The Dartmouth 10/15/2019

VOL. CLXXVI NO.81

SUNNY HIGH 57 LOW 35

NEWS

ONE-ON-ONE WITH MARK SANFORD PAGE 2

OPINION

LEUTZ: THE DIGITAL CLICK PAGE 4

ARTS

REVIEW: ‘NORMAN F— ING ROCKWELL!’ BALANCES STYLE AND SUBSTANCE PAGE 7

REVIEW: NETFLIX’S ‘BIG MOUTH’ SHARES WHAT GROWING UP MEANS TODAY PAGE 8 FOLLOW US ON

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HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

Men’s rush sees Fall foliage brings beautiful 301 bids extended colors, tourists to Hanover B y DEBBY COBON The Dartmouth

On Oct. 5, men’s fall fraternity rush concluded, with houses extending 301 new member bids, a significant decrease compared to the 356 bids extended last fall and the 341 bids extended the fall prior.

Thirty-two bids were extended at Alpha Chi Alpha, 22 at Beta Alpha Omega, 29 at Bones Gate, 30 at Chi Gamma

Epsilon, 30 at Chi Heorot, 29 at Gamma Delta Chi, 19 at Kappa Kappa Kappa, 25 at Phi Delta Alpha, 31 at Psi Upsilon, 24 at Sigma Nu and 30 at Theta Delta Chi, according to Interfraternity Council recruitment chair Noah Piou ’20. Zeta Psi did not officially take a new rush class, and derecognized Sigma Alpha Epsilon, now Scarlett Hall, did not participate in the IFC rush SEE MEN’S RUSH PAGE 5

GOP presidential candidate Weld speaks at College B y JACOB STRIER The Dartmouth

For mer Massachusetts governor Bill Weld visited c a m p u s l a s t T h u r s d a y, addressing a group of students, faculty and visitors at a policy event held by the Dartmouth College Republicans in Filene Auditorium. Opening with a brief speech about the importance of climate action, Weld devoted much of the event to answering students’

questions about his platforms and policy views.

The visit comes as Weld, the 2016 Libertarian vicepresidential nominee, embarks on a long-shot bid to unseat President Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for president in 2020. According to recent polls, Weld is running far behind the incumbent, earning no higher than three percent in any national polls in October.

SEE WELD PAGE 5

SYDNEY GILLMAN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Changing leaf colors is a yearly attraction for fall visitors in New England.

B y EMILY ZHANG The Dartmouth

As autumn arrives and leaves begin to change from green to gold, tourists flock to Hanover for leaf-peeping — the annual activity of viewing and photographing the fall foliage.

According to the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development, peak foliage this year in the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee region falls from around Oct. 5 to Oct. 15. By Oct. 10, the percentage of leaves that have changed colors is about 80 to 100 percent around Hanover.

According to the Valley News, the average traveler in New Hampshire spends $88 per day, spending that supports 68,000 jobs across the state. Some of Hanover’s businesses seem to have noticed the influx of visitors.

Molly’s restaurant employee Charlie Kimball said that he saw many tour buses coming into Hanover, which contributed to a large part of their business in October.

“A lot of people from Texas, Missouri and the South come up during lunch hours,” Kimball said.

Molly’s general manager

Pat Reed said that he notices a similar pattern every year.

He added that October is the busiest month of the year following July and August.

Other local stores experience heightened activity during this season as well.

Indigo manager Mia Vogt said that she saw a significant increase in the number of customers recently.

Vogt added that Indigo experiences heightened customer traffic in October, but she does not attribute this entirely to leaf-peeping. For instance, Dartmouth sports SEE FOLIAGE PAGE 3

PAGE 2

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

One-on-one with Mark Sanford B y ALEX FREDMAN AND PETER CHARALAMBOUS

The Dartmouth Senior Staff

At a time when President Donald Trump enjoys a nearly 90-percent approval rating among Republican voters, Mark Sanford has found himself in a battle for the soul of his party. A former governor of South Carolina and six-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Sanford is one of three former Republican elected officials challenging Trump for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination.

Sanford’s career in public life has seen its share of ups and downs. First elected to Congress in 1995, Sanford left the House in 2001 and was elected governor of South Carolina two years later. With an extramarital affair ending his governorship in controversy in 2011, Sanford was reelected to his old congressional seat in 2013. After Trump’s election, Sanford became one of the highest-profile Republican critics of the president, which analysts believe was likely the key factor in his defeat by a Republican challenger in the 2018 primary election.

During a visit to Hanover last week, Sanford sat down with The Dartmouth for an interview on the current state of Republican Party, the changing fortunes of his career and what he believes is the most important issue facing future generations.

Do you think the Republican Party has permanently changed as a result of Donald Trump’s election?

MS: I don’t believe there is a permanent change in the body politic. Jefferson was eloquent about how there was, in essence, a battle line with government on one side and liberty on the other. If you look through the pages of history, there’s constantly been a tension between security on one side and freedom on the other. The Republican Party and Democratic Party are simply vehicles for a much larger debate that has been

taking place since the beginning of time on security versus freedom. I think that the Republican Party has been harmed, and there will be lasting harm, given where the President has taken the party.

If you think about it in marketing terms, I don’t know what kind of toothpaste you use, but you probably don’t change it regularly — you get used to what you’re used to. Not because it’s necessarily the best brand ever, but because it checks the boxes and we can’t make unlimited decisions on every little minute decision in our lives. Brands have lasting value in that they become a default decision based on largely accomplishing a basket of needs. Political parties are the same.

