VOL. CLXXIV NO.127
SUNNY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Dartmouth closes the Gender Research Institute
OH MY GOURD!
HIGH 62 LOW 35
By ROHINI MANDAL and ABBY MIHALY The Dartmouth
MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH
OPINION
SZUHAJ: MORAL AUTHORITY PAGE 7
GHAVRI: ‘BROAD, WHOLESOME, CHARITABLE’ PAGE 6
ARTS
‘RESONANT SPACES’ EXHIBITION USES SOUND AS ART PAGE 8
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In celebration of fall, carved pumpkins adorn the fence along the edge of the Green.
The Gender Research Institute at Dartmouth has been closed, according to GRID director Annabel Martín. Martín wrote in an email statement that she is uncertain how long the institute will be closed and $30,000 has been allocated for gender-related research in
the interim period. Although Martín did not specify the reason for GRID’s closing, she wrote that the decision surprised all faculty involved in the process. College spokesperson Diana Lawrence wrote in an email statement that GRID was funded in 2013 with a onetime grant for four years, and that the grant has now been SEE GRID PAGE 2
Renovated Moosilauke Lodge to be dedicated By EILEEN BRADY The Dartmouth
The newly-constructed Moosilauke Ravine Lodge will be dedicated this Saturday, Oct. 14 at 10 a.m. Construction on the Lodge finished earlier this month, according to director of outdoor programs Dan Nelson ’75, wrapping up the roughly year-long project that began with the demolition of the old Lodge in September 2016.
The ceremony will officially introduce the new facility to Dartmouth students, alumni, faculty and staff as well as members of the general public in attendance. A shuttle will be available to bring attendees from campus to the Lodge for the ceremony. The new facility replaces the original Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, built in 1938, which had been in use since its opening in 1939, according to Nelson. The
main reasons for renovation were the condition, accessibility and sustainability of the building and the need for more space, Nelson said. Another reason the new Lodge was constructed was to better accommodate the programs that make use of the facility, primarily the First-Year Trips program, Nelson said. “A facility that was built in 1938 SEE LODGE PAGE 2
PETER CHARALAMBOUS/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
The new Moosilauke Lodge will be dedicated on Oct. 14.
Gifts to the College Response to Hurricane decrease by 10 percent Maria frustrates students
By SUSIE LEE
The Dartmouth
In the fiscal year ending on June 30, the College received more than $285.6 million in donations and commitments, a 10.4 percent decrease from last year’s record-setting total of $318.8 million. The new gifts will go toward supporting the athletics program, renovating new facilities and
funding faculty research, among other initiatives, senior vice president of advancement Robert Lasher said. The advancement division of the College engages with Dartmouth alumni to solicit support for the College through philanthropy. The Arthur L. Irving Family Foundation and individual Irving family members also donated $80 million to SEE GIFTS PAGE 3
By AUTUMN DINH The Dartmouth
Three weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican students at Dartmouth are frustrated by the response from both the College and the federal government. College administration did not contact students from Puerto Rico regarding the hurricane until about three weeks after it struck the island. Students impacted by Hurricane Irma received supportive
emails a week after the hurricane’s incidence. Assistant dean and director of case management Kristi Clemens said that she reached out to affected students before both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma to offer support and assure students that they could arrive on campus early or late if necessary. “Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma occurred at a time when many of SEE HURRICANE PAGE 5
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017
Gender Research Institute closes New Lodge dedicated FROM GRID PAGE 1
spent. She added that a group of faculty members will soon meet to discuss future options. In an interview with The Dartmouth in May 2016, Martín said that Dartmouth losing its “R1” status, a top research classification deter mined by the Car negie Commission on Higher Education, hurt GRID by lowering morale and decreasing budgets, as well as potentially hurting recruiting prospects and the possibility of obtaining external grants. At the time, GRID was renegotiating continuing its funding with the College. Martín wrote that Provost Carolyn Dever had “promised to work with a group of faculty to bring something back into existence,” though it is unclear whether the institution’s name will be preserved. Martín and four other faculty members launched GRID in 2013 to bring together a variety of professors to study gender. GRID provided fellowship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and professors, hosted lecture series and events and org anized an annual spring symposium. Topics discussed at these lectures and symposiums ranged from intersectional feminism to substance abuse and addiction. GRID also collaborated with other institutions at the College, such as the Geisel School of Medicine, the Dickey Center for International Understanding and the Tuck School of Business. The model for GRID was loosely based on gender research institutes at Barnard College, Brown University, Columbia University and Rutgers University. Columbia English and comparative literature professor Marianne Hirsch, who previously taught at Dartmouth, co-founded the Center for the Study of Social Difference at Columbia. CSSD serves as a “space where people can get together, share their own research, read together, learn new things and then develop courses that evolve from that,” Hirsch said. She called the program a “global community of scholars” and a “space to think together.” For example, on Oct. 5, CSSD hosted a round-table discussion on campus sexual assault led by researchers who have been working to change the way people look at conversations about sexual assault. Hirsch lamented the closure of
GRID, explaining that it was one of few gender research programs in the U.S. that offered post-doctoral degrees, which she described as an “amazingly productive thing” to start people’s careers and “support young scholars’ research.” In May 2016, GRID attracted attention from national media outlets after the institute brought Jasbir Puar, a professor of women’s studies at Rutgers, to speak at a panel entitled “Archipelagic Entanglements.” Puar, who has been accused of anti-Semitism in the past for her writings and remarks on Israel, drew criticism from several attendees for its controversial content. A student who attempted to record the talk was allegedly threatened and asked to leave. Although T he Dartmouth was unable to obtain specific infor mation regarding GRID funding from internal sources, contacts at other colleges and universities with similar programs said it is difficult for such an institute to get off the ground without strong support from its parent institution. “If it’s the case that a center like that has to raise some of its own money, that can’t be done in two or three years, so the school would have to launch it and support it for a while so it can get off the ground in that way,” Hirsch said. Institutions like the Barnard Center for Research on Women feel secure in their funding due to support from the college, according to the center’s associate director Tami Navarro. “I haven’t experienced a sense of insecurity [in funding],” Navarro said. “It’s been my experience that [Barnard] has demonstrated their commitment to the center in the time that I’ve been working with it.” Though the BCRW applies for foundation grants to fund specific programs, Navarro said most funding comes through Barnard, including its annual operating budget. She explained that because Barnard is a women’s liberal arts college, the center is particularly important to the institution. “I do feel that we’re recognized within the institution and that is reflected in our funding,” Navarro said. Rutgers Institute for Women’s L e a d e r s h i p, t h e u m b re l l a organization that includes the Institute for Research on Women, is endowed. However, Sarah Tobias,
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com for corrections.
