The Dartmouth 07/16/2021

VOL. CLXXVIII NO. 9

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

College mental health resources prove insufficient

OLIVER DE JONGHE

BY SOLEIL GAYLORD & ARIELLE FEUERSTEIN The Dartmouth Staff

Inaccessibility of appointments

discovered a student in her building

among Dartmouth students spiked mental health resources were tested

friend lived, and he watched another student walk out with paramedics as he

advertises a number of options to address student mental health concerns,

recalled that students had to book an appointment over two weeks in advance providers are not allowed to provide can prescribe medication that can alter

consultation, nutrition services, help pandemic, students were unable to walk

counselors serving Dartmouth’s

to reporting from The Dartmouth widespread grief and sorrow to the

PARTLY CLOUDY

would add two new counselors, a student

HIGH 86 LOW 66

counselor speaks with a student for recommendations for how the student

to address Dartmouth’s mental health and counseling, and students can participate in discussion groups and

A number of students report that

a counseling appointment, he was that their depression worsened when

counselor near the end of winter term,

campus during the winter term and Dartmouth reverted to strict quarantine

state laws prevented her from continuing when she moved back home for spring

isolation from their friends and academic coordinator, or front desk administrator,

Resources unavailable for out-ofstate students

a student calls after hours and leaves a counselors, some students were unable

OPINION

TESZLER: PLAYING TO LOSE PAGE 3

ARTS

struggling with mental health issues, it’s

SEE MENTAL HEALTH PAGE 2

College turns on air Sororities issue new conditioning for some rules for frat events, full list to come soon

REVIEW: BLACK WIDOW THRILLING, LACKS DEPTH BY Caitlin McCarthy PAGE 4

SPORTS

ROWERS MEDAL AT U23 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS PAGE 5

MIRROR

The Dartmouth Staff

As students continue to live on campus and take classes this summer, conditioning in the residential buildings

B Y KYLE MULLINS set up “in the main lounge of the not assigned to live on the warmer fourth

This article was originally published on July 13, 2021.

heat waves have become more intense

As nighttime parties return to Webster Avenue, Dartmouth’s eight sororities have issued a list of interim requirements for social gatherings held in conjunction

housing portal informed students that because “so few residence halls available for summer use have the option for air

WHITE: WHO REALLY RUNS THIS PLACE?

rules, which was sent to fraternities over

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The Dartmouth Senior Staff

that as of the end of the spring term, central air conditioning has been turned on in buildings where students are living

SEE AC PAGE 2

The three unredacted requirements

on the list state that “phone numbers hosting houses must be sent to visiting houses before an event, that hosting visiting houses will “communicate the

leadership of the sororities, that is intended to provide some guidance until a more complete list of rules can

SEE FRATS PAGE 2

PAGE 2

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

Medical leave policy, short-term counseling unpopular with students FROM MENTAL HEALTH PAGE 1

Medical leave policy

Under Dartmouth’s current medical alternative mental health resources for promoting counseling apps or programs are prohibited from returning to campus

medical leave policies, which received assessed several schools’ leave of absence

health resources because she was living of a close friend, and then had no support from counselors, was isolated during the winter, was not on campus and was not KYLE MULLINS

the student’s senior dean must consult After the provider assesses the student,

for their mental health, and students shouldn’t be treated “like a bomb about

not good to hear another person in

medical leave once a student has declined

support, so the support came through

Short-term solutions

health condition and the student meets certain additional criteria, including

or themselves or obstruction of “lawful

to convince him that he could not belong at Dartmouth if he was struggling with to its harshness, “prevents people from going to counselling and seeking out

and outreach programs, hire more

switching schools … but the therapist members in “knowing where to refer

appointment, there are limitations on the disclosing all of the details of his

students said does not provide adequate When Ding was a freshman, she ended up making several over the course

because he did not want to be forced to take a medical leave from campus, and he was concerned that going home would aggravate his mental health struggles,

mental health policies in order to help students get connected with appropriate During winter term, the student said of an infected ear piercing, but was face all the drama and pressure from a counselor after revealing she had

a substantive treatment plan until she

risk for depression, suicide and related mental health concerns and encourages

More harm than good getting more and more emotional as Multiple students report that Later that week, the student decided

don’t think that can be solved within

she felt that the counselor she spoke to speak with a counselor after having of students who came to counseling to

interview this month as an “illusion of

overhaul of Dartmouth’s medical leave administration needs to take a deep look

Later in the session, the student told the counselor that she sees another therapist from home, and the counselor

out group counseling, which she said is counselors provided unsolicited or

tried to discourage him from remaining a willingness to help him address

Interim list requires accessible water and nonalcoholic beverages FROM FRATS PAGE 1

of things that we think get at the most

have the power to prevent individual members from attending events that do not meet the requirements, she cooperation with fraternities that do not

to set, and ones that were also possible

Makeshift air conditioning, common room units used in buildings without AC FROM AC PAGE 1

