VOL. CLXXIV NO.36
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Group created to support refugees
CLOUDY HIGH 59 LOW 35
By FRANCES COHEN
The Dartmouth Staff
OPINION
CHUN: DIVERSITY’S COMMODIFICATION PAGE 4
OZEL: COMMEDIA DELL’POLITICA PAGE 4
MILLER: THIS IS THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT PAGE 6
ARTS
REVIEW: ‘FUTURE’ STUCK IN THE PAST PAGE 8
ELIZA MCDONOUGH/THE SENIOR DARTMOUTH STAFF
During fall recruitment for 2016, 768 students submitted 9,654 applications for 127 positions.
CPD receives high volume of applications By KRISTINE JIWOO AHN The Dartmouth Staff
The Center for Professional Development r e c e i ve d m o r e t h a n double the number of fall recruiting applications this year than last, according
DOC plans trips for spring break
By ANTHONY ROBLES The Dartmouth Staff
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to figures released by the CPD. A total of 768 students submitted 9,654 applications for the 193 positions offered by 127 employers advertised through Dartboard, CPD’s online job portal.
Many of the Dartmouth Outing Club’s sub-clubs will host trips this upcoming spring break, ranging from canoeing in F lorida to canyoneering in Utah. Among the sub-clubs that will participate are the Ledyard Canoe Club, Dartmouth Mountaineering Club, Cabin and Trail and the Mountain Biking Club. Ledyard president
Michael Baicker ’17 said that Ledyard will hold two trips this break, one of which — whitewater kayaking — will be based out of Asheville, North Carolina, with day trips throughout both North Carolina and Tennessee. The trip, which will have around 35 participants, will last for the entirety of the break. L e dya rd ’s f l at w at e r SEE TRIPS PAGE 3
Students can send in multiple applications during a recruiting cycle. Five hundred and eighty-eight students were offered interviews. These SEE CPD PAGE 3
Two Dartmouth students, Veselin Nanov ’20 and Kasia Kready ’17, recently founded the Upper Valley Coalition for Immigrants and Refugees as an action group with the aim of supporting immigrants and refugees both in the Upper Valley community and abroad. The Dartmouth-based club has had two meetings to date. Nanov said that the initial idea for the club began towards the end of last fall as an initiative to raise awareness about the crisis in Syria, although President Donald Trump’s recent executive order regarding immigration served as a catalyst for the creation of the club. Signed by President Trump on Jan. 27, the executive order started a 90-day ban on the admission of non-U.S. citizens from Sudan, Iran, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and Syria. However, the act has been put on hold as its constitutionality is being reviewed by the court system. Despite the current state of the order, Trump’s further actions on immigration and refugee policies will dictate the efforts of the club in the future. They are currently
focusing on preparing to react to whatever comes their way, studio art professor and club member Viktor Witkowski said. “We will have to think quickly and react quickly depending on what the government will decide. Right now we are preparing, organizing, trying to get a sense of who will be part of the group … and then based on what actually happens we will have to react and respond,” Witkowski said. The overall goal of the club is to support and protect refugees in the surrounding Vermont and New Hampshire area and to educate the community on the issue in general, club member Sophia Kinne ’20 said. The club founders intentionally did not use Dartmouth in the club’s name because they wanted to include members of the surrounding community, Nanov said. The club consists of a mix of faculty, staff, students and Upper Valley residents. Nanov said that he and Kready reached out to the existing Upper Valley Refugee SEE REFUGEES PAGE 3
Thayer celebrates its 150th year
By RACQUEL LYN The Dartmouth
A century and a half ago, the Thayer School of Engineering opened with only three students and five classrooms. This year, Thayer is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a calendar of events through December, commemorating the school’s history and outlining goals for the future. Celebration planning has been carried out by the administrative staff, including Thayer dean Joseph Helble, senior director of communications Karen