associate director of IRW, said it is still difficult to find funding. “I think in this cor porate university climate, no one who does work like this feels secure,” she said. “No one at all.” She added, though, that Rutgers has a unique commitment to gender and women’s studies. “Gender and women’s studies has a very significant base at Rutgers that it doesn’t necessarily at other universities,” Tobias said. She explained that if Rutgers decides to change its funding model or shift around its money, there is no guarantee for IRW’s longevity. These centers at Bar nard, Columbia and Rutgers also engage in external fundraising. Tobias explained that gender research is one of the most difficult types of research to find funding for. “It’s very hard, because in this political climate, interdisciplinary work, work that’s seen as humanitiesfocused or humanistic social sciences, they don’t tend to attract external funding in the same way that the hard sciences do,” she said. She said she believes this is due to the lack of money the humanities bring in to universities. “ T h e u n i ve r s i t y i s b e i n g corporatized and centers that do interdisciplinary work are the most vulnerable within that,” Tobias said. “Centers that focus on race and gender and ethnicity are on perilous turf often. We don’t bring in money the way the sciences do, and that becomes of value.” Hirsch said CSSD’s funds come from a variety of sources, from the president of Columbia providing “seed money and an operating budget,” to external funds, to Columbia’s trustees. However, Hirsch said that as time progresses, the center cannot be as dependent on Columbia to provide as much funding. “I think we have to make our case and raise our own funds,” Hirsch said, which she said seemed fair. Margarita Ren ’18, who is an environmental studies major and women’s, gender and sexuality studies minor, called GRID’s closing “horrible.” She said she appreciated that GRID was able to highlight gender studies at the College and allow students and faculty to collaborate on research and scholarship as peers. “The school just doesn’t value humanities and value radical thinking, which GRID of course didn’t do a great job at every year, but sometimes did do a great job at,” Ren said. Faculty affiliated with GRID did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Women’s, gender and sexuality studies program coordinator Cristen Brooks did not respond to an interview request.
to be fixed. I was excited about the new Lodge,” Salzman said. “[I was] didn’t successfully accommodate the definitely really hoping for it to be size of the programs that we have done in time for Trips this year and there now,” Nelson said. “The very disappointed that it wasn’t.” [Trips] program has been going to Having visited the new Lodge the Ravine Lodge since there was a in August a few weeks before it was Ravine Lodge, but in the early years completed, Salzman said she is most of that program there were dozens pleased with the upgrades to the of students; now it’s a thousand kitchen and the increased space. students.” Rachel Kesler ’19, who worked as According to Nelson, the biggest a member of Lodge crew — the staff changes to the building were that manages the normal operations increasing the space of the dining of the Lodge — during summer 2016, room and kitchen and building said that she hopes the remote feeling additional meeting rooms. of the Lodge and the emphasis on Initially, construction on the new students will be preserved in the new facility was originally scheduled to be facility. done in time to welcome members “I think that it’s such a unique of the Class of 2021 at the end of thing for students to be able to go their First-Year out to this place Trips, however it in the middle was announced “I hope that [the of nowhere and in May that the Lodge] will continue have such a strong project would to be a strong student ct oo n n e cNt ieo wn not be done in space with a lot of time. Hampshire and “Our hope great programming.” the outdoors,” was that we Kesler said. “I would be able to hope that it will open it in time -RACHEL KESLER ’19 continue to be for [Trips 2017], a strong student but it was also a space with very challenging a lot of great and compressed programming.” construction schedule, made a little Nelson noted that there are plans to bit more challenging by the fact continue Lodge activities as they have that the Lodge is some distance always been and preserve traditions from any town or urban center of its programming. [and that] construction took place “The new Lodge was designed to over the course of a winter in New do a better job of accommodating the Hampshire,” Nelson said. programs we already have, not to do This year, Trips concluded at the things up there that we don’t already Dartmouth Skiway as opposed to the do,” Nelson said. “Most people who Moosilauke Lodge. have walked into the new Lodge, To introduce first-year students besides being really impressed by its to the new Lodge early in their time beauty and the craftsmanship that at Dartmouth, went into it, find dinners at the “Our hope was that that it feels very Lodge were familiar.” we would be able to organized Nelson for first-year open it in time for explained students in each [Trips 2017], but it was t h a t b e s i d e s of the six housing the building’s c o m m u n i t i e s also a very challenging same location over the first few and compressed and similar weeks that the layout, some new Lodge was construction materials such