The sororities are creating new regulations in response to “numerous based violence in both fraternities and sororities, as well as “general feelings

in the past two weeks, regardless of

to be air conditioning provided after

group chats and on the campus events listserv, all interim guidelines and “a

“A lot of times, we joked about just Upon moving in, “there was just a requirement stipulates that something That same summer, cots were set up in

she would go to friends’ rooms in air

be made in the presence of a member

The statement did not elaborate on the

has a fan to use in his dorm, but that planning to meet with the leadership The full list, she said, will include

website states that air conditioners are “not appropriate for use in student

Tran said that she was able to get a the heat waves of the past few weeks,

incorporating those houses into the

displeasure that not all of our facilities

rules will govern sober monitors and

Greek houses “can have personal air conditioning, said that one night it was ice and used her fan to create a makeshift

distributed in Lord, Mid Massachusetts,

Members of the summer leadership of all eight sororities declined to comment or did not respond to multiple requests for comment, as did several members of the summer leadership of multiple fraternities, summer

full list will be available to fraternities of Greek Life and a representative of

had assumed that there was not going

on campus, an air conditioning unit was installed in the common room and that she and her friends began to spend

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

PAGE 3

COLUMNIST THOMAS LANE ’24

STAFF COLUMNIST MAX TESZLER ’23

Too Often Forgotten

States must pick up Congress’s slack by expanding health insurance programs State legislatures get the short end of the stick when it comes to news coverage. Most national newspapers and TV channels naturally have their eyes glued on Washington, D.C. rather than attempting to monitor all 50 state capitals scattered across the U.S. RBut, regardless of how closely people are watching them, state capitals are endowed with great powers.

In light of the lack of progress on much of anything at the federal level, state governments must step up to the plate. An excellent avenue for them to do so is through healthcare reform.

Our current healthcare system is quite simply broken — leaving millions without the care they need — and is ripe for a fresh policy approach.

State-level single-payer health insurance programs are an especially bright option.

By working on healthcare and utilizing their power for positive change, states could both inspire and uplift America in a time that all too often seems to be just one disappointment after another.

Working people in this country have already suffered enough during this dreadful pandemic.

The last thing they need is to go back to the bleak non-system of healthcare that we’ve had for far too long. The CDC estimates that just under 15% of the U.S. population ages 18-64 — seniors are mostly covered under Medicare and children are mostly covered under their parents or the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program — has no health insurance at all. That statistic alone is atrocious, but it also leaves out those who may have insurance which doesn’t get them the care they need. According to the health insurance marketplace company eHealth, the average deductible for a family plan obtained through the ACA was around $8,400 in 2020. The median liquid net worth of Americans under age 35 is about $3,000 and about $8,000 for those between 35 and 44, so it’s not rocket science to see the peril that millions of insured Americans are in. A single emergency room visit due to an accident or illness completely out of their control could send them straight into bankruptcy. Is that the country we want to live in? Are we truly not capable of providing anything better for those who are suffering? I refuse to believe that we are so helpless.

Unfortunately, many states have been making poor use of their powers rather than addressing pressing issues like healthcare.

Recently, Republican-controlled legislatures across the country have been busy churning out new laws that make their states look more like laboratories of authoritarianism than the “laboratories of democracy” that former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis hoped for back in 1932. Georgia’s new voting restriction laws attracted a lawsuit from the Justice Department, Texas Democratic state legislators have fled to D.C. in a last-ditch attempt to stop the passage of a particularly egregious package of voting restrictions, and Florida is requiring that universities ask students and faculty about their political views and report them to the state — under the possible threat of funding cuts if the numbers don’t meet expectations for “viewpoint diversity.” None of these actions will help regular Americans make ends meet, much less get the healthcare they need. 12 states haven’t even expanded Medicaid under the ACA since it was passed over a decade ago.

Nationally, the healthcare debate is

dominated by independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” bill. In an ideal world, reform would occur through such a bill, because doing so nationally would leverage the benefits of massive economies of scale. HoweverBut, the current tenuous political balance in Washington with a 50-50 senate makes it apparent that such reform won’t be happening before the next elections, if not later. The queasiness that many Democratic politicians have surrounding anything that hints at substantial change is both unfortunate and embarrassing. But, this is where the states can come in. State-level reforms, while less ideal than national ones, could serve as excellent case studies for how reform could work nationally in practice, and build momentum for national change in addition to getting help to those in need quickly.

There are currently a handful of states with bills seeking to create single-payer healthcare systems, including in my home state of Minnesota. A proposal in Vermont passed in 2011 got the closest to enactment, although it was cancelled in 2014. While the most common refrain is that it failed because of concerns over raising taxes to pay for it, executive mismanagement more likely killed it because numerous studies using differing methodologies found it to be economically feasible. Vermont’s situation is no bright spot, but states should take it as a lesson on how to avoid implementation problems rather than discouragement.

Inevitably, states must decide how they intend to pay for expanding health care, either through the ideal solution of a universal health plan for all residents or some other sort of proposal. Opponents jump to counter that the money to do so simply isn’t available.

Do not be deceived by these claims. A study published in the Lancet just last year found that nationally, a Medicare For All plan would result in 13% less national health care expenditures overall, even when factoring in the cost of covering the uninsured and getting adequate care to the underinsured. If the money “just isn’t there,” then we couldn’t be spending the absurd amounts we do today. It may be that states would see smaller drops in health care expenditures overall compared to the Lancet study since they can’t achieve the economies of scale that a national plan could, but nonetheless, large savings are clearly there for the taking.

The study also found that Medicare For All would save an estimated 68,000 lives each year, not to mention the millions more who would be able to live more dignified lives.