And where I do think there has been lasting damage done is in regard to the brand of the Republican Party — what it stands for.

Since World War II, three presidents have lost their bids for reelection. In each of those elections, the incumbent president faced a high-profile opponent in the primaries. If your candidacy or one of the other candidates opposing Trump catches on and creates a serious fight for the Republican nomination, do you think that would essentially hand the general election to the Democrats?

MS: It could. And so a number of people have been critical of me, saying, “Well, wait a minute. This is just about making sure a Democrat gets in to office.” I say, that’s not at all the case. Competition is the American way. Ideas are refined and made better by competition. And the idea that the Republican Party is going to wait for the big contest in November is completely contrary to what you see with a whole host of football teams across New Hampshire competing all week long with scrimmages, with practices — getting ready for the big game on Friday night.

I think, in fact, we’re a better Republican Party if we have a robust debate of ideas, whether I’m the eventual nominee or

CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.

someone else is. I think the Democratic Party is having a robust debate over what it means to be a Democrat, and we should have a concurrent debate on the Republican side. And rather than weakening the party, it makes it stronger.

The other two Republicans challenging Trump publicly favor his impeachment. You favor censure over impeachment; can you explain why and how you came to that conclusion?

MS: I think we need to decide whether we’re after a merit badge or whether we’re after ending much of what Trump has represented or instituted. For me, I would support ending it. If you’re after that, then I think you say, “What’s the most effective way of ending it?” If you go the route of impeachment, what we know — based on not just what Mitch McConnell has telegraphed, but on what he’s actually said — is that impeachment is going nowhere in the Senate. So what you know is, going in, he’ll be levied with charges on the House side that won’t go anywhere in the Senate: What’s that allowing him to do? He then says, “Told you I did nothing wrong!” That’s a much more clouded message for the voter than the Congress taking a definitive stance, saying, “Look, we know we can’t remove you, but we’re going to condemn you for what we see as wrongful behavior.”

I think from an electoral standpoint, it’s more powerful. If you want to end Trumpism, then you’ve got to end it at the ballot box. And let’s say impeachment happens: Then he becomes a martyr.

And the roots of what created the Trump phenomenon continue to exist in the future. If we move on with impeachment, the giant sucking sound will be every bit of political oxygen going out the room on any issue that might be discussed that’s real to our lives. And instead, we’re going to spend the next couple of months just talking about impeachment.

Your career has had ups and downs. How have you learned from failure?

MS: A lot. You learn so much more in failure than you do in success.

What happens in the wake of failure, particularly public failure, is an amazing level of soul-searching that causes you to

COURTESY OF THE SANFORD CAMPAIGN

Sanford is a former governor and U.S. representative from South Carolina.

recalibrate. I think that one of the things that’s lacking in all walks of life is humility to say, “I know what I believe, but let me understand where you’re coming from.” I think you learn a level of empathy. I used to read the paper and think, “Loser. Loser.

What was that guy thinking?” And now you go, “But by the grace of God go I.” You recognize that we all have feet of clay, and there’s something that can trip up anyone. I could go down a laundry list of different lessons learned that were invaluable to me. And in fairness, this is in strong contrast to what the President said. The President said, “There’s nothing I regret in life.” I’m thinking, “What kind of planet do you live on?” Because the reality of our shared human experience is, we all have a chapter of our lives in which, if you live long enough, you wish it didn’t happen. But that’s not how life works. And so the question is, do we learn from those moments and have at least a chance to become the better for them?

What do you believe will be the most important issue facing the next generation — and if elected, how would you approach it?

MS: The big, big issue that’s not being discussed — because climate change and other issues are being discussed — is the debt and the deficit and government spending. We are walking toward the most predictable financial crisis in the history of man. It is going to have profound implications in your life and the lives of other students here. And no one is even talking about it. It will be as big as the Great Depression. It could mark the

end of our civilization if we don’t play our cards right. At minimal, it will be incredibly destructive in economic terms.

I would just say, read the pages of history.

Historically, what has extinguished most civilizations has been getting ahead of their skis on deficit spending and not being able to reconcile those differences politically. I think that’s the bad movie we’re headed toward that we need to be talking about, and it’s a good part of what my campaign is about.

And how would you address that issue?

MS: The first step is to recognize there is a problem. It’s remarkable. On the Democratic side, there is zero debate.

How exactly are you going to pay for that stuff? On the Republican side, there’s just complete denial on the debt and deficit, which at least we used to talk about in the Republican Party. The first part of leadership is plowing the field before you plant it, and if I was president, I would hold a long series of town hall meetings on this subject so we can educate the public. If you got buy-in, where people actually said, ‘This is a systemic threat to our civilization, this is a real problem,’ — it’s amazing what the American public has done over the years. If you got to that point, would people give up a penny out of every dollar of federal benefit? I think they would. And if they did, in five years, you’re back to a balanced budget.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length. A longer version of the interview is available at www.thedartmouth.com.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

PAGE 3

New barber shop opens Peak foliage occurs over past week, bringing tourists to Upper Valley B y PIERCE WILSON The Dartmouth

Philadelphia native Sean Taylor recently opened a new barbershop in Hanover called The People’s Barbershop and Shave Parlor. The barbershop, which caters to all hair types, shares a space with Robert’s Flowers, located underneath the Starbucks on Main Street.

