MIRROR 10.02.19
SALARY VS. PASSION 3
A SEAT AT THE TABLE 4-5
FIRST - GEN STUDENTS 6 CLARA PAKMAN/THE DARTMOUTH
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Editors’ Note
Economic Inequality DESIGN
DIVYA KOPALLE/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Privilege is everywhere at a school like Dartmouth — in our recently announced $5.7 billion endowment, in the names of the buildings around campus and in the students themselves. People casually wear Canada Goose Jackets and Patagonia sweaters, and many of them have summer homes. A fifth of the students here come from families in the top one percent of earners in the United States, and if you are not part of this fifth — as most of us are not — there are times when you feel out of place. Money and power are complex issues that persist throughout a person’s time at Dartmouth and beyond, but they often get swept under the rug in order to provide the easier, more comfortable story. This week, the Mirror attempts to tackle the concepts of money and power by bringing lesser-told stories to the forefront. We take a hard look at Dartmouth’s history with appropriation of Native culture and whether perceived monetary benefit plays a role in students’ major selections. We look into the experience of first-generation students at the College, and we even offer some tips for how to save money on campus. We know that these problems are not easily solved, but we hope that by telling these stories, we can begin to work towards making a difference.
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10.02.19 VOL. CLXXVI NO. 72 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DEBORA HYEMIN HAN PUBLISHER AIDAN SHEINBERG MIRROR EDITORS KYLEE SIBILIA NOVI ZHUKOVSKY COPY EDITOR JULIAN NATHAN
By Lila Hovey
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Salary vs. Passion: Choosing an “Employable” Major STORY
By Charlie Ciporin
Whether or not you’d like to admit it, money is a factor that’s hard not to think about when choosing a major. In a perfect world, each student would simply choose the subject matter that they are most passionate about when considering their options, thinking only about the time and commitment it takes to fulfill all of the necessary requirements. However, for some, the amount of money they’ll make after leaving Hanover and entering the “real world” is a significant factor when deciding what they would like to focus on during their time at Dartmouth. As an undecided ’23 myself, I’d be lying if I said I have never considered job prospects and entering salary as a means of choosing my major. But when it comes to the material that I’m most passionate about, I often find myself leaning toward the humanities — a subject matter that is often less associated with high starting salaries and a “proper” investment in an Ivy League education. To understand how different Dartmouth students consider money when choosing their major, I spoke to C.C. Lucas ’21, who is majoring in English and has compared herself to those in majors that are more traditionally perceived as “employable,” such as economics or engineering. “[Economics and engineering majors] do make me a little scared about the future because I look at them and I think they have a lot of track laid down in front of them,” Lucas said. “And then I look at myself and I think that I have a lot of really shaky, crumbling, sh—y railroad tracks laid down in front of me.” It is possible that other students share Lucas’s fears about majoring in English. According to the College’s Office of Institutional Research, Dartmouth’s English major had 61 graduating students in 2014, but only 39 in 2018. In contrast, the same study showed that the three most popular majors
are ones that are deemed by many to be more employable: economics, government and computer science. Despite this, Lucas said she has no regrets about choosing English as her major, citing her passion for the subject matter as her primary motivation. “Professional considerations definitely do come into play, but they don’t make me not want to do the major,” she pointed out. Daisy Stuart ’23 said she is thinking about majoring in psychology and had similar fears about the amount of money she’ll make after graduating. “As of right now, I’m genuinely just trying to enjoy psychology … I’m looking at it in a positive light — of this is what I want to do,” Stuart said. “I have to understand that it’s not necessarily an instant reward job, or high-paying in the beginning or maybe even at any point ... But it’s something that really seems worth it to me.” Dartmouth’s Of fice of Institutional Research reported that from the Class of 2014 to the Class of 2018, there was a roughly 25 percent decrease in the number of psychology and neuroscience majors. So should students simply ignore the aspects of employability and starting salary when considering a major? Most students seem to agree that it varies based on the individual. “I think that yes, [employability] does matter. But I think that it’s not as conscious or calculated a decision for some people,” Lucas said. Lucas believes that each student should take various factors into account, such as their socioeconomic status, their own experiences growing up and the subjects they are passionate about. In the end, she did not believe in a blanket decision making process for all students. Stuart seemed to agree. “People should keep in mind the need to support themselves, and if they want to have a family, the ability to support a family,” Stuart said.