Nonetheless, health insurance, pharmaceutical and hospital conglomerates have been fighting tooth and nail to preserve their profits. They are not afraid to mislead and lie in order to do so. Their yachts, vacation homes and investment portfolios depend on it. But despite what they may say, it’s our current system that is unaffordable, both in monetary terms and in terms of the human cost.

States have a lot of power. Too often that power is left to sit around and collect dust, or worse, it is used to bludgeon those who cannot fight back. It’s long past time for blue states to pick up their tools and get to work on healthcare, showing the rest of the country what good that can be accomplished when states set their minds to it.

Playing to Lose

A town meeting form of government will never fairly represent students — it’s time to change it.

Less than an hour after polls closed in Hanover’s 2021 Town Meeting, news broke that David Millman ’23 had lost his campaign for Selectboard.

His campaign deserves tremendous credit for trying to get a student onto the governing board of this town — and for driving engagement with key local policy issues among the student body.

But the campaign was doomed to fail from the start. The meeting was moved from April to July, so many students were physically unable to show up to vote. Yet even with elections at a normal time, Hanover’s traditional town meeting system of government fails to represent the interests of a community of roughly 11,000 — and students aren’t the only victims. Low-propensity voters, new arrivals to town figuring out how the system works, even those who are just busy — all are disenfranchised by our parochial and outdated system of government. Hanover should abandon the town meeting system and choose a style of government which more adequately reflects our status as a growing community home to an increasingly diverse college. The best option would be to incorporate as a city and elect an accountable and representative city council at regular intervals.

This system would bear some resemblance to what our current town meeting government has already become — just more official, transparent and accessible. I voted in Hanover’s Town Meeting this Tuesday, and was struck by its similarity to a normal election. I simply walked up, showed my ID, was given a ballot and then voted. The process felt like any other election day. Except for the fact the election was in the middle of July, in a tent in a parking lot, with arcanely-worded ballot questions requiring knowledge of the zoning code to be fully understood.

Of course, not all of the important items were even on the ballot — 16 other measures, many of which involved Hanover’s budget and summed to millions in fiscal changes, had to be voted on at the live 7 p.m. “Business” meeting. This is what “good governance” in Hanover amounts to: a Selectboard elected in low-turnout, usually non-competitive elections, a system of confusing referendums and votes on essential budget items which see even lower voter participation.

To be fair and give the town meeting form of governance some credit, for the first 200 years of Hanover’s history, it made perfect sense to run the town this way. The community had a significantly smaller population and electorate — direct participation is a fair form of government when you can just bring everyone together and hash out the town’s issues. The town meeting structure remains a surprisingly common form of government in the region, especially for smaller towns. It is a point of pride for many in New England — a mark of pride in civic engagement and direct democracy.

But such a system breaks down in a town of over 11,000 — especially a college town of over 11,000. Many of our residents are transient and live here for only four years, usually leaving in the summer. I’m not the first to say that moving the town meeting to July reeks of disenfranchisement, intentional or not. Students are busy, and don’t have time to directly familiarize themselves with all of the codes and laws cited in various ballot questions, nor do most of them have the time to attend an in-person meeting to vote on the town’s budget. In fact, expecting any voter to become familiar with the relevant laws associated with 20 policy questions — then vote at the ballot box and later come to an in-person meeting — is highly

unreasonable.

The numbers clearly tell the story of this disenfranchising system. Over the past 10 years, the all-day voting portion of the meeting saw about 12% average turnout, based on the number of people on the voter checklist in each election and the number of people who actually cast ballots.

This figure is highly variable from year to year, with some meetings dropping below 4% and others having over 30% — presumably reflecting the varying importance of a particular year’s set of ballot questions. But even the high water mark — May of 2017, when 3,503 voters cast ballots — is less than half of last November’s presidential election, which saw a whopping 7,171 voters cast ballots.

Meanwhile, the in-person budget meeting seemingly accounts for low participation by design.

There was no way that the 7,171 voters who voted in last year’s presidential election could’ve fit in the available space in Dewey Lot, maybe not even half of that number. When the eyes of many progressives are turned to Republican voter suppression and “defending democracy,” the fact that the ostensibly-liberal Hanover still relies on such a system is, as the kids say, a bad look.

Fortunately, low participation and confusing ballot questions are a problem representative government is built to solve — we elect representatives to act in our interest who can actually dedicate time to understanding the intricacies of certain decisions. Hanover can adopt this mode of government by chartering as a city and creating a regularly-elected city council.

But wouldn’t this destroy Hanover’s character as a close-knit small town? Well, if Hanover was looking for harmony amongst its population, they seem to have already failed, with tensions between students and long-time residents boiling over. The community participation and transparency of a town meeting form of government are an illusion — there is no true forum for citizens to come together and work out issues, only confusinglyworded questions voted on by a fraction of the population.

Representatives would do well here — let them debate out the fine details and then face accountability from voters on their record.

Our next-door neighbor, Lebanon, has been a city for over 60 years, with six city councillors elected from various districts and three elected at-large by the whole city. If Hanover had a similar system, one or more districts could be dominated by students, while others could still adequately represent the town resident majority.

Direct voter input would also still be permitted under such a system, which can be useful on issues of particular public interest; cities in New Hampshire are allowed to hold referendums and regularly do so.

This will clearly not be an end-all, be-all fix.

Cities across the state still struggle with issues of turnout; Lebanon saw an average turnout of about 18.0% at their past five municipal elections, only marginally better than Hanover’s.