Taylor said he decided to relocate to Hanover in order to be closer to his children, having worked out of another barbershop in the Upper Valley for the last four years. During those four years, he frequently visited Dartmouth as part of the Office of Pluralism and Leadership Black Hair Care program.

Taylor says that business has been “amazing” in the three weeks he has been in Hanover, and his clients have been a good mix of students, faculty and other community members.

Taylor said he has been cutting hair professionally for sixteen years, but started out doing it as a hobby when he was only eleven years old. He described his business as one that caters to all hair types — not just black hair — and added that he feels that it’s important that he and any future barbers he might hire are able to cater to all types of hair.

“Being a barber, I think you should be able to cater to all hair types,” Taylor said. “Me being here, if I was just a barber for the black people, I wouldn’t be able to make my bill. I think it’s important to be able to cater to the community, as well as to specific groups.

This is The People’s Barbershop.”

Taylor added that many barbers do not know how to cater to all hair types, which, in his opinion, is no fault of their own.

“If you’re in a diverse area, you’re going to be able to cater to many hair types, but if you’re in an area where there’s ninety percent straight hair, and someone comes in who has overly curly hair, [you’re] going to have a problem with that because [you] don’t have experience doing it,” Taylor said.

Robert’s Flowers owner Michael Reed, who met Taylor at another barbershop in the area, described their business partnership as “great” and said that he enjoys having The People’s

Barbershop and Shave Parlor in the flower shop.

“It brings a whole new sort of energy to the shop, because he has such a following on campus,” Reed said.

Reed also noted that, on several occasions, Taylor’s customers have come in to get haircuts, and ended up leaving with flowers as well.

According to assistant dean of pluralism and leadership Sebastián X. Muñoz-Medina, finding accessible and affordable hair care resources in the Upper Valley has been a challenge for black students at Dartmouth for a long time.

In response to these challenges, OPAL started “Black Hair Care,” a program that would invite a stylist to a local salon and a barber to campus for black students. Muñoz-Medina noted that although they do not know exactly how long “Black Hair Care” was around, it was a part of OPAL’s programming for a long time, and existed before they joined OPAL in 2014.

According to Muñoz-Medina, “Black Hair Care” recently became OPAL Hair Care, and is now more of a financial program than an access program. OPAL Hair Care, which commenced this term, provides students with $20 vouchers for hair care services.

Additionally, Muñoz-Medina said that instead of finding and inviting stylists directly to Hanover, OPAL now works with a program called The Suite, which was founded by a group of Cornell University graduate students in 2017. The Suite finds stylists and a salon to house them in, and OPAL connects Dartmouth students to the online booking portal.

Muñoz-Medina said that OPAL began working with Taylor a little over two years ago.

Harsh Jhaveri ’23 booked an appointment with Taylor last week, and described the appointment as a “very good experience.”

“He was really nice, talkative, and he kept me engaged in conversation the entire time,” Jhaveri said. “Even when he was cutting my hair, I never felt uncomfortable, and the shop was really clean.”

marketing Rick McCarten said that though October is the busiest month draw visitors to Hanover as well. of the year, he does not believe leafStill, she said that she meets “a lot peeping is the primary cause.

“Most of our businesses have to of people who are just doing New England [and] come just for the do with those college events, like Homecoming,” McCarten said. “We foliage.” don’t do a lot Other local of tourism businesses, however, “A late afternoon or — we just did not see a significant don’t have impact caused by leaf- early morning glow the capacity, peeping. emphasize the colors as we only For example, J. have 180 C r e w m a n a g e r much more than the rooms.”

Vi r g i n i a C l e r k i n light during the day.”

N o t described her business only did the as more weatherpeak foliage d e p e n d e n t a n d -KEVIN YANG ’20 affect local driven by activities businesses on campus. in Hanover Clerkin said J. — it also Crew’s busiest time spurred of the year comes m a n y around Christmas — and, compared to last year, customer student activities around campus.

For instance, Cabin and Trail, traffic is down both locally and a division of the Dartmouth industry-wide.

Hanover Inn director of sales and Outing Club, led a two-hour hiking FROM FOLIAGE FROM PAGE 1

trip named “A GORGE-ous Fall Afternoon” to the Quechee Gorge state park of Vermont last Friday.

“It was this really cool rock formation with river running through it,” CnT trip leader Alexander Wells ’22 said. “Especially in the fall with the foliage, it was absolutely gorgeous.”

According to Wells, this trip was especially popular — 15 people went on the trip and four people were on the waitlist. He added that he also saw a lot of tourists at the park.

“It’s not a super intense hike, which makes it accessible for all sorts of people,” Wells added.

The Dartmouth Society of Photographers organized a casual foliage photo-walk around campus last week. Club president Kevin Yang ’20 said the key for maximizing the variety of colors in a photo is to go at the right time of the day.

“A late afternoon or early morning warm glow emphasizes the colors much more than the light during the day,” Yang said.

PAGE 4

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

STAFF COLUMNIST PETER LEUTZ ’22

The Digital Clique

Group chats can influence social organization.

