds to find postgraduate success. She encourages the students she works with to
take classes that interest them while still meeting their career goals and major requirements. To that end, she cautions students against prematurely deciding to double major, since doing so can limit the flexibility of their D-Plan. A general perception amongst the student population is that many students decide to pursue some of Dartmouth’s more common majors, like economics and government, when those subjects weren’t part of their original plan. Blakney said that these decisions might not come from a perceived need to conform to certain paths, but rather from the opportunities to try new subjects that students didn’t have before college. “One thing I have experienced over the years is that students adapt,” Blakney said. “They may come in with a certain plan, and for no bad reason they become aware of other career paths.” Of course, some students do keep their original major, and in other cases
students who were originally pursuing a popular major change their mind and shift to a less common one. Blakney noted that the CPD has seen students with very diverse interests and career goals, and sometimes students who pursue the arts and humanities end up at jobs that typically look for candidates with more quantitative skills. Students even find ways to pursue careers that aren’t directly tied to any of Dartmouth’s major and minor offerings: Recently, one student working with the CPD was able to receive an internship with a well-established chef.
Another popular perception on campus is that one’s major may not be very important in the long run, since the prestige of a Dartmouth degree is what really opens doors for graduates’ employment opportunities. Blakney acknowledged that employers are aware of the Dartmouth brand, which comes from the successes
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of alumni, but emphasized that employers are not merely looking for a Dartmouth degree. Instead, she said that students must do their part to present the skills that they have learned while at Dartmouth. She suggests going so far as to recall specific instances and classes in which they demonstrated specific skills. “One thing I have “Every year, we have a large experienced over the years volume of employers that want to come and recruit Dartmouth is that students adapt. They students,” Blakney said. “A common may come in with a certain thing that they want to assess in that process of interviewing and plan, and for no bad reason for their candidates is: they become aware of other looking Are [Dartmouth students] able career paths.” to articulate the value of their experiences as it relates to the position for which they’re applying?” -LESLIE BLANKEY, ASSOCIATE Fortunately, students have a wealth of resources, such as the DIRECTOR FOR ADVISING AND CPD, to help them with these PRE-LAW COORDINATOR AT THE difficult decisions. However, there CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL are still issues that students face when it comes to selecting a major. DEVELOPMENT For some students, there is a fear that some majors provide more financial stability than others. Kate Domin ’19 entered Dartmouth considering a biology major and the pre-health track, but she has since switched to an art history major and a Hispanic studies minor. “I think that there’s a pressure to choose a certain major based on employability,” Domin said. Among the challenges Domin has faced is a feeling that others don’t take her major as seriously as others. She said that she often hears others remark that her major is “so interesting” and “so fun,” and while she agrees with those statements at face value, she finds it disheartening when people think her major is less rigorous than others. Regardless of the challenges, however, Domin enjoys her path of study greatly and appreciates that she no longer feels the unnecessary stress that her previous plans produced. Her family and friends have been supportive, and she already has an idea of what she wants t o
pursue after college. “Something I’m really interested in is visual aesthetics and social media,” Domin said. “I’ve been doing some internships in communications and public relations departments, working with social media as a platform through which we express ourselves in a way that’s aesthetically pleasing.” Some students feel much more unsure about their choice of major. Gisele Phalo ’17, who spent some time away from Dartmouth and will now be graduating in 2019, has considered a great number of options for her major. “I came in wanting to be an Arabic major, and then in my sophomore year I wanted to do computer engineering,” Phalo said. “Before that, I wanted to do classics, but that didn’t work out, and neither did engineering. So I took some time off, and when I came back I wanted to do theater. Then I switched to geography. Then I switched to Spanish. And now I’m thinking about anthro[pology].” Phalo is taking her first anthropology class this term, and she hopes that her interest in ethnography will help her keep this major. She said that, regardless, she’s not sure if she wants her major to impact her future career. Phalo said that she believes the major decision process isn’t really one of conformity, but rather of finding ways to follow one’s passion in a way that’s economically viable. For example, she remembered that many of her friends who wanted to be Arabic majors are now government majors, since there are so many opportunities to use Arabic in a governmental context.