Additionally, there is a need for a fundamental realignment of how students and long-time town residents engage with each other; this is an issue of political culture which a new system of government cannot solve in itself, but can make progress towards. The failings of our existing system are simply so clear. Students have been shut out of power, just as a regional housing crisis grows ever more dire. If we want real change — or even just real democracy — in Hanover, then its town meeting form of government must go.

STAFF COLUMNIST SPENCER ALLEN ’23

The Changes We Keep

Dartmouth must use lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve its postpandemic teaching.

The entire Dartmouth community is yearning to break free of the COVID-19 pandemic and make the long-awaited return to in-person classes. Yet, as we emerge from the pandemic, we can’t return to what we knew as “normal.” Before last spring, what might have been seen as classroom norms in fact presented barriers that prevented many students from fully thriving academically. Though by no means perfect, some changes brought about by the pandemic — such as recorded content and lenient course policies such as forgiving absences and alternative participation methods — greatly augmented students’ ability to participate in their classes. Come fall, these improvements must be carried over into the new school year to make Dartmouth more academically accessible for every student.

A defining academic moment in the pandemic was the radical departure of students’ schedules from what they were when taking in person classes. Whether due to time zone differences, additional work, or responsibilities at home, it was no longer a given that students could attend classes on the same timetable that they had when they were on campus. Building in asynchronous instruction to classes — either through pre-recorded lectures or recordings of class meetings — was a necessary respite for students whose schedules did not align perfectly to Dartmouth’s. Students could log into a class at any time of day from wherever they were in the world and still learn.

Going forward, recorded class content still has a place at Dartmouth. Before the pandemic, students often fell ill throughout the term, yet went to class anyway in order to not fall behind — likely infecting others and prolonging their own infection. Recording class sessions as a norm eliminates the need for sick students to

drag themselves out of bed and to class, where they are more of a burden to themselves and those around them than they would be still in their dorms.

Remote learning also brought radical changes to how classes are graded. A hallmark of many syllabi is the attendance or participation grade, which stipulates that a student’s grade will be impacted if they don’t attend or participate fully in class sessions.

Though these policies never completely vanished, many professors accommodated students’ unique circumstances by offering ways to engage in class asynchronously, like contributing to discussion posts on Canvas.

As professors prepare for the new term, ways to participate asynchronously should remain in their courses. Yes, they help when a student needs a day off, but they also benefit students who attend class regularly. For students who experience social anxiety when speaking in class, discussion boards, Slack channels and other alternative ways to contribute to class discussion will allow them to engage more fully and meaningfully in their classes.

While keeping some of these changes might open them up to misuse by some students, any perceived misuse would be minor and far less substantial than the benefits these changes would bring. Sure, some students might use recorded lectures as an excuse to go on an extended weekend trip off campus, and others may reap the benefits of asynchronous discussions after a night of partying leaves them hungover. That said, is that necessarily a bad thing? Dartmouth’s schedule is notoriously demanding, so a weekend away from Hanover can be welcomed self care for students. Further, the quality of a student’s participation when they are recovering from a night out and

suffering from a migraine or nausea is likely to be quite poor in comparison to their contributions in an asynchronous discussion once they have had the chance to recover.

Some may argue that, since many of these changes might be perceived as “accommodations,” students who want to benefit from these accommodations should use established processes. However, Dartmouth’s Student Accessibility Services is limited in how they can help students with short-term afflictions — like illnesses — because a condition must usually last at least six months in order for SAS to officially consider it a “disability,” according to SAS’s website. What’s more, receiving formal accommodations during a time of crisis can be a “ridiculous and compassionless” process. When sudden situations arise, Dartmouth cannot expect its students to jump over administrative hurdles

KYLE MULLINS, Editor-in-Chief ANDREW SASSER, News Executive Editor MIA RUSSO, Production Executive Editor

and recover from their afflictions at the same time.

As the pandemic draws to a close and life returns to normal, the need to reconsider how we as an institution handle academics is greater than ever. Innumerable changes to how classes operate have taken place in the last year and a half, but it would be inappropriate of professors and the College to relegate those changes to the annals of history. Some near-universal changes, like recorded content and asynchronous participation, have made the last 18 months feasible — and, going forward, have the potential to revolutionize the curriculum,making it more accessible to students. Instead of scrapping these changes, professors across the institution must strike a balance between old and new definitions of normal to improve their courses for every student.

OLIVIA GOMEZ, Publisher

SOLEIL GAYLORD, DEVAN FINK & ANNE JOHNAKIN Managing Editors

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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

PAGE 4

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

Hood hosts virtual public workshop on expressive writing

BY Julia Robitaille The Dartmouth Staff

On July 15, the Hood Museum of Art sponsored a workshop on expressive writing, the sixth installment of the virtual series.

The event was co-facilitated by the founder of the Writer’s Center of White River Junction Joni Cole and Hood teaching specialist Vivian Ladd. The event, which took place Thursday evening over Zoom, was free and open to the public.

Over 40 people registered for the workshop, exceeding the capacity for the event, according to Hood Center for Object Study attendant and scheduling assistant Randall Kuhlman. Running over capacity, he added, is a normal occurrence for the workshop, which has been held termly since the summer of 2020.

“Every time we’ve offered it, there’s usually been full capacity with a sizable waitlist,” Kuhlman said.