DEBORA HYEMIN HAN, Editor-in-Chief

AIDAN SHEINBERG, Publisher

ALEX FREDMAN, Executive Editor PETER CHARALAMBOUS, Managing Editor

ANTHONY ROBLES, Managing Editor

PRODUCTION EDITORS CAROLINE COOK & EOWYN PAK, Opinion Editors

BUSINESS DIRECTORS JONNY FRIED, JASMINE FU, RAIDEN MEYER,

KYLEE SIBILIA, Mirror Editor LILI STERN & BAILY DEETER, Sports Editors LEX KANG & LAUREN SEGAL, Arts Editors DIVYA KOPALLE, Photo Editor SAMANTHA BURACK & BELLA JACOBY, Design Editors HATTIE NEWTON, Templating Editor JESS CAMPANILE, Multimedia Editor

Advertising & Finance Directors HIMADRI NARASIMHAMURTHY & KAI SHERWIN, Business Development Directors ALBERT CHEN & ELEANOR NIEDERMAYER, Strategy Directors VINAY REDDY & ERIC ZHANG, Marketing, Analytics and Technology Directors

ELIZA JANE SCHAEFFER, Engagement Editor WILLIAM CHEN & AARON LEE, Data Visualization Editors

ISSUE PIERCE WILSON SUBMISSIONS: We welcome letters and guest columns. All submissions must include the author’s name and affiliation with Dartmouth College, and should not exceed 250 words for letters or 700 words for columns. The Dartmouth reserves the right to edit all material before publication. All material submitted becomes property of The Dartmouth. Please email submissions to editor@thedartmouth.com.

In a 2008 article in The Atlantic titled, “Is brought us closer together through a platform to Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr casually communicate at all times. However, such warned that technology was not just influencing group chats make me wonder about the phone the thoughts that human beings are having, but numbers that didn’t make the cut: the friends that also the way in which human beings are thinking. I barely know now because they didn’t sit with us Carr argued that our use of search engines like at Foco on the fateful day when the “Thicc Boiz” Google have severely degraded our ability to read first assembled. deeply ever since we stopped reading books and The group chat strengthens, but shrinks, our newspapers as much as we read online articles social networks. For those included, it sets up what with countless distractions such as hyperlinks and could be a lifetime of friendship, while others advertisements. are left out (or, God forbid, removed) from the Technology is no longer just expanding what structure upon which that friendship now relies. we can do — it is also impacting the way we do People who get left out of group chats get less those things in a potentially negative way. This is social interaction with members than they did especially true in terms of the influence of group before, while people in them get far more. In chats on the fluidity of our social lives. addition, from my own experience, one person Social media has allowed us to stay in touch can only realistically keep up with two to three with people from across the globe in ways that group chats religiously, depending on their size. we never could have before, increasing our ability So group chats not only dictate the size of our to connect. However, the groups of friends, but also the prevalence of named group of social groups that “On the macro level, number chats in the past few years we interact with. technology makes has decreased our ability to I am not arguing connect with people outside social interaction more against the group chat. of our inner circles.

However, I want to frame fluid. However within this column as a kind of On the macro level, technology makes social warning that technology a community such interactions more fluid. the human mind as a college campus, familiarizes However,withinacommunity to the concept of exclusion group chats represent on a daily basis. Once we such as a college campus, group chats represent a form a form of technology feel comfortable with acting of technology that actually in an exclusionary way that actually makes us online, it could be entirely makes us more divided as the list of names compiled online possible that we will begin more divided.” inform the names and faces to try that exclusion out in that sit together at dinner the real world by largely every night or go out together interacting with only people every weekend. These group whose numbers appear on a chats on our phones are increasing the prevalence particular list in our phones. Online interaction of cliques and exclusion in the real world. There has the ability to be far more exclusive than that is a new kind of exclusivity to a group chat, where of in-person interaction. If technology has the any person can remove anyone else at any given power to impact how we think, it also has the time — and once that person gets kicked out, all power to impact how we organize socially. For that is left is a digital representation of what used example, none of my friends have androids, to be a real-life friendship. because I simply cannot stomach a group text The establishment of a named group chat, whose messages are green. Technology, then, can especially during college, completely changes the influence who we add to our group chats and, by way we interact with others on our phones. Chats extension, our social circles. with names like “PB&J” might keep us in touch Although I say that in a lighthearted way, the with our friends from back home, while others realization that some of life’s most meaningful such as “Thicc Boiz” may have been created the interactions can be dictated by the technology that first week of freshman year, yet have stuck to this we use is a frightening one. With this technology day. These are just two examples from my own at the center of our daily lives, we should be life. My best friends are in a group chat with my cognizant of how this technology influences our other best friends. I love my friends, and I am social interactions. Though it can connect us, it extremely grateful for the technology that has ought not limit us.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

PAGE 5

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

Men’s rush sees fewer Weld talks climate, foreign policy bids extended this fall FROM WELD PAGE 1

recruitment process lasts around a week and includes Dartmouth Bystander process.

Initiative training sessions, an intro to This fall, most of the fraternities Greek life training and visits to houses either maintained or increased the of interest. The process concludes with number of bids extended to new shakeout, which occurs over a two-day members, according to Piou. He added period, according to Piou. that the rush process changed in terms “The Friday or Saturday of shakeout of the houses coordinating more with is the only real big day where you dress each other to make sure people they up and go to all the houses you have predicted would not receive bids were connections in, shake out and hope to told in advance, thus leading to smaller get a bid back,” Piou said. shakeout classes.