She continued speaking about the the average earnings of various all-too-common a c a d e m i c d i s c o n n e c t “The set of skills that fields. While b e t w e e n Dartmouth gives you, some majors passion and expectedly financial gain in terms of writing ear ned more when electing skills, critical thinking, on average, he a major, saying found that the t h a t s t u d e n t s problem solving — m a rg i n s we re have to weigh those are skills that are relatively small. the benefits and r e x a m p l e, rewarded by the labor Fo d r aw b a c k s o f many Eng lish having a lavish market regardless of majors made l i f e s t y l e w i t h what your major is.” just as much in doing a job that their lifetimes they really want as those in soto do that might -NINA PAVCNIK, called higher not necessarily earning majors, ECONOMICS CHAIR pay as much. such as chemical While the engineering or consideration of money in choosing economics. a major is surely important, some Economics department chair studies show it may not be as drastic Nina Pavcnik emphasized that an as it is perceived. Douglas Webber, economics major may not be as a Temple University professor of lucrative as many students perceive economics, ran a study showing it to be.
“I do think that some students might think that if they major in economics, they will be more employable. However, I think there are many students at Dartmouth who don’t major in economics that get pretty great jobs after they graduate,” Pavcnik said. Moreover, Pavcnik pointed out the College’s emphasis on the liberal arts makes it easy for almost everyone to be employable. “The set of skills that Dartmouth gives you, in terms of writing skills, critical thinking, problem solving — those are skills that are rewarded by the labor market regardless of what your major is,” Pavcnik said. “This broader set of skills doesn’t depreciate that much over time and enables people to adjust to changing labor markets.” So, while money might be a factor for some in electing a field of study, it still makes sense for it to be one of many.
SOPHIE BAILEY/THE DARTMOUTH
A Seat at The Table 4// MIRR OR
STORY
By Lucas Joshi
John Kemeny, Dartmouth’s 13th the voices of Native students in the president, had a vision of achieving Dartmouth community. Dartmouth’s K e m e n y future by fulfilling "There were explicit attempted to the promise of the remind the directions given College’s past. One College of its of the goals of to the Office of original purpose, Kemeny’s tenure Admissions to recruit something he was to rededicate argued Dartmouth Dartmouth to its 15 talented Native had fallen original purpose: students who were significantly short the education of of in its first 200 Native American interested in the years. Associate students. This College." director of year marks the admissions Steven 250th Anniversary Abbott described of Dartmouth’s -STEVEN ABBOTT, the environment e s t a bl i s h m e n t , ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF in the Admissions which warrants a Office following reflection not only ADMISSIONS this speech. on the College’s “There were legacy, but also on the history and explicit directions given to the Office
of Admissions to recruit 15 talented Native students who were interested in the College,” Abbott said. Abbot also serves as the Coordinator for Native Outreach, and he said his work for the College today was directly shaped by the creation of the Native American Studies Program, the Indigenous Fly-in Program and the Powwow Committee, which Abbot said were all established at the beginning of Kemeny’s tenure. Abbott also said that over the almost 50 years that have passed since the inception of these programs, there have been increases in the Native student body population, as well as in the outreach to indigenous communities throughout the United States. While opportunities for Native students had increased in the early 1970s, obstacles continued to endure
for the Native community. The College described the core of the argument against the had displayed "the Indian" as "The Native body went mascot presented to Kemeny on its mascot since behalf of the the 1920s. Despite to the administration Native student calls from Native and essentially said, communities for 'Dartmouth, you either body. “ T h e the College to Native body remove the highly want the real Natives went to the s t e r e o t y p i c a l or you want the fake administration image of Native and essentially Americans, the image of who we are." said, ‘Dartmouth, mascot continued you either want to hold the support -ONALEECE COLEGROVE the real Natives or of alumni and you want the fake of the student '20, NATIVE AMERICANS image of who we body’s majority AT DARTMOUTH COare,’” Colegrove for almost 50 years said. Co-President PRESIDENT T h e of Native activism of Native Americans at Dartmouth, Onaleece Colegrove ’20, students against the mascot helped to