Organizers of the workshop wanted to limit the size of the group to allow for sufficient participation by all members. Since the session required no previous writing experience, attendees included local writers and adults residing in the Upper Valley, as well as interested writers joining from across the country.

“The idea behind the [virtual workshop series] is to focus on one work of art and allow it to provide a focal point and an inspiration for creative writing. Every workshop is different,” said Ladd, whose role is to provide writers with a contextual and historical guide to the art.

Cole has been teaching creative writing for more than twenty years to adults of all levels — from newbies to seasoned professionals. She has taught in the Masters of Arts and Liberal Studies graduate program at Dartmouth and has hosted creative writing exercise events at nonprofits around the Upper Valley, according to her website.

“I meet them wherever they’re at.

It’s really all about helping people write more, write better and be happier,” Cole said, quoting the

COURTESY OF RANDALL KUHLMAN

Roxanne Swentzell, “Sitting on My Mother’s Back,” 2014, ceramic. Lent by the artist. © Roxanne Swentzell.

subtitle of her 2017 writing guide “Good Naked: Reflections on How to Write More, Write Better and Be Happier.” “Those three really are the goals of what I teach. Of course, you want to write more and be more prolific, but you also want to write better, so you need to acquire those narrative techniques, or practice them and get feedback along the way.”

With the help of Cole, Ladd selected the featured piece of artwork, which was a sculpture created by artist Roxanne Swentzell called “Sitting on my Mother’s Back.” Ladd said that the piece asks viewers to consider their relationship to Mother Earth.

“We like to choose an object that has a lot of possibility within it — a work of art that leads to lots of different associations and has broader possibilities for interpretations so that there is room for people to respond to it personally in a number of ways,” Ladd said.

The participants were then offered a writing prompt related to

the sculpture. Cole said that the art is meant to serve not as a subject for the writing itself, but as a catalyst for creativity and reflection.

“It’s not really to write about the artwork, but it’s more to evoke a story, or a memory, or thoughts or words that the artwork brings to mind,” Cole said. “It’s just such an organic collaboration between art and creative expression.”

After the participants spent several minutes writing, they shared what they wrote and participated in a workshop-style read-through.

“We see how we interact with a piece of art or what it evokes, we share our own stories and we learn an awful lot about the art,” Cole said.

The workshop focused on an exercise Cole calls expressive writing, which is a specific type of writing important to the creative process.

“Expressive writing is that first flush of writing where you’re just expressing yourself, so there should be no censorship, no second-

guessing, no worry about form or genre or structure,” said Cole.

She said that it can almost be compared to journal-writing, but with a different connotation and purpose; journaling and expressive writing both share a lack of editing and freedom that allows magic to land on the page.

“The more welcoming you are, the better,” said Cole. “In creative writing, you worry about drafts and narrative structure, genre and getting across to the reader, but it all starts with expressive writing.

It’s the first stage of the creative process.”

Cole said the hardest part about teaching adults creative writing is the self-doubt and mythology adult writers often bring with them — a lack of confidence due to the misconceptions that they are not real writers, that no one is going to care about their stories or that they are not creative.

“I would argue those are all myths that have to be overcome,” Cole said. “Writing is a craft, a skillset, a

practice and a discipline — all those are very acquirable. The only thing that can really stand in your way is if, in the end, you don’t really want to do it, which is very understandable.”

The workshop series, which was originally planned to take place in person in the Hood Museum, has been held virtually for the past year due to pandemic restrictions.

In Cole’s opinion, not much is lost in the online format of the writing workshop portion, but she acknowledges that looking at a piece of art on a screen is different from experiencing a piece in person.

“The workshops are really appropriate for everyone — for people who are experienced writers as well as those who just love to express themselves through writing,” Ladd said. “The amazing part about these workshops is how much we get to know and appreciate these works of art by hearing each other’s stories and by experiencing each other’s points of view and the incredible artistry people bring to their creative writing.”

Review: ‘Black Widow’ thrilling, but lacks depth Natasha deserves B Y JESSICA LI

The Dartmouth Staff

Marvel’s “Black Widow” weaves a touching story about abuse, family and survival. The movie tackles the difficult theme of the dehumanization of young women through fantastic acting, writing and, of course, fighting. In the larger context of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though, “Black Widow” still feels like too little, too late for the titular character. After a decade as a superhero sidekick, fans can’t help but feel that Black Widow deserved more.

“Black Widow” opens with a scene of a family — one that is soon revealed to be fake. In reality, it is a cover for a Russian spy mission led by the “parents,” Alexei Shostakov and Milena Vostokoff, with their “daughters,” Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova. For the remainder of the film which flashes forward to 2016, following the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” one thing remains consistent: the standout acting from the entire cast, with palpable chemistry between these four main characters.

In particular, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova becomes an instant audience favorite. With her strong will, sarcastic remarks and desire to prove herself, she already shows far more complex and intricate writing than Scarlett Johansson’s Romanoff was ever afforded in her entrance to the MCU. As Romanoff and Belova reunite in Budapest and begin their quest to take down their abuser, General Dreykov, and his cryptic organization called the Red Room, the audience receives fantastic dialogue that captures the sibling dynamic. In one scene, Romanoff and Belova are driving, and Belova begins talking about the new vest she just bought, which Romanoff instantly makes fun of. Belova’s subsequent irritation and subtle demand for her older sister’s

approval feels familiar to everyone with siblings. It is a touching moment of realism in a cinematic universe that often feels so far removed from our world.