According to Piou, the formal Beta, Heorot and Sig Nu all saw a rush process for men is shorter and drop in the size of laxer compared their new member “I really only looked to women’s rush, classes from last but the unofficial at the main houses year. rush process H e o r o t I had friends in, like for men begins president Zach early. Most teammates. I was first quite Kalk ’20 said that fraternities assign Heorot’s smaller introduced to Chi Gam their rush chairs class size was not by my trip leader, and in the winter, so unexpected. that freshmen can “As our house after that, I just kept start getting to is mainly made meeting new people know members. up of members on Piou added that various sport teams and being introduced most students start –– soccer, hockey, to new people.” considering houses baseball, skiing in the spring. and heavyweight Nathan rowing –– our -NATHAN ZHANG ’22 Zhang ’22, who number loosely received a bid from re l i e s o n t h e Chi Gam, said he number of guys that these sports began looking at houses as soon as the teams bring in each year,” Kalk said. freshman frat ban ended because he “More importantly, this year we wanted was good friends with many affiliated a smaller class to ensure each addition upperclassmen. was enthusiastic about joining and to be “I really only looked at the main guys who would be active and dedicated houses I had friends in, like teammates,” members.”

Zhang said. “I was first introduced to Piou said he believes that the closure Chi Gam by my trip leader, and after of Dartmouth’s Sigma Phi Epsilon that, I just kept meeting new people chapter last year may explain Sig Nu’s and being introduced to new people.” significant decrease in class size, as 41 Zhang said that he wanted to bids were extended last fall at Sig Nu. rush because he believes that Greek He added that former members of life is central to Dartmouth’s social Sig Ep joined Sig Nu last year, while dimension. this year’s class did not include former “I rushed the house that I really SigEp members. enjoyed being at on specific on-nights, Formal IFC rush events such as so I wanted to be a brother there, so barbecues occur in the spring and I could call it my own and have my fall. While open to all of campus, friends over,” Zhang said. “It’s a good they are geared toward potential opportunity to meet new people and new members. In the fall, the official expand my network and connections.””

FROM MEN’S RUSH PAGE 1

In New Hampshire, a recent poll has Weld at 14 percent among Republican primary voters, 57 points behind Trump.

Acting vice-chair of the College Republicans Alexander Rauda ’21 said that the group reached out to the Weld campaign to schedule a visit.

Though Rauda said his group has already endorsed Trump for reelection in 2020, he said the organization seeks to promote free speech and an exchange of ideas.

“While we disagree with Weld on many issues, we hold him in high regard,” Rauda said.

Weld announced his candidacy in April and was the first major Republican candidate to declare a run against Trump. In an interview with The Dartmouth, Weld sharply criticized Trump’s view of the press and the “divisiveness” of the country under his leadership.

Rauda said in an interview before the Thursday event that Weld was holding the speech as a policy event, not a campaign event, since the visit was indirectly funded by the College.

This meant that Weld did not bring 2020 signs or campaign apparel to the event and focused on world politics and policy during his talk.

Sporting a green polka-dot tie, Weld stood beside the podium to, as he put it, reduce the barrier between himself and the audience. He outlined his main climate action points: rejoin the 2015 Paris climate agreement, introduce a price on carbon to fund payroll tax cuts and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by buying up the sovereign debt of countries with rainforests on the condition that the ecologicallycritical lands be preserved.

Weld said climate action does not have to be something which causes “economic suicide.” Instead, he said it could be paired with positive infrastructure changes in the U.S. and tax cuts for working Americans. He noted that such changes could happen easily, given there was enough political will to encourage them.

Regarding the “Green New Deal,” the sweeping climate proposal

championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Weld said that he supports a variety of its legislative proposals but “gets off the bus” on its proposal of a universal income “irrespective of whether they are willing to work.”

Weld also said expanding nuclear energy should be part of any sweeping climate legislation, citing examples of thinly-populated counties he has visited in upstate New York which benefit from small nuclear plants.

After Weld finished his opening remarks, students asked questions on topics ranging from his stance on healthcare to his thoughts on foreign policy.

Ambrose Tierney ’22, a member of the College Libertarians, asked Weld about his thoughts regarding the recent protests in Hong Kong and the possibility of a crackdown from China.

“China is still paying the price for Tiananmen Square,” Weld responded.

Weld responded animatedly to a question about Iran: “Ripping up the Iran deal was a colossal blunder,” he said. “Now, we have Trump desperately trying to lessen sanctions on Iran so they’ll talk again.”

He added that he believes the people of Iran are more open to the West than the government is.

“My Persian friends assure me that the people in the street want to lean to the West,” Weld said. “It is just the old Revolutionary Guard which doesn’t want to.”

Students also asked Weld to elaborate on his personal values, including his views on Constitutional rights and his personal religious beliefs.

In response, Weld said he is a supporter of the Second Amendment.

“Responsible private firearm ownership is a bulwark against government aggrandizement,” he said. Weld added that in many historical dictatorships, the right to bear arms is the first to go.

However, Weld’s support for gun ownership is not without its limits.

In light of recent mass shootings, Weld said a “promising route” is the expansion of red-flag laws, which

allow concerned relatives or law enforcement officers to request a confiscation of someone’s firearms.

A believer in the efficacy of the U.S. justice system and a former U.S. assistant attorney general during the Reagan era, Weld said people are able to get “in front of a judge in six hours in this country if you have exigent circumstances,” referring to a possible red-flag case.

Concerning a question about his religious beliefs, Weld responded that he has spent time with different Protestant denominations, including his upbringing as a Presbyterian and his later movement to the Episcopalian tradition. He stressed that he does not believe in imposing his religious beliefs on others.

“While I am a pronounced economic conservative, on the social side I am open and supportive of everybody and every group,” Weld said.