Sarah Gupta ’19, who is currently a linguistics major and an Arabic minor, knew that she loved linguistics from her first class in her freshman spring but had a bit more difficulty dropping the pre-health track. “I liked the idea of pre-med because I like things to be planned out,” Gupta said. “I like to have a lot of structure and know what I’m doing.” She said that she found the idea of a rigid plan reassuring, and since she also wanted to help people, she thought the track was perfect for her. As time went on, she gradually realized that she didn’t enjoy any of her pre-health classes and finally decided to stop taking them last term. What does her future look like now? Gupta is aware of the many options available to linguistics majors but finds the freedom to be a little overwhelming. “There are a lot of people here who go into majors that are very pre-professional,” Gupta said. “With linguistics, there are a lot of things you can do with it. That’s exciting but also kind of scary.” For Gupta, her perception of conformity with majors relates to the feeling that everyone else seems to have their lives figured out, so some students might feel like they need to intern at a place like Goldman Sachs until they reach that same level of confidence. She said that many students reach a point where they become aware of what makes them happy or unhappy, however, and will adjust their academic path accordingly. Her final piece of advice? “You just have to follow your dreams, as cheesy as that sounds,” Gupta said.
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A Digression COLUMN
By Elise Wien
The theme for this week’s issue is conformity, and I feel like I don’t have much to say on the matter — or that everything I would have to say has been said already, or better, by everyone else. (Ha!) So, instead, here’s a piece I’m working on for my writing class. It’s about the Green. At first I thought I’d tie it to conformity by going the etymological route — maybe conformity and comfort have the same etymological roots? Alas, they do not. Comfort comes from com-fortis, meaning strong. Conform comes from con- and formare, meaning to form. Well. Now we know. The Green: Mostly being here reminds me of summer camp. This past Sunday, the Jewish women in my sorority had a Passover brunch. We ate matzo brei and macarons and as an introduction went around in a circle saying name, hometown, name of our rabbi and name of our summer camp. It is a very Jewish — specifically, northeastern-Jewishliberal-and-attached-to-Israel-catskill-area1880s-immigrant-family — thing to do. I went to YMCA Camp Mohawk, which was in fact a YMCA camp, meaning not Jewish, but all-girls with a sort of Christian lilt, meaning we said grace before every meal. At the end of the summer, after banquet, everyone would go down to the waterfront and the counselors would do an “Indian Ceremony,” in which they dressed up and painted themselves brown to enact some
sort of ritual done by the ancient Nipmuks, Chipmuks and Peaquots — or so the camp director, Fran, told us. To make matters worse, most of the counselors were Brits on their year abroad, so they’d take part in the brownface ceremony with posh English accents. The camp had this big field that we’d use for softball, kickball and relay races; once a summer, when the meteor shower hit Connecticut, we would drag our sleeping bags out onto the field and fall asleep under the falling stars. There was a game we would play on that field, a relay where girls would lay in lines on their stomachs. Whoever was at the end had to run down the center of the line as fast as they could and flop on their stomach, then whoever was at the other end had to get up and race, and so on. The memory is not sharp, but it is one of sweat and laughter, grass stains and unbridled bliss. How the camp got more than 100 people to do a brownface ceremony, I don’t know. How no one protested, I don’t know either. It is strange to feel such nostalgia for a place that did not question its blatant racism. I suppose this feeling is a condition of being white in the United States. But back to the Green. In the springtime or on warm days in the fall, I’ll lay down on the Green with a book, some papers and zero intention of reading. Oriented toward
Old traditions remain STORY
By Alison Hagen
Okay, I’ll admit it. I bought my first Patagonia sweater the summer before I came to Dartmouth with the expectation that it would not only be useful, but also that every student would probably own one. Like many others at Dartmouth, I succumbed to the pressure of wanting to match my peers when I altered my wardrobe. In many cases, however, conformity at Dartmouth reaches beyond a fashion statement. “Conformity” is certainly a broad term. There are many ways in which students can conform, and it often has an initially negative connotation. “It comes on many levels,” Michael Sun ’19 said. “I think the most negative form of conformity is when people are actively going against their own beliefs and values to do something or against a culture or image that they normally wouldn’t oppose. But then there’s all these subliminal types, like things that I think are pretty harmless, which is like fashion and music interests.” Despite what may first come to mind when thinking about conformity, it still has some notable benefits, especially for people who are exposed to new ideas for the first time and genuinely agree with them. “I think that there are some positive things of a conformational expectation at Dartmouth, like being more socially and politically aware,” Sun said. “That is something I was not in high school; I was never pushed to be. But that’s kind of an expectation at Dartmouth.” Dartmouth students come from all across the world, from various socioeconomic backgrounds