The fight choreography featured in “Black Widow” is some of the best from Marvel. Taskmaster, the main villain’s daughter and personal assassin, has the ability to mimic anyone that she has encountered — culminating in one of the most visually interesting fights between Romanoff and Taskmaster which takes place on a bridge in Norway.

The two characters mirror one another in their hand-to-hand combat. In one particular moment, both characters land in the same pose kneeling on the ground, and Romanoff looks up in shock as she realizes that she has literally met her match.

As the film progresses, the plotline remains intriguing but a bit predictable. For example, when Romanoff, Belova and Shostokov are seemingly captured by the Red Room, Vostokoff ’s defection from the Red Room is alluded to too often in shots that linger on or zoom into her face. Natasha and Milena are then revealed to have switched spots using spy gear that can change one’s facial structure — a reveal that would have been more shocking had this exact technology and plot twist not been used in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” in 2014. Despite the slight predictability that comes with the superhero genre, the fast pace and engaging dialogue keep the audience invested.

The film begins to stray from typical superhero movie themes by occasionally pulling back from the action and diving headfirst into serious conversations about the abuse of women. It is a commendable choice that parallels movements such as #MeToo and Time’s Up. That being said, due to the inherent, confining structure

ANNIE QIU/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

of a superhero movie, “Black Widow” would never be able to tell these stories of abuse to the depth and with the complexity that is required. Many darker moments, like Belova’s mention of a forced hysterectomy, are glossed over.

Other more inspiring moments, such as Romanoff convincing Vostokoff that together they can take down their abuser, better align with a superhero story arc and thus receive more screen time.

Black Widow also cherry-picks which characters are worthy of being fleshed out. One of the most disappointing characters is O-T Fagbenle’s Mason, who ends up feeling like a random character.

He was likely cast in order to make viewers think that he is Taskmaster — a plot device which ends up being the only purpose he serves in the film. Aside from providing Romanoff with aircraft and mobile homes, he appears to have no greater ties to the MCU and thus feels out of place.

David Harbour’s Shostakov is also not given the luxury of being fully developed beyond his role of comedic relief. The decision is frustrating because he has moments where he genuinely grows, but it is never taken seriously. Even his moment of reckoning with the pain to which he subjugated his faux daughters became a moment of comedy when it is revealed that he was pouring his heart out to the wrong person.

Though “Black Widow” is visually focused on Romanoff, Belova is given the most attention. What Marvel markets as an exploration into Black Widow’s past plays out much more like a setup into Belova’s introduction to the larger universe.

Thus, “Black Widow” ultimately feels like a sequel to a movie about Romanoff that never happened.

Though her past is briefly touched on in this film, her history is far overshadowed by Belova’s future in the MCU, making “Black Widow”

another example of Marvel failing Romanoff.

Belova criticizes Romanoff ’s narrow, one-track mindset of redeeming herself and ridding herself of the “red in her ledger”; she dismantles Romanoff’s goal of becoming a hero. In doing so, the audience realizes just how complex Belova is written, in contrast to just how shallowly Romanoff has been — and still is — depicted. In the end, “Black Widow” feels more like Belova’s movie.

Despite the way in which “Black Widow” snubs Natasha Romanoff of a proper send-off, the movie is captivating and enthralling. The film is heart-wrenching in ways that superhero movies rarely dare to be. In the post-credits scene of Belova’s tearful visit to Romanoff ’s grave, her determination to right previous wrongs reminds us that Black Widow’s legacy lives on.

Rating: 

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

THE DARTMOUTH

PAGE 5

Student voting rights affirmed again as NH court strikes down SB3

BY Maya Kempf-Harris The Dartmouth Staff

On July 2, the New Hampshire Supreme Court unanimously struck down a 2017 Republican-backed voting law known as Senate Bill 3, burdens on the right to vote.” The ruling is a victory for critics of the bill who contend that SB 3 had made domiciled in the state to vote in New Hampshire.

The unanimous 4-0 decision upheld a lower court ruling from April 2020, when a state superior court struck down SB 3 for “burdening the right to vote” and “violating equal protection.” In this month’s Supreme Court ruling, chief justice Gordon MacDonald recused himself from the vote after pledging in January of 2021 that he would recuse himself from any cases involving the Department of Justice from his time as Attorney General.

The League of Women Voters of New Hampshire, an organization that seeks to encourage active citizen participation in politics, is one of New Hampshire League president Liz Tentarelli said that SB 3 was a long-awaited conclusion to the court process.

“My first reaction was ‘thank goodness, it’s over,’” said Tentarelli.

“This has been going on for four years … the bill was passed in 2017, and the after it was signed into law.”

Tentarelli said that parts of the law were struck down before they to return papers after signing an elections, the law was in force, leading to confusion for both voters and some “I remember talking personally to one of the supervisors of the checklists locally,” Tentarelli said. “She said, ‘We don’t know how to interpret this line [of the law].’ And I said, ‘Don’t ask me, I think the whole law is terrible.’”

Former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Garrett Muscatel ’20 was also a his involvement in the case catalyzed his participation in state politics.