schedule...” open. as memorabilia, S a r a h decor and Salzman ’18, even windows who served as -DAN NELSON ’75, from the old one of the two DIRECTOR OF OUTDOOR Lodge were captains of Lodj incor porated Croo — the PROGRAMS into the new student group Lodge. that organizes Nelson and leads the portion of First-Year noted that some people were nostalgic Trips held at the Lodge — this past about the Lodge’s construction but summer, said she looks forward to ultimately are pleased with the new the use of the new Lodge but was building. disappointed upon hearing of the “The Lodge was a deeply loved construction delay in May. building, so it was challenging for a “After having lived there for some lot of people to finally recognize that time [while serving on Lodj Croo it had outlived its useful life,” Nelson at Moosilauke in 2015], I definitely said. “But people have been delighted felt that there was a lot that needed with the final result.” FROM LODGE PAGE 1
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017
College receives $285.6 million in donations
F u n d C o m m i t t e e, w i l l g o towards providing financial aid launch the Arthur L. Irving and scholarships, Lasher said. Institute, while alumni and friends The Dartmouth College Fund contributed $33 million towards the Committee annually organizes a total institute goal of $160 million. fundraiser that invites every alumna Until this year, giving totals had to support the College. A portion increased each year since fiscal year of this gift will go towards the 2013. In 2015, gifts totaled $310 Centennial Circle of Dartmouth million, up from $287.2 million in Alumnae, a group of female 2014 and $163.8 million in 2013. alumni in the Dartmouth College Over the past three years, the Fund Committee that provides athletics department has received need-based scholar ships for approximately $27.5 million in undergraduate women, he added. e n d o w m e n t s, Lasher noted the including a $5 importance of “Philanthropy could million gift from these donations B a r b a r a a n d be a very personal because he Ed Haldeman decision, and giving said creating a ’70 endowing diverse, talented, t h e a t h l e t i c to Dartmouth can global and d i r e c t o r ’ s be done in the way socioeconomically position. va r i e d s t u d e n t “ We h a v e that is right for each body is crucial to a budget that [alumnus].” the College. includes college Executive subvention director of DCFC money, annual -ROBERT LASHER, Sylvia Racca g i v i n g a n d SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT A&S’13 said endowment Dartmouth alumni funds that cover OF ADVANCEMENT are passionately our budget in driven to make the general, and these funds free up College experience accessible to as the budget money that then can be many students as possible. used for something else,” athletics “We feel that the ability for director Harry Sheehy said. Dartmouth to enlist the support This year, the athletics department of the alumni asks for us to often received a $2 million donation understand and meet them where from Stacy Smith Branca ’94, the they are and it’s not one-sizemajority of which “enhanced” the fits-all proposition,” Lasher said. women’s soccer program, including “Philanthropy could be a very endowing the women’s soccer head personal decision, and giving to coach position, Sheehy added. Dartmouth can be done in the way In addition, this year’s alumni that is right for each [alumnus].” gifts have provided support for Dartmouth was named the top the Dartmouth faculty by funding college in the U.S. on the 2017 new courses, trips to conferences Forbes Grateful Grads Index. and research, according to Lasher. Matt Schifrin, managing editor The funds also endowed seven of investing, markets and personal professorships. Lasher added finance at Forbes and creator that the endowments have also of the index, said he based this enabled the College to continue index on two categories: median supporting foreign study programs donation per student and alumni and renovate the Hood Museum participation percentage. of Art. In March, the College The median donation per announced that Frank Guarini ’46 student, which has a 75 percent pledged to donate $10 million to weight in determining the ranking, the Frank J. Guarini Institute for divides the total alumni gifts by the International Education to fund number of students to equalize foreign study opportunities. The out small schools versus large College also received $40.6 million schools. The alumni participation toward the $50 million goal for percentage carries a 25 percent the reconstruction of the Hood weight and calculates the percentage Museum. The museum is expected of alumni that donate each year. to be 50 percent larger, provide Schifrin said the index seems three times more object-study to favor small liberal arts colleges spaces for students and house five regardless of their income, since new galleries when it reopens in their graduates have deep affection 2019. for their undergraduate experience. In the coming year, $43.8 He added that Dartmouth has million, which was raised by continued to be ranked top one or alumni through the fundraising two in recent years due to its “small efforts of the Dartmouth College size” and “great alumni network.”
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 3
PICTURES ON THE WALL
FROM GIFTS PAGE 1
SHAE WOLFE/THE DARTMOUTH
The Osher Art Gallery is current displaying a photography exhibition by John Lehet, who attended Dartmouth in the 1970s.