and with unique experiences. However, once they come to Dartmouth, they are newly united in their identity as Dartmouth students. Closed in the so-called “bubble” of Hanover, students often acquire habits or ideas from their peers. “I think that there’s a lot of conformity at Dartmouth,” Carson Smith ’20 said. “And I think that’s in part due to Dartmouth’s sort of unique culture, I would say. There are a lot of traditions involved in being a Dartmouth student with all sorts of different things and little quirks and it makes people feel like they’re really a part of the community. But I think that that breeds a certain level of expectation, and that expectation people then have to conform to.” Smith also noted the popularity of pursuing careers in finance amongst Dartmouth students. While not everyone is impacted by the pressure to study economics or government or pursue a corporate career, students still see it as a part of Dartmouth’s culture. “And I think that that breeds a certain expectation of how to be, how to act and how you need to constantly be furthering yourself and improving your resume or else you’re going to fall behind,” Smith said. Dartmouth students can often be identified by the specific groups into which they fall and to which they may conform. However, some people attempt to identify students beyond their group memberships. “When you describe someone, you describe them by saying their year, their major, their sports team or their Greek house,” Danielle Moragne
the sun, I’ll let myself sleep. It’s a deep sleep, where my body doesn’t seem to care that I am in public. I read recently that trees aren’t sad about autumn. I vacillate on this line, go from thinking it’s graceful to thinking it’s presumptuous, and back again. How do we know that trees don’t mourn the fall? Back to the Green. I google “history of the green dartmouth.” A Wikipedia page! The page reads: “The land on which the Green sits was originally a pine forest, with some trees ... high enough to block out the sun. The process of clearing the pines was begun in 1770 by the newly founded Dartmouth College. The village plan of Hanover was laid out the following year and included as its central feature an open square of 7.5 acres. Even though the land had been cleared, many tree stumps remained until 1831; for a long period, it was a Dartmouth tradition for the graduating class to remove one stump.” Last year in a theater class we went to Rauner and looked at the history of black theater at Dartmouth College. There was Errol Hill and a brief August Wilson residency, and before that, an annual tradition of upperclassmen hazing freshmen by posing in chariots with whips, and the freshmen acting as their slaves, complete with, yes, blackface. Granted this was in the early 1900s, so it is largely indicative of dress-up at the time. But again we have the glory of ’17 said. “Those are all conforming ideas, but what makes [describing people] really cool is if you’re able to describe [people] by something that they are really passionate about.” Both Moragne and Sun noticed that firstyear students are often the ones who most easily conform or change. Yet this phase is not necessarily harmful, as it can be important for students to experiment with the identities they want to have at Dartmouth. “We are pretty malleable people coming into Dartmouth or college in general,” Moragne said. “Students are experiencing this pseudo-freedom on a lawless campus in a weird way, and so conforming to things makes us feel safer. As we mature we become more individualistic.” In addition, Sun finds that students can benefit from figuring out who they are by first realizing who they are not. “I think that everyone’s allowed a process of doing what might be the norm or what everyone else is doing in order to figure out what they don’t want to do, and define by contrast,” Sun said. Conformity affects nearly everyone at Dartmouth, whether we realize it or not. While it is important for students to be cautious and stay true to their own identity, new ideas — with their potential to instigate positive change — should also be welcomed. In the end, the most important expectations to uphold are the ones people establish for themselves, even if they evolve over time. “I think that people need to be less concerned with the word ‘conformity’ because it is an ongoing process of figuring out who you are and who you’re not,” Sun said. “So if people think conformity is a dangerous thing, that’s not necessarily true. If people think conformity is a positive thing, that’s also not necessarily true.”