Endicott and associate director of advancement events and special projects Jennifer Seiler. Some of the events that have taken place in the past two months include a community celebration and an alumni dinner. Many of the upcoming ones will highlight the history of Thayer. “Photographic displays, social media and the Dartmouth [Engineer] Magazine will be the main tools used to broadcast the anniversary,” Helble said. The biggest event of the celebration, Thayer Alumni weekend, will take place from
May 5 to 7. The weekend will open with the STEM Arts Concert, which includes composer Molly Herron . The school also plans to host a panel of speakers, including both Thayer alumni and current professors of engineering. The weekend will conclude with key note speakers Jeff Immelt ’78,who is the chief executive officer and chairman of General Electric, and former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, who was the first woman of color to travel to space. SEE THAYER PAGE 5
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Students plan spring break trips FROM TRIPS PAGE 1
@TheDartmouth
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
canoeing trip will begin on the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia before descending into Florida via the Suwannee River. The trip will run from Mar. 19 to Mar. 26, allowing the eight participants to visit home for a few days before the trip commences. Both trips were open to all levels of experience. According to Baicker, the trips are mainly structured around canoeing and kayaking from morning to around mid-afternoon. After the day’s activity, the group gets together to cook dinner and set camp for the night. Baicker led a similar trip this past winter break in Everglades National Park located in southern Florida. Meanwhile, DMBC will be taking six individuals – two trip leaders and four participants — to Pisgah National Forest located in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North Carolina. Their trip will last 10 days from Mar. 15 to Mar. 25. Though open to beginners, biking experience was recommended for applicants. Due to the proximity between the Ledyard trip and the DMBC trip, DMBC president Shuoqi Chen ’18 said the two groups have sometimes met up in the past to have dinner together. The Dartmouth Mountaineering Club’s annual spring break trip this year will take around 25 individuals to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, located near Las Vegas, Nevada, and will run from Mar. 17 to Mar. 24. This trip was open to all levels of experience. “We go there every spring,” trip co-organizer Alexander Derenchuk ’19 said. “It’s great because it’s warm in March, and it’s one of the best places to go sport climbing in America.” In the western half of the United States, Cabin and Trail will be conducting two trips focusing on backpacking and canyoneering. The backpacking trip will explore the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, located in southern Utah, from Mar. 15 to Mar. 25, with 13 people participating, trip co-leader Joby Bernstein ’17 said. “There’s just so many different ecosystems out there that you can walk through on any given day, and yet, it’s kind of unheard of for most people,” Bernstein added. “It’s a really cool opportunity to go to the middle of nowhere and really get to experience some of the amazing assets that America has.” Meanwhile, six individuals – two trip leaders and four participants – will participate in the canyoneering trip. The trip will be conducted on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management in Utah from Mar. 15 to Mar. 23, according to trip
co-leader Matthew West ’17. West has previously led two trips, one of which involved backpacking at Death Valley National Park in California, while the other also focused on canyoneering in Utah. West said that the main tasks of the leaders prior to the trips involve dealing with logistical material, such as applications, the itinerary and the planning of the routes. “On the actual trip, the primary responsibilities are navigating us
through the mountains without trails, making sure food happened and stuff like that,” West added. “I love taking groups of people outdoors, especially doing fun things, and from the applications of the people that applied, I think they’re all really going to enjoy canyoneering.” Financial aid was available for all of the trips. Chen is a former member of The Dartmouth staff.