Weld campaign regional field director Ryan Dumont said he got involved with Weld’s cause because he was “disgusted” with what has been going on in Washington. The recent Saint Anselm College graduate said that Weld’s conservative approach to spending is appealing.

“You can’t claim to be a Republican and not care about the checkbook,” Dumont said. “A Republican president should try to get spending under control.”

Dumont said that despite many current Republicans’ conservative stances on climate action, support for a clean environment is an early Republican value. He cited “legendary Republicans” like president Theodore Roosevelt, whose conservationist efforts helped establish national parks and protect natural resources.

Harrison Hawkins ’23 said he came out to the event because he thinks that if anyone running for president comes and visits, it is an opportunity to get involved in the political process and hear different perspectives.

“I thought it was really insightful,” Hawkins said. “He never blundered when asked questions and I appreciated that he wasn’t afraid to talk about other politicians and their shortcomings.”

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

PAGE7

THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

Review: ‘Norman F—ing Rockwell!’ balances style and substance

By JACK HARGROVE The Dartmouth

“Norman F—ing Rockwell!” is easily Lana Del Rey’s best work to date. Upon its reveal, the cover art of “NFR!” created a considerable amount of controversy within Lana Del Rey’s fanbase. While her previous covers all use similar bold fonts for the title of the album and feature cinematic images of Del Rey alone with a car and wearing white, conservative outfits, “NFR!” goes in a different direction.

The art — which consists of a picture of Del Rey in a neon green windbreaker on a boat, one arm wrapped around Jack Nicholson’s grandson and the other reaching out to the viewer with “NFR!” and “LDR” in bright, comic-book lettering — seems gaudy and kitschy at first glance. However, a closer look reveals that the Southern California landscape in the background is on fire, and the sky above is painted.

The idyllic foreground juxtaposed with the flaming background reveals the turmoil behind Del Rey’s image of pristine mid-century American nostalgia, while the painted sky implies that none of the joy depicted can be real.

Both of these themes are central to the album, and combined with a departure from her previous albums, this cover is ultimately the perfect representation of what the album itself delivers. On “NFR!,” Del Rey, with the help of producer Jack Antonoff, fully realizes her potential as a songwriter and finally sounds truly authentic.

Lana Del Rey, the stage name of Elizabeth Grant, has always had a unique take on pop music.

Her debut single “Video Games” and the subsequent 2012 album “Born to Die” featured chamber pop instrumentation and pop vocals over downtempo hip-hop beats. However, her lyrics have always been overshadowed by her 1950s-obsessed persona; in fact, she has previously called herself the “gangster Nancy Sinatra.”

This style-over-substance approach

has crippled her music in the past, work takes over. This track is easily making it feel inauthentic. However, the longest and most experimental in on “NFR!,” her fifth album, Lana Del Rey’s discography, yet it remains has teamed up with pop afficianado thoroughly interesting throughout Jack Antonoff, who produced and never overstays its welcome.

On “Mariners Apartment Taylor Swift’s “1989” and Lorde’s “Melodrama.” The result is a deeply Complex,” Del Rey exhibits easily personal portrait of Del Rey’s the sharpest and most mature mental state sung over Antonoff ’s songwriting of her entire career. minimalistic piano and guitar work. The opening lines, “You took my “Godd—n, man-child/You f—ed sadness out of context/At the me so good that I almost said, ‘I love Mariners Apartment Complex/I you,’” sings Del Rey in “Norman ain’t no candle in the wind,” and f—ing Rockwell,” the titular track. the chorus, “You lose your way, These are the lyrics that kick off the just take my hand/You’re lost at album and introduce the listener to sea, then I’ll command your boat to the central relationship of the album. me again/Don’t look too far, right The man that Del Rey is dating is, in where you are, that’s where I am/I’m many aspects, contemptible. As she your man,” display a complexity describes him on the track, he is a never before seen on a Lana Del “self-loathing poet, resident Laurel Rey project. Gone are the days of Canyon know-it-all,” an immature “Born to Die” and “Ultraviolence, grown man who where much of writes bad poetry “Lana Del Rey finally her writing felt and blames all like” it was trying of his problems feels like a real person, too hard to sound on others. And not just a character like teenage yet, despite it all, angst and was created by Elizabeth there’s something very much a about this man Grant, and this victim of style that makes Del newfound authenticity over substance.

Rey happy.

O t h e r This positive not only results in one highlights in s i d e t o t h e of the most enthralling the track listing relationship include “F— it, albums of the year, is explored in I love you,” a d e p t h i n t h e but also allows her piano ballad in n i n e - m i n u t e - to become one of which Del Rey long third track reckons with her “Venice B—.” the great American past troubles Here, Del Rey songwriters.” with alcoholism reflects on the and addiction. In early days of the “The greatest,” relationship with Del Rey creates nostalgia, culminating with the line, a very nostalgic track in which she “Oh God, miss you on my lips/It’s sings about missing New York, her me, your little Venice b—,” yearning lover and Kanye West, of all things. for the days when everything was On this track, she also laments — simpler. The nickname “Venice “The culture is lit and I had a ball” b—” is a reference to the well- — one of the most clever lines on known Venice Beach in Southern the album referring to the people California, one of many references of the world having fun while the on the album to the Southern world itself is in flames. “Doin’ California way of life. The track Time,” Del Rey’s trip-hop cover ends with a six-minute psychedelic of the 1997 single by Long Beach, outro, in which Del Rey’s singing CA ska band Sublime, may seem fades into the background while out of place on an album in which Antonoff ’s distorted, hazy guitar all of the other lyrics are written by

Del Rey and Antonoff. However, the lyrics detailing an emotionally abusive relationship fit into the album’s narrative well, and the dark, trip-hop production meshes with the rest of the record. Finally, “California,” my favorite track, is a slow piano ballad in which Del Rey implores someone important to “hit [her] up” if he ever returns to California. This song features Del Rey’s voice at its most raw, with her voice layered over itself in dissonant harmony.