PAGE 4
DARTMOUTHEVENTS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: RECOLLECTIONS
NEELUFAR RAJA ’21
TODAY
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Colloquium: “Photophysics of Metal-Organic Frameworks with Emphasis on Directional Energy Transfer,” with University of South Carolina professor Natalia Shustova, Steele 006
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
1917 Centennial Series: “Dartmouth at War, 1914-1918,” with history professor Margaret Darrow, Haldeman 41 (Kreindler Conference Hall)
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Lecture: “Framing Victory: Salamis, the Athenian Acropolis and the Agora,” with University of California Los Angeles professor John Papadopoulos, Rockefeller Center 001
TOMORROW
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Colloquium: “Dynamics of Radiation Belt Electrons and the BARREL Experiment,” with physics and astronomy professor Robyn Millan, Wilder 104
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Film: “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” directed by Terry Gilliam, Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017
PAGE 5
Puerto Rican students discuss the impact of Hurricane Maria FROM HURRICANE PAGE 1
our students, both new first-year students and returning students, were on their way back to campus,” Clemens said. A number of students reached out to Clemens for help with travel after Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, including for financial assistance with airline fees for rescheduling flights. The student affairs office has emergency funding set aside that can be used to reimburse students for damaged belongings and travel fees, among other expenses. Puerto Rican students received the Irma outreach email sent Sept. 6 but did not receive a message of support from the College regarding Hurricane Maria until Oct. 10. Clemens said that her office did not send “proactive outreach” because students were on campus when Hurricane Maria hit and because they had received information about College resources after Hurricane Irma. “The reason for that difference in outreach is because those students from Puerto Rico were already here on campus and we weren’t worried about travel impacting their plans, though obviously we’re still concerned about the devastation in
Puerto Rico,” she said. Since the hurricane hit, Puerto Rican students at Dartmouth have received a lot of support from their communities. Nicole Velez ’19, who was born in New York but grew up in San Juan, said that her sorority sisters in Kappa Delta Epsilon are planning a joint concert with some fraternities at the end of the month to raise money for disaster relief. Daniel Torres ’21, who lives in Puerto Rico, also said that he received a lot of support from his floormates in McCulloch Hall and his Writing 5 professor Megan McIntyre. “I feel a really strong sense of community here,” he said of the support. Puerto Rico native Javier Garcia ’18 and Torres are both participating in a fundraising Facebook group of Puerto Ricans from over 50 colleges in the U.S. called Students With Puerto Rico. The GoFundMe page on the website has garnered significant donations, according to Garcia. “We have raised over $150,000,” Garcia said. “Even Jimmy Fallon donated to us.” All three students’ families are safe from the hurricane, they said, but the island was severely damaged. “My family is lucky, but other
friends of mine lost homes and family members,” Torres said. “I know families who must move to the U.S. to find new opportunities because they have lost everything.” Garcia said his house was flooded after water broke through the windows. Velez said that her neighbor’s house fell onto her grandfather’s house. The hurricane also destroyed Puerto Rico’s cell towers, leaving the island with barely any signal or power. Torres said that he had to wait for two days after the hurricane to know that his parents were safe, and three days to contact his relatives living in central Puerto Rico. According to Velez, only people who have generators have electricity, yet access to gasoline to power these generators is itself very limited. “My grandfather has to line up for seven hours to get only $15 of gas,” she said. Torres also added that the curfew hours from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., imposed for the week after the hurricane, made it more difficult to buy gas. Velez said some hospitals in San Juan have had to turn down patients because they are short on power. Moreover, the majority of the schools and colleges in Puerto Rico are closed, Torres said, and most of the students lost the whole
semester because of the hurricane. He said that some families have to send their children to the U.S. to continue their studies. “I feel very helpless,” Velez said. “I just want to fly back and help.” Garcia said that he is nervous to go home in December and see the damage. Torres is optimistic about the rebuilding progress and the resilience of Puerto Ricans. “We always move forward,” he said. “Hopefully by the time I get back on Christmas, the majority of the island will have already been rebuilt.” Garcia added that he appreciates the local government’s hard work in the aftermath of the hurricane. “The mayor of San Juan [Carmen Yulín Cruz] has been on the streets since day one, walking through the water and the flood to make sure that everyone is okay,” he said. The three students expressed their frustration at the federal government’s response to the hurricane. “[Trump’s] response is not only not good as a president, but also unacceptable as a human being,” Torres said. He said that he felt “personally insulted as a Puerto Rican” when Trump compared the death toll from Hurricane Maria to that of
Hurricane Katrina and told Puerto Ricans to feel “very proud” because their death toll was only 16. “No human being would say that,” Torres said. “That’s 16 family members that people have lost. That’s 16 lives cut short. That’s 16 lives we value. Why would the president of the United States, the leader of the free world, say that that is nothing but a big deal?” Garcia added that Trump’s recent focus on National Football League players refusing to stand for the national anthem, as opposed to focusing on relief efforts, made him feel like “a second-rate citizen.” He also expressed his disappointment in the government’s delay in granting a Jones Act waiver, which allows foreign vessels to enter U.S. territory, which, in this case, were vessels carrying aid. He said that this postponed aid in Puerto Rico and that the waiver was only for 10 days, which he said was not enough time for people to receive the aid they needed. Garcia added that Trump was quicker to waive the Jones Act for Texas and Florida after they were hit by Hurricane Harvey and Irma, which meant they received aid faster than Puerto Rico. Velez expressed a similar sentiment about Trump. “I’m really happy and really proud that the mayor of San Juan, [Cruz], has stood up against [Trump] on air,” Velez said.