SMILE FOR GILE
MORGAN MOINIAN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
The Gile Mountain Tower Trail Head is blanketed with snow and ice.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
Refugee club created
Nanov said he has been in contact with some possible speakers for events or Working Group, which was already club meetings. “Education is going to be one of the working on behalf of refugees in the area, to help spread the word to the primary goals of our organization, [but so are] figuring out how to respond to community. “I felt very happy that we are in this government and making sure that we broader community where people care are part of a discourse on a broader intercollegiate and are willing and national t o d e d i c a t e “I felt very happy level,” Nanov their time and that we are in this said. enthusiasm to this Nanov said cause,” Nanov broader community he has overall said. where people care been impressed C u r r e n t l y, with the level the club’s focus and are willing to of interest for has been to raise dedicate their time club, noting awareness about and enthusiasm to this the an especially the refugee crisis large freshmen on campus, which cause.” presence. is especially Currently, over important 100 people are on because students -VESELIN NANOV ’20 the club’s mailing often feel very list. i s o l at e d a n d Those involved with the club separate from issues of this kind, feel strongly about the refugee and Nanov said. The first meeting focused on coming immigration issues at the forefront of up with a concrete goal, mission our political atmosphere, many for statement and name for the club. personal reasons. Witkowski, who himself left Poland The second meeting focused more specifically on plans and actions for the as a refugee, said the refugee crisis has upcoming weeks, as well as distributing reminded him of “what it meant to be without a home, and that you arrive to leadership positions, Nanov said. Apart from generally educating the a country that is now supposed to be community on the topic, the club is in your new home.” In the life of a refugee, it makes all the preliminary stages of developing the difference to have people along plans for the future. The club is brainstorming some the way who make you feel welcome, ways in which they can work together Witkowski said. “The history of the United States with other on-campus groups with is kind of based on immigrants and ... similar aims, Witkowski said. They also hope to potentially hold refugees … and this is what makes this a fundraiser in the spring, Kinne said. country,” Witkowski said. FROM REFUGEES PAGE 1
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Fall job applications numbers double FROM CPD PAGE 1
numbers account for applications submitted by the second major submission deadline, which was Oct. 10, 2016. Offer totals have not yet been reported. For the fall of 2015, 489 students submitted a total of 4,760 applications, and 124 employers offered a total of 141 positions. CPD senior associate director Monica Wilson said that the number of students who were offered interviews in 2015 was clearly fewer than in 2016. The year before, 384 students submitted 3,354 applications. Both entry-level jobs and internships were open for resume submission this fall. Many of these openings were related to business and consulting. Co-leaders of student organization Women in Business Hannah Carlino ’17 and Danielle Kimball ’17 said that consulting and investment banking are the most popular industries because they are the “most staple kinds of jobs,” Carlino said. According to Carlino and
Kimball, jobs in consulting and investment banking help people build fundamental skills while figuring out what they more specifically want to do and achieve that afterwards. “They prepare you well and serve as a springboard for your next job, whatever that may be,” Carlino said. Pre-professional organizations on campus such as WIB, the Dartmouth Consulting Group and the Dartmouth Investment and Philanthropy Program provide resources to help applicants prepare for the recruiting process. Many of these organizations offer interview prep workshops, resume and cover letter workshops and networking sessions. Workshops often provide specialized guidance on how to approach consulting cases or investment banking technical interviews, Carlino said. Starting last year, the CPD allowed employers to recruit sophomores during sophomore summer or junior fall as opposed to only during junior winter. WIB organizes a panel every spring about how to approach sophomore summer recruiting specifically.
Carlino said that they have received great feedback so far from members who received recruiting training offered by WIB. Many people find them useful because they teach things that are not covered in your everyday classes at Dartmouth, she said. While consulting and investment banking are the most popular fields that typically recruit through oncampus recruiting, Carlino said that there is a rising interest in other fields such as non-profits, tech, start-ups, entrepreneurship and marketing. “We try to cater a lot of our events to those types of roles too, but it’s harder to find people with experience and knowledge in those fields,” she said. The CPD also provides resources for students through programs such as DartmouthCircles, an interactive online platform that helps employers and students connect with one another. Wilson said that the CPD promoted “quite a range of opportunities,” but that application rates varied considerably. Carlino is a member of The Dartmouth senior business staff.
ERIN LEE/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
During 2016 fall recruiting, 9,654 applications were submitted for 193 available positions.