“Joining those lawsuits is really

LORRAINE LIU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

While voting rights activists claim victory, they warn that other bills currently being considered in the New Hampshire legislature may still attempt to restrict voting. make sure that everybody who lives there got to have their say in how they were governed,” Muscatel said.

While Muscatel said that it was “great to see at least one court rule on the side of democracy,” he cautioned students against believing that this Supreme Court decision is the end of voter suppression attempts in New Hampshire.

“We can’t let one decision distract us from the slew of voter suppression legislation nationwide and being considered by the [New Hampshire] legislature now,” Muscatel said. “[Or from] the increasing proclivity of the courts to gut the constitutional and legislative frameworks we have for protecting voting rights in this country.”

Hanover town clerk Betsy McClain said that she was “very happy” about the Supreme Court decision; she said that it will create a “much more straightforward registration process” “I was very, very encouraged that there was some common sense in the of 2019 to try to express a real-world perspective about how confusing it was to administer the Form A and Form B [required under SB 3] and to

on some of the voter registration forms that would be implemented if SB 3 were upheld.”

McClain said that because SB 3 has been enjoined for several years, the current practice of state election administration will not change as a result of the Supreme Court ruling.

However, she said that the “specter of it coming back” was what “scared” decision was a relief. McClain also said that the need to explain the confusing forms to voters created long voter registration lines, which complicated voters.

students should expect notice from the Secretary of State verifying the location that the student registered with, from which point a student can College Democrats president Miles Brown ’23 said that he is “very pleased” with the decision, but emphasized that voting rights issues are still a primary point of focus for the College Democrats. “[New Hampshire Gov.] Chris Sununu still remains popular across the state, and we lost control of the State Senate, the House of Representatives and the Executive Council [in 2020] as well,” Brown said. “Republicans still have a lot of control, and they are looking

to try to make the voting experience McClain said. “And we found that to be challenging with SB 3 in place.”

McClain said that it is important for Dartmouth students to know their voting rights and understand the process of voting, even with SB 3 struck down. According to McClain, if a Dartmouth student cannot prove residency at the time of registering, they have the option will be registered in the statewide

rights.”

Brown said that a number of a few upcoming voting rights bills.

One particular bill that students the consideration of a student’s educational institution as his or her place of domicile for voting purposes,” which would lead to many of the student residency status complications that SB 3 proposed.

Tentarelli also cited a number of bills currently retained by the New

Hampshire House Election Law Committee during the 2021 legislative session.

“Right now in the legislature, there are several other bills that are also trying to restrict voting rights in one way or another,” Tentarelli said. “And the legislature retained those bills and will start working on them in the fall.

So we still have work to do.”

For example, HB 535 “repeals the statements on registration forms for use in election day voter registration,” and according to Tentarelli, it “comes awfully close to what SB 3 was trying to do.”

Tentarelli cited fourteen bills in total relating to voting restrictions that have been retained by the House Election Law Committee, and added that based on what he called national trends towards voter suppression, students need to be aware of their rights.

“We … have legislatures across the country, trying again, to restrict voting rights,” Tentarelli said. “It’s a very negative trend. Especially when we think about how young people really have the most vested interest in the future of our country, and they are being made to feel that their votes are not wanted.”

SPORTS

Rowers Medal for U.S., Canada at U23 World Championships

BY Cassandra Thomas The Dartmouth Staff

Three heavyweight rowers and four lightweight rowers from Dartmouth represented the U.S. and Canada in the World Rowing Under-23 Championships this past weekend in Racice, Czech Republic.

In the lightweight quadruple sculls event, Jack Stone ’23, Chris Stich ’23, Cooper Tuckerman ’22 and Sean Ward sixth place with a time of 6:09.17.

Among the heavyweight rowers, Liam Keane ’21 rowed for his home country of Canada and brought home gold in the men’s four with a winning time of 5:56.58. Jacob Hudgins ’23 and Bill Bender ’24 were in the men’s eight boat and helped secure a silver medal for the U.S. “To be selected to represent your country at the U23 World Championship is a medals is awesome,” heavyweight rowing head coach Wyatt Allen wrote in an email statement.

According to Bender, athletes applied to qualify for the U23 World Championship in early spring with rowing scores and biometrics. The men’s eight was named after some of these athletes were invited to an elite selection camp in Boston, while the U.S. Rowing U23 national team trials in Republic on June 30 to prepare for the races. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the rowers adhered to strict policies in which they were limited to staying in their hotel in Racice when they weren’t racing.

The pandemic made for a tumultuous year in rowing. All athletes lost their spring season, and Dartmouth’s lightweight rowing program was cut in July 2020 before its reinstatement this

January. In the midst of this uncertainty, these rowers trained around the country and found creative ways to

“When we got the information about the trials event from [assistant coach cool opportunity because we wanted to keep growing together,” Tuckerman said. “We didn’t know if we were going to be able to do that again after the College had cut the program. It’s In January, the four lightweights set their sights on the World Championships and began to work toward their goal.

“They really got a good year’s worth rowing head coach Dan Roock said.

“They built a lot of commitment and trust between them.”

In March, the lightweight rowers started living and training as a group based out of Stone’s house in Rhode Island before they were able to return to Hanover and train with Dartmouth coaches in the spring. The lightweight rowers accomplished a rare feat when they won at the U.S. Rowing U23 national team trials in Florida — they with all members hailing from the same school.