While this album is easily Del Rey at her best, there are a few tracks that certainly could be improved. “The Next Best American Record,” which is the weakest track on the album, is a leftover from Del Rey’s previous album “Lust For Life.” This is very clear in the context of “NFR!,” as the lyrics are significantly weaker than those on the other tracks. While not awful, the writing on the other tracks is so stellar that the only okay writing on this track really stands out in a negative way.

In “Love song,” Del Rey continues the narrative of the relationship in the album. While the writing on this track is just as good as anywhere else on the album, the instrumentation is rather lackluster and dull, making it one of the more forgettable tracks.

The song “Bartender” is an interesting case; its lyrics about Del Rey buying a truck in the middle of the night and leaving town are well-written and interesting, and its sparse instrumentation serves to heighten the melancholy and need for escape found in the lyrics. However, as a whole, it feels unfinished, and it should have been reworked into a more complete form on the record.

The penultimate track “Happiness is a butterfly” wraps up the story of the relationship introduced in the first track with the line, “I said, ‘Don’t be a jerk, don’t call me a taxi’/ Sitting in your sweatshirt, crying in the backseat, ooh,” implying a fight that finally ends the relationship.

Given that this narrative is such a major part of the album, this ending is not entirely satisfying, and

certainly could have been resolved in a more impactful way.

Despite the mediocre songs that precede it, the final track, “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have — but I have it,” not only provides a perfect conclusion to the album, but also sums up Del Rey’s persona perfectly. Peppered throughout the song are references to poet Sylvia Plath, who suffered from depression throughout her life and committed suicide at age 30. Del Rey relates many of her feelings to those of Plath, finding solace in her writing. At the climax of the chorus, Del Rey declares, “Don’t ask if I’m happy, you know that I’m not/But at best, I can say I’m not sad,” which gives a window into her mental state. She also claims that “Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have” repeatedly in the song, but at the very end of the song, she adds, “But I have it,” ending the album with a ray of hope. In spite of everything that has happened to her, Del Rey defiantly holds on to hope.

In “NFR!,” Del Rey manages to improve her sound, lyrics and image in every way while still sounding like herself. In fact, much has stayed the same from her previous records. She maintains her obsession with vintage Americana and pop culture, and the songs are littered with references to the Beach Boys, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Joni Mitchell, Sylvia Plath and Led Zeppelin. The album title itself references American painter Norman Rockwell, whose artwork of the classical American experience greatly informs Del Rey’s expectations for her life with her lover.

In this album, Del Rey finally finds the perfect balance of style and substance. No longer are her lyrics and music overpowered by the image that she is trying to sell.

Lana Del Rey finally feels like a real person, not just a character created by Elizabeth Grant, and this newfound authenticity not only results in one of the most enthralling albums of the year, but also allows her to become one of the great American songwriters.

PAGE 8

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019

THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

Review: Netflix’s ‘Big Mouth’ shares what growing up means today

By LEX KANG

The Dartmouth Senior Staff

I’ve followed Netflix’s animated series “Big Mouth” since it debuted in 2017. I’ve loved every minute of it since, including its third season, which was released on Oct. 4. But I know that it rubs some people the wrong way, and I can see why it does.

The sexual jokes are blatant and graphic — which can feel especially inappropriate considering that the characters are middle schoolers — and visually, the show is a tad more grotesque than your typical animation.

On top of that, the show is just plain weird: Nick Birch (voiced by Nick Kroll), one of the main characters, has the ghost of Duke Ellington (voiced by Jordan Peele) living in his attic. Each pubescent character has a “hormone monster” — which are only visible and audible to the preteen they are associated with — that accompanies them and talks them through the ups and downs of puberty.

Finally, another preteen character, Jay Bilzerian (voiced by Jason Mantzoukas), has sex with pillows, couch cushions and turkeys, eventually impregnating a pillow and becoming the father of another small pillow. “Big Mouth” isn’t for the faint-hearted.

But that’s what makes “Big Mouth” so great: it’s the perfect representation of the experience of transitioning into adolescence itself, and its realism peaks in season three. Throughout the series, the exaggerated perversion, the crude humor, the strange, surreal internal monologues that the hormone monsters create — all symbolize the roller coaster that is puberty.

We’ve all seen preteens go through a dramatic, self-centered, angsty phase and make fools out of themselves as a result. “Big Mouth” forces the audience to remember how overwhelming and strange trying to understand your rapidly

changing body and identity can be at that point in life while retaining the humor of it all. It almost reminds the audience that we, as adults, have moved past those experiences and should be able to relate to the characters and laugh at our volatile, immature past selves. What the show lacks in propriety it makes up for with realism and nostalgia. Any discomfort you feel while watching comes from the knowing second-hand embarrassment of people who have been there.

That’s the strength of the entire series as a whole. What makes season three special is another aspect of the show’s identity: its representation of how modern issues add a different flair to the universal experience of puberty. The rapid development of values independent of parental ones, unstable self-confidence and the capricious emotional state of puberty applies to anyone, but seventh graders in 2019 have different concerns and different ways of understanding the way they relate to the world than seventh graders a decade or two ago. “Big Mouth” makes a point of understanding the psyche of today’s youth.