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
STAFF COLUMNIST STEVEN CHUN ’19
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST PELIN OZEL ’19
Diversity’s Commodification
Commedia dell’Politica
A story from Uber shows that progress can be stalled by perverse incentives. This past Sunday, author and software engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing a horror story of sexual harassment and corporate failure at Uber, the massive ridesharing company. Fowler, who now works at the payment processing company Stripe, had worked for a year as a site-reliability engineer at Uber. A cursory look at her personal website quickly reveals that she’s — to use the industry buzzword — a “rockstar.” With degrees from Stanford University, Arizona State University and the University of Pennsylvania and two published books on production microservices, Fowler is the kind of devoted engineer Silicon Valley worships. I list off her qualifications because her story is so ludicrously damning that it’s almost hard to believe. While it’s a personal blog post and not a news report, Fowler is no joke, and her credentials are rock solid. The story she tells, however, puts Silicon Valley’s push for inclusion on wobbly footing. I highly recommend reading the original post, but I’ll give a short summary. Upon joining Uber, Fowler began receiving blatantly inappropriate messages over company channels from her manager indirectly soliciting sex. After screenshotting those messages and reporting them to the company’s human resources office, Fowler wrote that she, “was told by both HR and upper management that even though this was clearly sexual harassment, and he was propositioning [her], it was this man’s first offense, and that they wouldn’t feel comfortable giving him anything other than a warning and a stern talking-to.” While an unnervingly tame response to fairly explicit harassment, upper management at Uber further commented, according to Fowler, that the manager in question was a “high performer” and that they didn’t want to ruin his career over an “innocent mistake.” It seems as if the hyper-focus on performance that grew Uber to a $68 billion valuation had taken precedence over the well-being of its employees. This is a well-discussed topic in tech: a male-dominated industry fails to recognize that it’s not at all welcoming to an important pool of talent: women. But it’s another of Fowler’s experiences that made me rethink the push for diversity in the technology industry. Fowler described wanting to transfer from one team to another. She had a perfect performance review score and managers on other teams were
clamoring for her. Yet, time after time she found herself denied. She later found out that, “keeping me on the team made my manager look good, and I overheard him boasting to the rest of the team that even though the rest of the teams were losing their women engineers left and right, he still had some on his team.” If there’s any sentence that describes a failed incentive, it’s this: tech companies have been under increasing pressure to hire and retain female employees, so this manager decided to make sure he had the best numbers in his department. In short, Fowler fell victim to the commodification of diversity. It’s an issue that’s far from isolated to Silicon Valley. Any organization that’s predominantly male or white or wealthy — looking at you, Ivy League — has been subject to increasing pressure to diversify. The way we report that is often in population percentages, but even a good percentage may not accurately reflect actual inclusion, equality or diversity. By accepting mere percentage points as signs of progress, we’ve created a perverse incentive. Diversity becomes a commodity to be collected and flaunted, all while the actual goal remains unfulfilled. There’s an analog in the development of artificial intelligence. If you’re teaching an AI to clean a room by rewarding it every time it cleans a mess, what’s to stop it from creating more of a mess to then clean up? In fact, an improper reward function may encourage this behavior. This has happened with pushes toward inclusion. The effect in the real world may be a college with a diverse population — loudly advertised in admissions’ brochures — but zero interaction between groups. It could be an exclusive social club that, under pressure to diversify, institutes a quota system. Sure, it’s morally wrong in every way, but it’ll probably appease the administration. Or it could be a team in a tech company that stops its female engineers from transferring to maintain the appearance of diversity. When we aim for lofty goals like equality and inclusion, it’s difficult to measure progress. But that cannot deter us from trying. Diversity does not equal even, proportional representation of every minority, gender and sexuality if those populations are not given equal opportunity, treatment or welcome. We must demand better metrics lest we allow progress to be gamed. Most importantly, we must avoid creating perverse incentives, or else we may find ourselves losing ground on the issues we’ve fought so hard for.