“It is pretty atypical, particularly for a large boat like a quad, to be four guys from the same school,” Stone said.

The World Championships are the most competitive stage for rowers in this age division.

“When we’ve lined up for races in the past, it’s like ‘Oh, we’re lining up against Yale or a guy from a certain school,’” Stone said. “But when you line up against Germany and Italy, it’s Bender said that Dartmouth’s rowing program uniquely prepares athletes for success at a high level. Starting with access to the Connecticut River —

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAM BENDER

Dartmouth rowers represented both the U.S. and Canada at the World Championships, held in the Czech Republic.

which he described as one of the best places to practice in the country — to extreme winter temperatures that give athletes an edge of mental toughness, Dartmouth rowers are prepared for fast and competitive racing, Bender said.

“Races abroad are obviously really fast,” Bender said. “But it’s the same sport. You’re like, ‘yes, this hurts, but I’ve done it before and I can do it again.”’

On race day, in the heavyweight men’s four race, Keane’s boat with the Canadians pulled ahead of Ireland and the 2000-meter race to secure the gold. favored to win, as the team entered the lead, but Great Britain pulled ahead

and won by a fraction of a second.

Allen, who was watching from home in the U.S., wrote that he was “thrilled” for his athletes going into the race.

“What drove our team’s success this year, and this is certainly true of [Keane], [Hudgins] and [Bender], is that they enjoy training and the process of getting better, they like working hard, and they genuinely like each other,” Allen wrote. “The team has a good energy and vibe right now that makes it fun to head down to the boathouse and get to work every day.”

The lightweight quad also went out Dartmouth rowers didn’t have the endurance to hold the speed to the end, Roock said. The U.S. came in sixth, while Germany claimed gold

in the event.

“They couldn’t keep the strength and endurance of these older athletes,” Roock said. “They gave it all they could muster, and that was awesome.”

Many rowers in this young group have more years ahead competing for Dartmouth — starting with the fall been training a lot and we’ve had to level at the World Championship,” Stich said. “But I’m kind of missing training already, having a purpose and something to commit to every day. Just having teammates and people that you’re working towards a common goal with – that’s my favorite part of the sport.”

PAGE 6

MIRROR THE DARTMOUTH MIRROR

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

Who Really Runs This Place? Reflections on Greek Life

BY CARIS WHITE

The Dartmouth Staff

Dartmouth, odds are that it will be

Last week, I was walking down Webster Avenue with a friend when was admiring frat row’s golden hour glow, my friend turned to me and said,

for almost the entire undergraduate

When I think of a judicial system,

assault at Dartmouth is that most of

Keystone and the sound of bouncing

Education Betsy DeVos, they can life has once again taken center stage events with fraternities and have begun creating a list of demands

judicial channels are underused, oftentimes, the consequences for

OLIVER DE JONGHE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

of my sorority as house manager, I

idea what the inner workings of many more years of training than

Personally, I have been struck by

was my freshman winter, since after

institutions hold over the social lives of Dartmouth students — and the

the other hand, I know that Greek life is a fundamentally imbalanced and while that we’ve dealt with running a

reinforce and reform harmful systems that contribute to the staggering

nights, but at the same time, turning with this tension, as I imagine many

By the numbers, somewhere Webster Ave was never intended

This means that the overwhelming majority of students are actively

shouldn’t be normal that fraternity members are three times more likely

that the remainder are tangentially

that, out of this moment, we can begin and word of mouth travels even faster

Before this summer, I had no

Just Passing Through! The Appalachian Trail Hikers of Hanover

BY Meghan Powers The Dartmouth Staff

With the White Mountains as a backyard, Dartmouth has always through hikers, whether they’re just hiking in the area or trekking the entire

half their size, chances are, you’ve I talked to Finn Haggerty, a year, on his last zero day — a day in which you hike zero miles — before

Huckleberry, who had only ever done

have been chronically inside from

Juliet Rhodes and Ian Meisner, hiking with Huckleberry for about

KAMILLA KOCSIS/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

to her by her aunt that another hiker noticed on trail, and she laughed as

Those are the things that come from

while in Hanover, which Dartmouth students will lovingly recognize as

Gunga Din said that his decision to with the line: ‘You’re a better man

with a high school friend and current

Most of the Little Hotties are also

“And it’s about one guy getting water

Being a through hiker, all three

Trail, which stretches from southern

talking to strangers about their own connection to hiking — someone’s husband, sister or friend once hiked

the future — but right now, they’re just

“We all met out on trail, and just that we stayed together so long, and

bottle for this other guy and quoted

would’ve done the AT with or without

“We’re all getting tired, and none of us have a deadline to be done, so

is that there are more through hikers or fall behind, and that’s just the way Disco also recalled that they had an unconventional trail angel in the

“I fir st heard about [the

thought about the memories that would stick with her when the last

year of high school and just couldn’t what a weird timeline it was, to be Everything, down to the names that hikers go by amongst themselves,

The hikers have been staying in hostels along the way, often

with swindled his way into the dining hall, and he got himself a lot of food “It’s not so much the big, grand, ‘I just climbed thousands of feet to get

fall term from school, but the reviews “You’re not allowed to give yourself “We’re just always hungry because assistance in the form of food, shelter Disco’s own trail name comes from the disco ball keychain gifted

just taking control of my life is kind of

Gunga Din noted that they tried to

There’s a real rhythm to life with