For example, Jessi Glaser (voiced by Jessi Klein), is an erudite and relatively mature character trying to understand feminism and how to reconcile her feminist ideals with her desire to be desired by her misogynistic, willfully objectifying and constantly lewd male peers. In season two, Jessi experiences insecurity about her body as she remains fairly flat-chested while all the boys develop crushes on another student named Gina, who suddenly becomes voluptuous as she hits her growth spurt. While criticizing her male peers for giving Gina sudden, unwanted attention, Jessi also wants to be more desirable and feels resentful and confused with herself for feeling that way.

In season three, Jessi’s insecurity and her relationship to feminism is explored in a more nuanced way in the second

episode, “Girls Are Angry Too.” In this episode, after a male student gets “distracted” by a revealing outfit on one of the girls and gets into an accident in shop class, the school passes an extremely sexist dress code. In protest, the girls decide to come to school wearing their most provocative clothing, and when one of Jessi’s friends, a “late bloomer” named Missy Foreman-Greenwald (voiced by Jenny Slate) fails to follow through, Jessi implies that she agrees with the other girls who accuse Missy of being “a traitor to [her] own gender.”

In that moment, the show finally portrays Jessi as what she is. Despite the mature facade and her impressive eloquence — particularly around gender — Jessi is still only 12, insecure and hasn’t yet grasped an understanding that feminism means accepting and respecting femininity in all forms. If anything, for Jessi, her feminism is more of a defense mechanism to hide her insecurity so that she can act nonchalant about which girls are getting attention from boys.

This episode evokes some other characters’ development regarding understanding gender as well. Andrew Glouberman (voiced by John Mulaney) expresses frustration and annoyance at the girls’ protest, claiming that he doesn’t understand why the boys can’t call the girls sexy when they dress so provocatively. Andrew eventually has an outburst: “What do you b—es want from us?!” Nick, who wants to be an ally to women but doesn’t know how, hilariously corrects his friend “Woah, woah, woah, woah, Andrew, they’re not b—es, they’re sluts.” Nick goes on to apologize to Jessi and have a conversation about what he should do as an ally, while Andrew, well, took a different route. Spoiler alert: think accidental attendance at a Nazi meeting.

“Big Mouth” also explores sexuality across the spectrum. It probably wasn’t a surprise to viewers that “Big Mouth”

was going to provide some sort of a take on queer issues. There is a flamboyant “out” character named Matthew (voiced

by Andrew Rannells) and Jay is shown exploring his sexual desire toward both men and women from the start of the series. But “Big Mouth” again takes a more complex, more novel approach that is fitting for Generation Z specifically.

For instance, there are plenty of stories about gay or lesbian teens enduring social isolation or other forms of oppression as consequences for their identities. “Big Mouth” tastefully avoided this; Matthew is already out upon his first appearance without detailing his coming-out, and despite initially being the only out student at the school, is socially well-adjusted and respected and even gets into a healthy relationship by the end of the third season which he comfortably flaunts to his friends. What “Big Mouth” does tackle is something much more complicated: the negative stereotypes around bisexuality and pansexuality.

In episode eight, “Rankings” — the episode in which students rank their peers in order of hotness — a girl named Ali (voiced by Ali Wong) starts at the school and announces that she identifies as pansexual. Though “Big Mouth” failed to accurately define pansexuality — which resulted in co-creator Andrew Goldberg apologizing for the misrepresentation on his Twitter page — the impact Ali’s announcement has on the other characters and the show’s resulting exploration of sexuality as a factor in identity construction for today’s youth is undeniable.

Immediately, the boys are intrigued, mostly because they’re turned on by the thought of threesomes or Ali hooking up with girls. The girls are a bit confused and definitely very jealous as their rankings drop in favor of Ali and her “exotic” sexuality. Ali and her sexuality are immediately reduced to a sexual fantasy

rather than a multifaceted identity, as is often the case for queer women.

Seeing that Ali’s pansexuality actually gave her social clout, Jay, who had not been ready to accept and share his bisexuality, finally comes out to his friends.

However, he does not receive the same kind of welcoming response. Matthew, who was the first person Jay approached after coming out, dismisses his sexuality as a cover for actually being gay. His friends Andrew and Nick initially don’t believe him, saying that they suspected it was a “ploy for attention,” and then admit that they aren’t comfortable with his sexuality despite their readiness to accept Ali’s “more appealing” sexuality. The episode concludes with Ali and Jay sharing their complicated experiences regarding their sexual orientation to each other, serving as the season’s culminating representation of sexuality in for preteens today.

Current and realistic portrayals of what it’s like to grow up is exactly what “Big Mouth” excels at. Middle schoolers in this day and age — though they may be well-versed in social issues — are often still simply repeating what they’ve been exposed to through media or the adults in their lives. They only really begin formulating their own opinions and values through convoluted experiences in their adolescence that challenge or exceed the scope of what they’ve heard.

The growing pains of adolescence is a timeless concept that is well-executed in “Big Mouth” like many predecessors before it. But the show’s niche strength is that it contextualizes this experience through the perspective of today’s preteens in a way that balances humor with doing justice to the identity crises youth go through on a daily basis in 2019.

The show capitalizes off of the relatability of puberty while educating the audience on newer issues, and for breaking that generational barrier alone, the show deserves accolades.