AMELIE PERRIER/THE DARTMOUTH
abolish it in the early 1970s, though Hannah Humphreys ’23, who is traces of the former mascot still exist on an ice hockey player, said that the non-sanctioned continued usage of D a r t m o u t h "As a society, we Native American merchandise and symbols ostracizes should have mascots and marginalizes apparel. T h e f i g h t that represent Native communities. against Native “As a society,” something everyone Humphreys American said, “we appropriation can get behind." should have mascots is not unique that represent to Dartmouth; something everyone s t e r e o t y p i c a l -HANNAH HUMPHREYS can get behind.” depictions of '23 The fight to be Native Americans heard and to be are cheering seen has continued symbols for a variety of sports. for Native students at Dartmouth.
Colgrove said that Native Americans at Dartmouth is more of a community than an identity group, and that this community has sought to emphasize the voices of Native students at Dartmouth. Dartmouth recently took another step to show that stereotypical and degrading depictions of Native Americans are not in accordance with its values. A student and faculty study group recently concluded its assessment of the Hovey Murals that were previously located in the basement of the Class of 1953 Commons. In agreement with the group’s findings, College President Phil Hanlon ordered the removal of the murals to an off-
AMELIE PERRIER/THE DARTMOUTH
campus storage facility of the Hood Museum, a place where they can continue to be studied, though no longer celebrated as a part of Dartmouth’s environment. Native students at Dartmouth worked alongside the Hovey Murals Study Group to reach the conclusion of their removal. While the group’s findings and the College’s decision met with resistance from alumni, Colegrove argued that the fight for more inclusive values has always met opposition from those who work to preserve Dartmouth tradition, standing complicit in the discrimination against Native communities. In its 250th year, Colegrove said that
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Dartmouth must recognize its past in order to continue its work in fulfilling the mission to educate and support Native voices. She said that empty spaces like those of the Hovey Murals should be rededicated to Natives on campus, and that Dartmouth should officially recognize what was Columbus Day as Indigenous People’s Day. The next 250 years of the College’s legacy will be judged not only upon what success and innovation arises, but also to the degree to which Dartmouth recognizes the legacy of its past with the responsibility of continuing to increase support for all Native students at Dartmouth College.
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Charting New Territory: First-Generation Students STORY
By Ryan Ellis
For many college students, institutions like Greek life or writing centers may seem to be inherent parts of college life. Perhaps this is thanks to hearing stories shared by parents about their college days or attending well-funded preparatory schools that are able to provide similar resources. But for a significant number of students on campus — roughly 16 percent of the incoming class of 2023 alone — the initial plunge into living and studying at college can be uncharted territory. I’m referring to the sizable community of firstgeneration students on campus: those who are the first in their families to attend college and untangle the chaotic web of challenges, expectations and emotions woven into the academic experience. Being the first to apply to and attend college means having to decode the complicated process with little to no prior knowledge, perhaps without realizing what institutions exist to help college students succeed. For Diana Alvarado ’22, the initial stages of applying to and enrolling in college left a lot of unanswered questions. “I was definitely worried about, number one, finances and how I would interpret financial aid and whether or not that would fluctuate during my four years in college,” Alvarado said. “That was something that I didn’t have much experience with or help with because my parents didn’t know much about FAFSA or anything of that sort, so that was kind of all me.” Alvarado mentioned concerns about academic preparedness compared to other students, who may have had the advantage of greater exposure to university-level teaching. “I went to a Catholic high school, but it wasn’t super well-funded, so we didn’t have a lot of college-prep stuff,” Alvarado said. “I didn’t even know how to formally cite stuff, so that was something I was worried that I was going to be expected a lot of and not have those skills.” Ensuring that students enter Dartmouth on even academic footing is a constant challenge, especially