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
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GUEST COLUMNIST BRENDAN SCHEUTZE ’18
The Internet of Things
Dartmouth should alter internet network policies that prevent best practices. Originally coined by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Kevin Ashton in the late 1990s, the term “Internet of things” refers to the networking of small physical devices such as sensors, cameras and microphones through the internet. Enabled by recent advances in artificial intelligence and low-power microprocessors, technology giants such as Amazon and Google have brought affordable smart speakers — Alexa and Home respectively — to consumers. In addition, many companies are now producing smart lightbulbs and thermostats which can be operated through a smartphone app or devices such as smart speakers. The possibilities offered by these devices cannot be understated. IoT devices offer an economical means of collecting data, streaming music and making homes more energy efficient. As the number of devices in the Internet of Things grows, so too will the scholarship. At Dartmouth, the potential benefits and risks of the IoT have been recognized for quite some time. During the summer term of 2015, computer science professor Sean Smith taught a class called the “Risks of the Internet of Things to Society.” Over winterim in 2016, the Thayer School of Engineering offered a short course focused on the IoT which allowed participants to gain experience programming credit card-sized computers. Beyond engineering and computer science, Tuck School of Business’s Center for Digital Society has also produced several executive briefings and lectures concerning the future of the IoT. Despite the growing prominence of these devices, Dartmouth’s network infrastructure is unduly antagonistic to the Internet of Things. Because most IoT devices are used for rather lowpriority purposes, they generally do not require the high-speed connection and level of security provided by encrypted Wi-Fi networks and therefore do not support the advanced security protocols required by Dartmouth Secure or eduroam. In an ideal world, IoT devices could use the Dartmouth Public network, but this is currently impossible because Dartmouth Public requires users to accept terms and conditions each time they rejoin the network and most IoT devices do not have screens or input devices that would allow users to do so. As a result, many IoT devices cannot connect to any network at Dartmouth. Under the current network regime, the easiest way to connect IoT devices is through a privatelyowned router. However operating additional routers throughout campus is not ideal for several
reasons. For one, adding routers to campus will cause network interference. In addition, because the router will be registered to student’s NetID, one person will have to accept responsibility for any network traffic that flows through the router associated with their student account. While only the College has access to the true statistics concerning the adoption of the IoT on our campus, personal experience leads me to believe that this phenomenon is not uncommon. In my Greek house, we are currently operating several additional Wi-Fi routers. These routers enable us to connect smart speakers, programmable lightbulbs and other devices that would otherwise be unable to access the internet. In my house, the number of alternative Wi-Fi routers is predicted to grow as we are currently investigating the possibility of adding a smart thermostat, which would help increase the energy efficiency of our 76-year-old physical plant. Currently, the heating system of our house can only access the temperature of the first floor, but with the addition of IoT sensors, we would be able to heat our house more effectively by gathering temperature data from all floors. I own a small computer called the “Raspberry Pi,” which acts as a Wi-Fi router for my room. This enables me to stream internet to my Amazon Alexa and my Xbox One media center. In addition, the alwayson nature of my Raspberry Pi automates several tasks associated with my senior thesis psychology experiments. Fortunately, there is a simple fix to Dartmouth Public’s hostility to IoT devices — Dartmouth could offer a way to register IoT devices by their unique media access control address identifiers. Once registered, the IoT devices would be able to bypass the Dartmouth Public authentication popup. There is precedent for registering devices by MAC address, as Dartmouth’s information technology department already offers a similar mechanism to register Ethernet devices. Historically, Dartmouth has led American universities as an innovator, first with BlitzMail and later with campus-wide Wi-Fi networks. It is now time for Dartmouth to lead higher education into the age of the Internet of Things. Scheutze is a member of the Class of 2018. The Dartmouth welcomes guest columns. We request that guest columns be the original work of the submitter. Submissions may be sent to both opinion@thedartmouth.com and editor@thedartmouth.com. Submissions will receive a response within three business days.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017
STAFF COLUMNIST ANMOL GHAVRI ’18
‘Broad, Wholesome, Charitable’
Dartmouth students should take advantages of opportunities to study abroad. As a senior, I now get alumni and first-years develop “broad, wholesome, charitable views asking for my reflections on my experiences and of men” remains a luxury for most people. fleeting time at Dartmouth. Like most other With most Americans not having enough in seniors, I generally provide advice revolving their savings accounts to cover an unplanned around the intimate student-faculty academic $500 or $1,000 expense, it would be elitist and relationships I have developed and on forging patronizing to expect everyone to be able to my own identity and academic and professional drop everything and spend time in a new place paths amid the conformist pressures and culture just to avoid “vegetating” in one little corner of of our small, wooded campus. I would wager the earth. This makes the four years we spend most students and alumni are aware of the at Dartmouth even more unique, since this is a pivotal importance of these factors, probably time when travel for travel and education’s sake to the point of them becoming cliché. But is often achievable for many despite financial one aspect of the Dartmouth experience that or time constraints. I think gets underplayed are the resources As Dartmouth students, we are incredibly and programs Dartmouth provides to spend privileged to have so many options and time studying abroad. Individual departments opportunities to study abroad. Indeed, I give and the charming Off-Campus Programs Dartmouth credit for allowing financial aid to office on College Street travel with a student and work incredibly hard to “As Dartmouth for designing programs make studying abroad meant to easily fit in with at Dartmouth accessible, students, we major plans, research plans inclusive, seamless and are incredibly and the quarter system. c u l t u r a l l y e n r i ch i n g. Moreover, Dartmouth’s priveleged to have Statistics are thrown around abroad programs are about how many students so many options and almost always led by study abroad and how opportunities to study a Dartmouth professor