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Political comedy is one of the defining cultural features of the Trump era. Remember five years ago, when the most popular television comedy characters on Saturday Night Live were Bill Hader as Stefon and Kristen Wiig as Gilly? Seth Meyers would introduce Stefon, who would recommend absurd places to go during the weekend, leading the two to end the sketch holding back tears of laughter as Gilly obnoxiously wreaked havoc in her elementary school classroom. Today, lighthearted comedy has evolved into politically centered comedy. Melissa McCarthy as White House press secretary Sean Spicer and Alec Baldwin as President Donald Trump are some of the most talked about comedic characters in the news. What I find most interesting is the effect these shows have on the larger audience — the viewers who tune in weekly or nightly to watch. The show’s sketches have become such a sensation that a local newspaper in the Dominican Republic mistakenly printed a picture of Alec Baldwin from the show over one of Trump. Some people first hear of political figures like Sean Spicer from Saturday Night Live. These comedy shows are not conventional news sources: they do not have real interviews, and they certainly do not need copious amounts of statistics — real or “alternative” — to get anyone to buy into their message. But what these shows do is make their audiences aware of current events. Importantly, through comedy, interest in current issues peak when the audience is exposed to these skits. People want to watch press conferences: they are intrigued in cabinet confirmations, and they feel obligated to follow current events to tune into next week’s episode. Comedy shows are best at reaching out to a niche population of individuals who do not care for opening the news channel on their television or checking their phones for the next political opinion. In addition to garnering attention to the news, shows like SNL reaches a population that no other media source can: people who just want to
laugh. Furthermore, this audience does not have to accept SNL’s opinions (or criticize it as a source of “Fake News”) to understand the message such comedy is attempting to delineate. The audience is cognizant of the ludicrousness of modern day politics. Exposure is the beginning of attentiveness. Meanwhile, as the audience learns more about political tensions, the politicians being impersonated cannot reasonably attack in response. When SNL criticizes someone through comedy, the only way the individual being criticized can react is to accept the joke as is and be a “good sport.” Otherwise, the audience labels these politicians as unable to take a joke or have a laugh. There is pure brilliance behind this method of bringing attention toward politicians whose policies are polarizing. Not only can SNL writers address issues that are vital for the audience to know, they can attack the credibility of politicians. Everyone remembers Tina Fey iconic performance as Sarah Palin during the 2008 elections. SNL’s work helped tank Palin’s credibility and approval ratings. The political figures behind the show’s sketches are left attempting to save face. The answer to expressing disapproval of such politicians to the larger public is not attacking them in interviews or bashing their “fake news” arguments but rather conveying dissatisfaction through comedy. Not only does this method protect from backlash but also guides the audience to be more critical when watching the news. Go make fun of the fact that there is no such event as the “Bowling Green Massacre.” Write jokes with Kate McKinnon playing an overzealous Elizabeth Warren. Although politics should be taken seriously, if we want the public to call these politicians out on their nonsense, then we need comedy. Comedy enables awareness for an audience that is not incentivized to turn on Fox or CNN. Comedy helps us target political figures. Comedy helps us act and get the public to speak against bigotry and dogmatism.
THE IRON MAIDEN IS NEXT
Matthew Goldstein ’18
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
PAGE 5
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Thayer School of Engineering celebrates 150-year anniversary interest in engineering. [The student population] is now more than “Dr.Jemisontalksalotaboutwomen twice than what it was when I breaking the gender barrier, and arrived in 2005,” he said. “In part, how being interested in engineering I think it’s because of the growing was the norm at the time she was recognition of the creative elements of engineering.” growing up,” Helble also Seiler said. commented that “Many of her “It is important for last year Thayer philosophies students to develop was the first in women in major research e n g i n e e r i n g their own stature, and I greatly align think Thayer has a great i n s t i t u t i o n to graduate a with what Thayer School tradition of doing that.” majority female class. The faculty is trying to do.” has also grown in Professor the past 12 years. of engineering For instance, J i f e n g L i u - JIFENG LIU, PROFESSOR the number of said t h e OF ENGINEERING tenure-track celebrations professors has will also include increased from seminars and 24 to 40. lecture series “We want focusing on our students to biomedical graduate with engineering confidence and sustainable and know how energy. to approach Helble, challenges in the who has been real world,” Liu in office since 2005, has noticed many changes in said. “It is important for students the demographics of the school and to develop their own stature, and I think Thayer has a great tradition student interest. “There has simply been a larger of doing that.” FROM THAYER PAGE 1
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The Thayer School of Engineering opened with only three students and five classrooms 150 years ago.