when considering the differing experiences of wealthy students and students from low-income families. In the case of low-income students, who make up a considerable portion of first-generation students at Dartmouth, many must assume financial responsibilities like providing extra income for their families rather than benefiting from private tutors or SAT prep. In an effort to bridge this opportunity gap and facilitate the success of first-generation and lowincome students entering Dartmouth, the College invites those who meet these criteria to apply for the First Year Student Enrichment Program. The program includes a pre-orientation introduction to Dartmouth its resources, and the academic environment pairs first-year students with juniors and seniors of similar backgrounds to provide peer mentoring and a greater network of academic and emotional support. Jay Davis is director of the FYSEP program as well as the King Scholars program, the latter of which works with international students of similar backgrounds to FYSEP students. He said that the aim of the FYSEP program is to give the students the tools to succeed at Dartmouth. “There’s all sorts of other wisdom and other life experiences that suit them incredibly well for this place,” Davis said. “But the understanding of how college works and what the resources are, your rights as a student and that professors are here to work with you and that your needs are actually why this place exists — that may not be immediately obvious to a student who just sees the professors as gods and the buildings as the ivory tower.” Davis pointed to the program’s ability to inspire a level of confidence in first-generation students that allows them to approach their first college experiences with a firm understanding of how and where to find the resources they need. “It means there’s a sense of ‘Ah, we’re here, and we’re very much full and vital members of the community.’
ALISON ZENG/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Jay Davis is the director of the FYSEP program as well as the King Scholars program.
That’s what we’re shooting for,” Davis said. This is exactly how Katya Pronichenko ’23 said she felt entering her first week of classes at Dartmouth. “On my first morning of classes, I was getting ready to leave, and I was running late already,” Pronichenko said. “And I found a little card, like a handwritten card, from my mentor that said ‘good luck with classes,’ and it literally made my entire week. I felt so much more confident going into class because of that one card.” Yenny Dieguez ’20, emphasized how much she valued her FYSEP mentor freshman year as well. “[My mentor] would always respond and check in once a week. It was extremely helpful. From that point, I knew that I wanted to be a mentor at some point because I was like, ‘this is just so helpful.’ So, I’m a mentor now,” Dieguez said. Like her mentor before her, Dieguez checks in on her three mentees once a week. She also answers any questions they have,
ranging from how to find a good class balance to which extracurriculars they should pursue. “[A FYSEP mentor] is somebody that they can trust for sure on campus, and that’s the same relationship that I had,” Dieguez said. “Even if I didn’t feel like I had any friends at the moment, I knew that I could text my mentor, and she would understand and help me.” While the FYSEP program fosters a wide community of support for first-generation students on campus, Alvarado pointed to the equal importance of visibility for firstgeneration and low-income students among other Dartmouth groups. As a member of the Hill Winds Society, Alvarado said she uses her opportunities to interact with alumni donors to raise awareness for the needs of first-generation and lowincome students at Dartmouth. “I think FYSEP and OPAL and all of these places are really trying to promote having students integrate themselves into all these difference
spaces on campus that traditionally aren’t for them or haven’t historically been representative of them,” Alvarado said. Beyond FYSEP, whose preorientation programming will expand from five days to four weeks in the coming year thanks to $13 million in recent alumni donations, other groups on campus seek to ensure that FGLI students receive continued support throughout their time at Dartmouth. Davis, along with the Office of Pluralism and Leadership’s assistant dean Danielle Hussey, cochairs a committee called Money Matters, which works with various faculty and counselors to anticipate potential needs that may arise for lowincome students on campus. These needs range from funds for a winter coat to assistance replacing glasses not covered by Dartmouth’s student health insurance. These barrierremoval funds will hopefully expand alongside FYSEP in the coming years, so that more people know about and can take part in this program.