the past, thick with the oily smell of shoe polish. Anyone studying or working in American theater needs to know about minstrel shows; they are central to the development of the art form. Over the summer, as part of my education, I worked in Manhattan at a place called New Dramatists, which is housed in an old church on 44th Street between 9th and 10th Avenue. It was summer in the city and the heat was brutal and they were doing construction in Times Square and I would pass the Port Authority and it smelled like Port Authority and there was a homeless guy on every block and of course I am not saying that I am more upset by homelessness than they are — obviously it’s a terrible thing to be homeless. I only hope to paint an accurate picture of the landscape, and I say “landscape” because that makes them fixtures, tied to the land, irregularities on the plain, sticking out like tree stumps on an otherwise flat surface. That summer, on my lunch break, I would walk the two and a half blocks to 12th Avenue, where there was a pier and kids playing on one of those patches of pavement that spouts up water. There was a little knoll with trees, and you could lay down in the shade and sense the water nearby and feel calm. Laying on the knoll by the pier took me back to the Green, which took me back to summer camp. This feeling of back on grass is a wonderful feeling, fraught as it is.
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found a worthier pursuit. The former pre-med major of the group spoke up. “I was studying for the MCAT when I got my job offer in the fall,” she said. “And then I decided, ‘Screw it.’ I realized that I pursued medicine for so long because it was the easy thing to do. I was never actually passionate about it.” “Good for you,” I said. One of my friends warned her sister about Dartmouth before her freshman fall. She told her that she wouldn’t fall in love with Dartmouth immediately. She wouldn’t find an instant friend group. She’d have to game the system in terms of professors and grades, and she’d have to navigate social status and social pressures — just like in high school. “That’s exactly what my older sister told me,” another friend said. “My older brother gave me no warning at all,” said another. We laughed, and then sobered up. I am glad I came to Dartmouth. And I am glad that high school prepared me to succeed here. High school taught me discipline — to do what needs to be done, to survive in a cutthroat environment and to learn to be okay with my own definition of success. “I guess maybe I would send my kid to our high school,” I finally said aloud. “It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world,” my friend replied. No, it wouldn’t. But would it be the best?
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Through the Looking Glass: One Size Fits None COLUMN
By Madison McIlwain
I grew up with a uniform in middle school snacks, often there are models in the room and a dress code in high school. Despite the who essentially give private fashion shows fact that Dartmouth doesn’t have a student of the collection and occasionally you get handbook outlining wardrobe requirements, the chance to meet the designer in person. we all seem to only shop within the same few As the only buying intern for the winter brands. Across the Green, season dependent, season, I had a lot of opportunity to you can spot people in parkas (Canada Goose experience the thick of the fashion industry. or North Face, usually), Bean boots and/ Getting to go to my first fashion show was a or whatever their Greek affiliation chose to dramatic adventure involving a Valentine’s buy for gear last term. Sure, it rotates, with evening alone but also spotting Sarah Jessica Barbour jackets in the fall and white sneakers Parker, a fashion icon. Market appointments in the spring. However, if you took a poll, with my awesome buyers were the highlights I’d bet you’d find most wearing at least one of my job, mostly because it is all about the of these items on their person. clothes. There is a selection strategy involved If you’re wondering if I own some (okay, for what we think will dry clean well, how all) of these things, the answer is yes. it fits into the current trends, if it’s within Don’t get me wrong, I wear most of them budget and more. because they are practical and comfortable. Hands down my favorite market The “Dartmouth uniform” is logical given appointment experience was with Prabal our cold temperatures and rural locale. But Gurung, who I had the fortune of meeting. A it’s a little disturbing the number of girls who younger designer, Gurung has been using his own the same Brandy Melville “one size fits large following as a platform for social change. most” crop tops given the fact that we were During his fashion show this year, he had his made to be anything but. models end the show each wearing a printed With this in mind, the fashion industry tee with political statements in relation to can appear streamlined, superficial and the election and feminism in general. My standardized. People personal favorite was are forced to aspire to the t-shirt that said, the perfect look or body “To me, the designer “Girls just want to have in an