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THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST ELIANA MILLER ’20
This is the Winter of Our Discontent
Students and staff fight to help those struggling with mental health issues at Dartmouth, yet critical problems persist. The “WELCOME HOME TWENTIES” adversity into learning opportunities instead of sign hanging on Robinson Hall is one of the first things that really derail us.” things that incoming Dartmouth students see on In recent years, Dartmouth has done much campus. Cascada’s “Everytime We Touch” and to combat the stigmatization of mental health Red Foley’s “Salty Dog Rag” are the first songs issues beyond Orientation programming. The that they hear at the beginning of the Dartmouth 2015 Homecoming edition of The Dartmouth Outing Club’s First-Year Trips. And Cabot cheese provided “a look into the lives, thoughts and feelings — lots of Cabot cheese of Dartmouth students — is often the first food affected by mental that students taste when illness.” The edition they arrive in Hanover. was titled, “Beneath the But once the busses get Surface” and featured back from Moosilauke the image of a duck Ravine Lodge, students frantically treading water begin to hear a different on the front cover, a nod trope, a less upbeat and toward the infamous more serious story of the “duck syndrome” of adversities that lie ahead. high-achiever s. It I first noticed this contained a wide range pattern of warnings at an of testimonies and orientation evententitled, articles on mental health “Our Dartmouth: resources on campus. LUCY LI/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF Community Building More recently, Through Story-Sharing.” The event was meant undergraduate advisors have begun to teach to focus on “finding community and places of first-year students the importance of emotional belonging on Dartmouth’s campus,” according to awareness and well-being through a four-week the First-Year Orientation website, and consisted class. Students are prompted to track their highs of a panel of six students who explained how and lows via the Dartboard phone app and later their identities have affected their transitions to discuss what triggers a bad day as well as how Dartmouth. The first-year students heard stories to be more cognizant of one’s emotional state of navigating applications for clubs, managing the throughout the day. 10-week term crunch and international students Even professors are increasingly concerned with adjusting to America. It was an informative and student well-being. Psychology professor William honest panel, and the panelists shared an array of Hudenko recently partnered with the Digital Arts, stories. But there was one common theme: though Innovation and Leadership Lab to create the Dartmouth can be great, it won’t always be so. app Proxi. The app, which is still in beta testing, Every student spoke about experiencing connects individuals with a support network of tough days on campus, how Dartmouth isn’t family, friends and a professional clinician while always perfect, how difficult daily life can be. But monitoring the user’s risk of suicide. the panelists still loved the College. As I thought Orientation warnings and testimonials remind about it more, every orientation event relayed this us that despite these initiatives, students believe that narrative. Upperclassmen would say, Dartmouth there is still much to be done. Dartmouth students pushes students to the limit; they’d tell us that the continue to face issues of pressure and stress that academic year is not upbeat and dandy like trips harm their mental health and can be the catalyst or wonder — as seniors — if they really belong for underlying medical conditions. And in spite of here. Even at the Twilight Ceremony, a celebration all the best efforts of students and professionals, of the beginning of the incoming class’ time at many students remain reluctant to seek out help, Dartmouth, the new freshman heard ominous instead preferring to hide their troubles and slap stories about the stressful four years ahead. on a smile. So why does this matter? And why might it be Even those that do reach out for assistance can good that students hear this eerie warning even encounter difficulties in getting help in a timely before they matriculated? manner, especially during the all-too-frequent Because it means that there is talk on campus, crunch times of the quarter system. That system starting from day one, about mental health issues. — and the turnover in student leadership it creates While these conversations should more explicitly — also makes it hard for student groups to serve reference mental health issues on the whole, as a consistent place of comfort for those in stress. students at Dartmouth are open and willing to Gustavo Silva ’20 and Makisa Bronson ’20 are discuss their days, both good and bad. We may the two Dartmouth liaisons for the Second Annual wear crazy flair and dance to loud pop music during Ivy League Mental Health Conference being held the first week of the term, but the student body at Brown University at the end of this month. appears to understand that adversity comes with Silva said that when students with “unhealthy life and that there is no need to stigmatize these behaviors, [who] are not mentally well” are issues in the way that they have been for so many considered, “it’s a very big proportion [of the years on college campuses across the U.S. student body].” As assistant health improvement director, Mary “It’s a small proportion of students that say Nyhan of the Student Wellness Center faces these ‘Yeah, I sleep well. Yeah, I am not over-stressed. issues every day. “There is definitely something Yeah, I do not feel anxious about midterms, papers to be said for normalizing the challenge and or whatever,’” he added. normalizing the struggle,” she told me. Bronson echoed this sentiment, saying that Nyhan added that we need to make it “clear especially at Dartmouth and its peer institutions, that [struggling is] just something that everybody “there’s just this sense of having to put on a happy experiences and sort of turn those moments of face and having to present yourself in a way that