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Curbing Spending Addictions STORY
By George Gerber
College is often a financial burden for students and their families, but the cost of attending college goes way beyond tuition, meal plans and housing. Every student has their own way of navigating through the stress of college. Some of us go offcampus to get dinner or buy snacks to stress-eat; others like to go online and partake in some retail therapy. Though shopping online and meals out with friends might be fun, the miscellaneous expenses that come with college can quickly add up. Everyone has a unique story and a different method of saving and spending money. For many students, college is the first time that they live alone, so it’s tempting to spend money and not think about the consequences. Some students are experts when it comes to making budgets and sticking to them, while others are more impulsive buyers.
When asking around about tips the kitchens in the dorms. They to save money in college, I came can be a great way to cook food on across a wide variety of suggestions. busy weekends, such as when you’re However, food seemed to be at studying for midterms and finals, the center of most people’s minds Bennett said. Plus, buying cheap when it comes staples to have in t o s p e n d i n g “I spent so much your room can less. cost a lot less than A l i c e money at [Collis eating out. Bennett B e n n e t t ’ 2 0 Market.] It’s so also added that if lives offyou have any senior expensive. I bought a campus and friends, many will i s o n t h e notebook for $8!” soon be looking to corresponding get rid of couches, meal plan. Her mini-fridges, and biggest tip was -RAY TIERSKY ’23 bikes and will likely to understand be willing to give your eating habits and to get a them away free of charge. plan that matches your personal Chris Cardillo ’22’s best advice needs. She recommended trying out was to find food at Dartmouth different meal plans to see whether that doesn’t cost anything at all. more swipes or more DBA works He mentioned dinners catered by best for you. Tuk Tuk and other restaruaunts in She highly recommends using Hanover.
VIOLA GATTI ROAF/THE DARTMOUTH
“There are so many housing Bennett said. community dinners or free food As a senior, she said that she is events all over the place. On any much more likely to rely on her given day, there’s a place that’s usual clothes and only buy clothes handing out free food,” Cardillo said. to replace an older item in her Going to events like these can wardrobe. It doesn’t make sense to will fill your belly for free while also buy new clothes continuously and providing the chance to meet new try to reinvent herself every day, she people at Dartmouth. said. Ray Tiersky ’23 advised people Cardillo said he loves it when to be wary of Hinman sends an buying things email saying that i n H a n o v e r “I definitely bought a package has because items more clothes freshman arrived for him can be costly. She year than I think I ever but is careful not realized that a to go overboard. lot of products bought in my life.” Though it may back home are b e t e m p t i n g sold for cheaper to online shop prices than at -ALICE BENNETT ’20 because it’s fun Dartmouth. a n d e a s y, h e “I spent so much money at [Collis acknowledged that when you start Market.] It’s so expensive. I bought to order too many nonessential items, a notebook for $8!” She said. you begin to needlessly dig into your Instead of going to stores on savings. campus, Tiersky said that she prefers Spending money is very easy to to look online. Shopping online can do at Dartmouth, but it can also be a cheap and fast way of getting be just as easy to save money. Most anything you want at Dartmouth. Dartmouth students tend to spend Free shipping for students, such as their money on food and online with an Amazon Prime Student free shopping purchases, but simple trial, provides students with great hacks to save can help you “ball on deals for even the most common of a budget,” as the saying goes. goods. The biggest thing you can do to When looking back at how she protect your wallet is question where spent money earlier in her time at you are making your purchases. Ask Dartmouth, Bennett said she regrets yourself, “Do I really need to buy some of her purchases. this here, or can I get it for cheaper “I definitely bought more clothes or even free somewhere else?” freshman year than I think I ever Chances are, at a school with as bought in my life. I bought a bunch many resources as Dartmouth, you of them and realized I would never can find cost-effective alternatives have the time or place to wear them,” anywhere.
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A Path Paved with Gold PHOTO
By The Dartmouth Staff