accessible it is, but it often is with living situations not conveyed just how eye- abroad.” arranged by the school. opening and life-changing These factors make spending time outside of spending time abroad as your normal sphere of life seamless as possible and is can be. probably why over half of To anyone reading this Dartmouth students end who is on the fence about going on an foreign up going on one of our FSP or LSA programs. study program or language study abroad, ask Of course, spending time on Dartmouth’s yourself: When will you have another chance rural campus bestows its own benefits on to travel in this way? When we graduate and scholarship and intellectual development. The become working people, path dependency and solitude allows for introspection, and the closeAmerican work culture for young people makes knit student body and faculty relationships allow travel for travel’s sake impractical for many for for productive engagement and collaborative reasons — financial and time constraints among research. Provinciality does not have to be a them. Even when adults are able to travel, it is negative when one is self-aware about their often for work or in solitude, not with peers in place in the world. The duality of opportunities an educational and communal setting. to travel outside of Hanover and opportunities This is despite the fact that we live in a for research and development when on time of ease of travel and transportation. The campus create multiple layers of intellectual contrast between the dangers and uncertainties development and reflection. But studying of travel two- or three-hundred years ago and abroad is also just fun, and that in and of itself now is stark. Most major cities are no more than is a good reason to begin looking into whether a 12- or 13-hour flight away from Boston or your academic plans are compatible with an New York. Throughout most of human history, FSP or LSA. however, people were totally ignorant of the If any readers are on the fence about cultures and customs of their cousins across seas potentially studying abroad — especially firstand continents. Even when they were able to years — I would tell you this: When you are an travel more freely and became more aware of alumnus, I wager you will not regret that you the diversity of human cultures, customs and did not dedicate more time to this club, that societies, people often encountered danger and athletic team or some consulting internship, could only travel if they could spend the money but you will regret not taking advantage of and afford to spend weeks, if not months, on the Dartmouth’s opportunities and resources to seas. Most people’s knowledge of “foreign” lands spend time studying abroad. At what other still came through secondhand or thirdhand point in your life will you have the time and sources like fiction or slow-moving news. Mark opportunity to spend three months in a new city Twain wrote in his travel book “The Innocents just studying and exploring your environment? Abroad, or The New Pilgrims’ Progress” that The combination of being young, utopian and “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow- in the presence of other young people in a new mindedness, and many of our people need it educational environment is fatal to prejudice, sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, bigotry and narrow mindedness. Whether it is charitable views of men and things cannot be Buenos Aires or Barcelona, Rome or Berlin, acquired by vegetating in one little corner of Hyderabad or Beijing, I urge every Dartmouth the earth all one’s lifetime.” student, if at all possible, to spend some time Still, travel today for travel’s sake and to away from our small college in the woods.
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017
PAGE 7
STAFF COLUMNIST BEN SZUHAJ ’19
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST SIMON ELLIS ’20
Moral Authority
Vox Clamantis in Silentium
President Donald Trump lacks the moral gravitas needed to govern effectively. After racial slurs were found written outside of the dorm rooms of five black cadet candidates at the United States Air Force Academy, Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, the head of the preparatory institution, addressed a crowd of cadets on Sept. 28. In a brief and militarily precise lecture, Silveria said that “small thinking and horrible ideas” had no place at the school. Those who could not treat their fellow cadet candidates with dignity and respect had to “get out.” Silveria said: “If you’re outraged by those words then you’re in the right place ... You should be outraged not only as an airman, but as a human being.” Silveria’s message is not earth-shattering. It isn’t new, and it isn’t scandalous. The fact that it’s even news reveals something important: America sorely lacks a leader denouncing hateful speech in a public forum. It’s something we want and need. President Donald Trump’s strategy during his campaign and his presidency has been to consistently condone hate speech by drawing into question what actually qualifies as “hateful.” In a world of alternative facts, objective wrongs can be considered right. In the wake of the far-right rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump painted peaceful counter-protestors with the same brush as tiki-torch carrying white supremacists. “I think there is blame on both sides,” Trump said. “You had a group on one side that was bad. You had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say that. I’ll say it right now.” Of course, the reason nobody wants to say it is because it isn’t true. Making a bogus claim under the guise of I’m-the-only-one-brave-enough-tospeak-his-mind is not noble. And it’s far from benign. To use Charlottesville as an example, a reductive lie such as the one Trump told about the events unfolding carries significant weight. He holds the office of the President of the United States, an office traditionally enshrined with the responsibility of acting as the moral authority of our nation. Not only is Trump not upholding any sort of consistent moral standard — in fact, the only consistency that can be found in what he condones versus what he denounces is how much he likes the object of his rhetoric — but his failure to provide any sort of moral authority surreptitiously threatens the strength of our country. His only teachable lesson is one in a perverse form of tribalism — even his catchphrase: “You’re fired!” encapsulates this. At the moment of failure, in Trump’s eyes, you no longer deserve to be part of the group. You are out. On the other side of the same coin, Trump clings fiercely to “loyalty.” During the investigation of former national security advisor Michael Flynn, he asked former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey for his loyalty in a private dinner at the White House. Comey claims he offered his “honesty” instead. Comey was later fired. This is one of the most alarming moments of the Trump presidency. To some, asking Comey to drop the investigation amounts to obstruction of justice, the same charge former President Richard Nixon was accused of. Whether or not a criminal charge would stick, the problem with Trump’s thinking remains: The American government is not tribalistic. It is a carefully constructed orchestra of democracy whose separation of powers is enshrined in its blueprint, the U.S. Constitution.