effort to belong. fundamental rights.” To using his fashion line However, I found me, the designer using his that there are people out to advocate for change fashion line to advocate there who are trying to embodies the potential for change embodies change this. t h e p o t e n t i a l p owe r power behind this During my off-term behind this “superficial” this past winter in ‘superficial’ industry.” industry. New York, I interned Rent the for the buying team Runway’s business model at Rent the Runway. is grounded in similar Rent the Runway is an contemporary and online fashion start-up revolutionary ideas. Our founded eight years generation consumes ago by two Harvard everything through the Business School graduates. The founders on-demand economy. We want this car envisioned a company that provided runway when we have somewhere to be. We want fashion to everyone at affordable prices. The this food when we are hungry. We want this website is built upon a community of women dress when we have an event. Since fashion who share their user experiences with the trends are ephemeral, Rent the Runway dresses they rent. Customers in turn provide naturally fits into our conditioned 21st open feedback on what did and did not fit century consumerism. given their body type. But in my opinion, Rent the Runway Being a part of their buying team was has tapped into something more than just like a dream come true for me. I have had our desire for goods when we want them. two personal fashion blogs (I’d tell you about They’ve built their company culture and them, but then I’d have to kill you). I founded customer base around a key core value. my high school’s fashion club. I also generally The idea is that “everyone deserves a love clothes and planning my outfits. Have Cinderella moment,” no matter the price I already started thinking about my Green or your size. While not everyone has a fairy Key ensemble? Possibly. godmother, Rent the Runway’s community Most people’s knowledge of the fashion of women serves a similar purpose. People industry stems from “The Devil Wears post everything, including their weight, on Prada,” so let me summarize. Big retailers, the site in the hopes that others will benefit such as Bloomingdale’s, Saks and Nordstrom, from this information. Pictures and reviews buy what they carry in store directly from provide greater context for consumers to feel designers or showrooms. Generally designers like they’re getting the perfect piece for any come out with new collections twice a year event. during fashion week. After fashion week, Not every day is going to be a Cinderella there’s market. Market is a magical and day. But I think this principle can be exhausting time when a “buyer” at one of extrapolated. Everyone deserves to feel these bigger retailers goes to a designer’s good in their skin. Everyone should showroom, which could be anywhere feel comfortable in what they wear. At (sometimes in Europe, #glam), to pick Dartmouth, I often feel most physically out what their company will buy for the comfortable in my Lululemon leggings, Bean upcoming season. Sometimes there are boots and sorority sweatshirt. But what if
COURTESY OF MADISON MCILWAIN
Madison McIlwain ’18 talks fashion and conformity after an internship with Rent the Runway.
I wa sn’t in a sorority? What if I couldn’t tell a story. In doing so, fashion becomes more afford Bean boots? than just something we wear. It turns into an Having the perfect Dartmouth look aesthetic that defines generations. is certainly not straight off the runway, My experience at Rent the Runway taught but it accrues a me to appreciate similar budget. individuality in style. “Designers like Gurung put Here, clothes are We don’t need to a status symbol for together collections that squeeze our budgets, belonging. But the speak to both their souls and our thighs or our fashion industry is personalities into a built on standing the times. They can make a “one size fits all” out. d r e s s. Re n t t h e critique of society, they can At Dartmouth, allows the applaud a movement and they Runway we consume consumer to exist fashion trends can tell a story. In doing so, in the fashion world but neglect the fashion becomes more than in a comfortable, essence behind the affordable and industry, which I something to wear. It turns fundamentally unique believe is style. As into an aesthetic that defines manner. Why not try the lovely Coco a new look? After all, generations.” Chanel said, it’s rented. “fashion fades, This is not to but style endures.” say that we shouldn’t Style isn’t built be wearing our around what is Dartmouth uniform. on the runway or If that works for you, what is strutting across the Green. It is about go for it. But consuming clothes only to you, the individual, and what you choose to conform to cultural standards seems dull and wear. Designers like Gurung put together depressing to me. If you have to wear clothes collections that speak to both their souls and every day, why not have them say something the times. They can make a critique of society, about you? they can applaud a movement and they can We are all unique; our outfits can be too.
8// MIRROR
Lines and labels PHOTO
By Ishaan Jajodia