Even Trump’s assertion that the federal government can and should be run like a business is fundamentally flawed — the American government, to reason along Trump’s quasiauthoritarian lines, is much more like an industry than a single corporation. Each branch operates separately and is tasked with separate missions. Even within the executive branch, different agencies are supposed to operate independently of one another. That is why FBI directors serve 10-year terms — they are supposed to be above the sway of any one president. This basic separation of powers frustrates Trump, who views himself as a business magnate, a titan of industry. But the same horizontal integration that is allowed, to an extent, in private business is not allowed in the public sector. It is unconstitutional. Trump’s corporatization of government is a distraction from one of the easiest and most important charges of the presidency — that of moral authority. Even if Trump failed both to comprehend the nature of our Constitution and to enact effective policy, he could at the very least react appropriately to contentious events. Having the proper reaction to hate speech is not hard. It does not take incredible powers of oration to tweet at 3 a.m., as he clearly knows. In the case of hate speech, all that Trump needs to do is get the message objectively right by denouncing it. The revised recipe would be simple: a dash of awareness, a pinch of actual leadership and two tablespoons less ego. Tautologically, leaders lead, both in action and in speech. The second half of this job description is more important than most people care to admit. For some reason — perhaps because of the backlash against “political correctness” in the name of “free speech” or because of the pervasive dissemination of social media — the subject of speech has become the center of many discussions. Paradoxically, this hyper-focus on speech strips it of much of its power. Say something too “politically correct” and you and your speech are written off as “fake news,” liberal delusions afraid to confront the harsh reality of the word. Say that you support U.S. manufacturing to the same people who uphold political correctness and you might be labelled ignorant or backward, regardless of how untrue that may be. Say you’re running for president and you talk about Mexicans as rapists and murderers. Later, it comes out that you like to brag about sexually assaulting women, then as president you threaten nuclear war with North Korea simply on impulse. Even if we begin to tune out your statements, even if we try to convince ourselves that the world still turns after such outrageous statements are said by the President of the United States, words still matter. Everything that’s said matters, regardless of whether or not you agree with it. Language changes how we think and how we view the world. When making a claim for nuance in speech is viewed as reflecting a coddled or soft character, it’s easy to normalize speech that makes us more hateful and more divided. That’s why Silveria’s message is so important: To have a dignified, respected leader tell us that we should be offended by racial slurs, that we should be outraged by certain words, is a valuable confirmation of a shared national conscious, of a common belief in absolute right and wrong that has become harder and harder to recognize during the Trump presidency.
Dartmouth should do more to promote marginalized groups’ speech. In the fall of 2016, conservative speaker continued suppression of speech in a way Milo Yiannopoulos came to Dartmouth to that eventually results in the overall loss speak, despite vocal objections from many of expression for groups on either side students and faculty. Last spring, Native of an argument. It stands to reason that American studies professor N. Bruce Duthu suppressing only certain forms of speech ’80 declined his appointment as the dean would create an argument to suppress other, of the faculty of arts and sciences amid perhaps historically more silenced forms of concerns over his support of a boycott of speech. Israeli academic institutions. Both of these What then, should the College do to events roused dialogue about Dartmouth’s allow students and faculty with controversial commitment to supporting diverse ideas, options to express their ideas in a proper but they also raised a larger question. What environment? First, the College should obligation does Dartmouth, as a private continue to emphasize that while we, academic institution, have to uphold free as members of the College, represent speech and at what point should Dartmouth Dartmouth in some ways, that does not comment on and act upon the public actions imply that our views represent the views of of its students and faculty? the College. My views represent the views Dartmouth is a private institution, so of a single member of the College: myself. it does not need to operate under the Although speech can be used as a judge of same constraints as one that is public. character, a comment made by a member Private institutions can dole out sanctions of the College is not a comment made by against their members in accordance with the College and therefore does not represent internal disciplinary guidelines, as Harvard the College’s character. This is not to say University recently demonstrated in its that I believe a direct interpretation of the decision to rescind the acceptance of several First Amendment is correct — in fact, just students over inappropriate posts in a private the opposite. The College should act as online group chat. Dartmouth, likewise, a mediator to discuss ideas and facilitate has the legal right to create the kind of speech. There is a time and a place to discuss environment it wants. issues, and Dartmouth must focus more on The College advocates for “the vigorous making sure all beliefs have an equal chance and open debate of ideas within a community of being heard and discussed rather than marked by mutual respect,” according to its directly commenting (or not) on the speech core values. If Dartmouth truly holds these of members of the College. values at the core of its character, why did Dartmouth can and should make Duthu face such strong opposition? The a commitment to helping students College aims to have understand views that its community debate “College programs may oppose their own. ideas in a respectful This responsibility aimed at helping m a n n e r, t o s u p p o r t should not fall on intellectual inquiry and minority students students in traditionally the eventual arrival at an adjust tend to be marginalized groups. abstract view of truth. College programs aimed This debate of ideas is aimed at adjusting to at helping minority valuable to a point, but and accepting these students adjust tend to the expression of ideas aimed at adjusting to socialized norms rather be must not directly incite and accepting socialized hateful expression. In than considering nor ms rather than the case of the reaction perspectives from considering perspectives to Duthu’s appointment, from outside of the it bec ame apparent outside of the norm.” norm. These issues could that not everyone on spawn a completely new campus shares this discussion about the belief. Dartmouth College’s programming, should support the same but for now, I think they values it claims on its pertain directly to speech website in practice and on campus. Are we asking should encourage respectful debate among traditionally silenced groups to accept and students and faculty in the correct spaces, understand the voice of the majority or is it including a respectful debate of the values the other way around? These questions and Duthu expressed. more need to be addressed by the College. Students are not alone in this quest for a Although Dartmouth has a long way to diversity of ideas and a larger commitment go in support of free speech, so do many to free speech on campus. In a recent colleges and universities across the nation lecture, professor Geoffrey Stone of the and world. There is no way to address these University of Chicago Law School stressed issues perfectly as they tug at morals and the importance of allowing the free and values that many people hold close. We are unrestricted expression of ideas, so long at a point in history where there is more of as they do not directly include hate speech a chance for non-traditional voices to be and or incite violence, on campuses. He heard, and silenced, than ever before. How went on to say that the suppression of we use this power will determine the course speech can create the precedent for the of our academic and every day future.
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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017
‘Resonant Spaces’ combines sound art with familiar settings By JORDAN McDONALD The Dartmouth
The first exhibition of its kind for the Hood Museum of Art, “Resonant Spaces: Sound Art at Dartmouth” introduces sound art from around the world to Hanover and the College.. Running from September to December, the exhibition is comprised of presentations and showcases that invite listening and learning. The exhibition centers on the commissions of artists Bill Fontana, Christine Sun Kim, Jacob Kirkegaard, Alvin Lucier, Laura Maes, Jess Rowland and Julianne Swartz. The hope of the exhibit is to invite people to redefine what art can be and how sound makes up our lives. “It’s the first time that the Hood has exhibited sound art, and really the first time it’s been exhibited in the Upper Valley,” said Amelia Kahl ’01, a cocurator of the Hood who has worked closely with “Resonant Spaces.” The exhibition includes an installation from each of the seven featured artists, located on or around the Dartmouth campus. The works are intended to transform familiar
Hanover locations through the students to answer questions related to An exhibit like this requires manipulation of sound, providing a each piece and offers a prize to high significant time, expertise and passion, new perspective on these sites. scorers. as demonstrated by the curators who “We have work in the Bema, in the Dotson especially values the dedicated their time to bringing Life Sciences [Center] or all the way interactive appeal of the exhibition, the showcase to the Dartmouth in the Thayer School of Engineering,” explaining in an email statement that community. Kahl said. “That way, people are her engineering-minded friends “try “It’s been a multi-year process encountering that’s really what is really culminated public art in “For college students, it’s a really important thing with a lot of t h e i r o w n for them to start to critically examine the things work in the s p a c e s a n d in their life, whether that’s visual information or last year and being invited a half,” Topel political information, and sound is a part of that.” said. “It’s to listen.” “Resonant really been a Spaces” is also process where an interactive -AMELIA KAHL ’01, CO-CURATOR OF THE HOOD MUSEUM we developed a r t e x h i b i t OF ART MUSEUM from the compared ground up. to other We didn’t artistic showcases that have graced to figure out” Rowland’s piece while have a model, so we invented it.” Dartmouth’s campus. Kahl and music English majors might be more drawn The process of selecting artists professor Spencer Topel, who co- to Swartz’s piece, which is located in also required a lot of thought on the curated the exhibit, have been hosting the library. part of curators. The final product of walking tours to highlight some of the “This exhibit shares a lot of “Resonant Spaces” is informed by the installations. To encourage students connections with the Hopkins Center intentionality of the curators as well as to take advantage of this interactive [for the Arts], the digital music program by the commissioned artists themselves. component, the museum also created and the music department,” Topel said. “We thought a lot about what group an online game called “In Search of “Where it’s radically different is that it of artists we wanted to participate,” Sound,” Hood programming intern engages with sound as a medium of Kahl said. “So we were looking for a Ashley Dotson ’18 said. The game asks art.” wide range of artists. So in terms of
their sound art practice, what sounds are they using? Are they engaging? How do they work with the visual? How do those sounds engage different kinds of spaces?” Kahl explained that the curators also looked for demographic diversity when selecting the artists. “This was important to us because a lot of the narratives that have been written around experimental music and art have been driven by white narratives and white male narratives,” Topel said. “So, we felt it was really important to balance our show with a pretty clear representation from all different types of groups to show that there is a plurality working with experimental sound and art.” “Resonant Spaces” hopes to complicate our relationship with sound, and its curators believe that students could benefit from experiencing such an exhibit. “For college students, it’s a really important thing for them to start to critically examine the things in their life, whether that’s visual information or political information, and sound is a part of that,” Kahl said. The exhibition ends on Dec. 10.
BAKER BY NIGHT
MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH
As temperatures drop and daylight hours shorten this fall, Baker Tower stands out against a dark evening sky.