seems like you know what you’re doing all the over 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students. time, you have your act together, you are getting This discrepancy manifests in long wait times and enough sleep and you’re healthy, even if none of difficulties scheduling appointments. those things are true.” Earle informed me that according to a The conference aims to discuss mental health recent survey, the average wait time for a routine policies on college campuses and teach delegates counseling first appointment at Dick’s House was how to “actually promote change and talk to the 3.88 business days in the 2015-2016 academic year. administration [about policy issues],” Silva said. While this is not an exorbitant amount of time, Both liaisons said they hope that in time their it is too long for some already pressing mental work will help bring about change on Dartmouth’s health conditions and can cause issues to worsen campus. to more extreme conditions. According to the For some, like Amara Ihionu ’17, this change National Alliance on Mental Illness’ website, the is long overdue. Ihionu wrote an article in the “earlier [one accesses mental health services and 2015 Homecoming edition of The Dartmouth support], the better.” explaining her concerns with mental health Luckily, there is 24-hour crisis counseling for resources on campus. “I am lucky to have students. This hotline is for students who have had decent experiences with Counseling and suicidal, life-threatening or self-harming thoughts Human Development at Dick’s House — but, or have been physically or sexually assaulted. unfortunately, I know many who have not,” Ihionu Though extremely important and necessary, this wrote. “Mental health is not just a personal issue resource does not account for students with less — it is a campus issue, and Dartmouth needs to extreme though still pressing issues. do a better job of addressing it.” The truth of the matter is that the average wait Our affinity for flair does not hide our emotional time of 3.88 business days at Dick’s House is just dilemmas. that: an average. I have checked weekly to see what When I spoke with her this year, Ihionu said wait times are. The first week of the term, it is easy many students continue to feel alone on campus to get an appointment on the day someone calls and that counseling services have not improved or the next. Meanwhile, during week four — a over the past two years. In 2015, she particularly week in which many students are swamped with took offense with the policy that restricted free midterms — wait times can be up to 10 days. It counseling at Dick’s House to 10 appointments only increases as the weeks go by. per academic year. CHD is aware of the wait time issue. Though the policy has evolved and is now more “With increasing academic demands, the lenient, some concerns remain. second half of the term is busier than the first Now, each case is treated individually, and few weeks,” Earle wrote. “We are working to open clinicians and their patients determine the number more intake [and] consultation appointments for of counseling appointments needed. However, the end of each term.” long-term treatment is not offered. According Additionally, Earle noted that 81 percent of to its website, the “CHD utilizes a short-term students surveyed agreed with the statement therapy model” and will “upon contacting CHD, refer students to a therapist I was offered an initial in the area “if longer term appointment within a counseling is needed.” reasonable amount of This model severely time.” However, the disadvantages students survey was sent out to with ongoing mental health around 200 students and concerns, such as Ihionu, had a 32 percent return who said that finding a rate, meaning that the therapist nearby, especially statistics come from only one that takes a specific 64 students. insurance plan, can feel like Yet upon graduating, a nightmare. 48 percent of the In an email, CHD Class of 2016 reported director Heather Earle feeling “very satisfied or told me that the CHD generally satisfied” with sees 20 to 25 percent of psychological counseling all Dartmouth students services according to the annually. However, a 2016 Dartmouth College survey conducted by The Senior Survey. This Dartmouth in 2015 found survey had a 44 percent that 44 percent of students response rate, with 464 reported feeling “hopeless, total responses. Looking despondent, uninterested at sample size, this research in activities [that they] is more reflective of the typically enjoy or [feeling] student body than that of LUCY LI/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF lethargic” on at least some the CHD survey. In 2010, days in the past month. 74 percent of graduating seniors were satisfiied While we cannot assume that everyone who has with CHD services. had a few difficult days in the past month believes While CHD research is not necessarily they need counseling, there is almost definitely inaccurate, it may not reflect the views of the entire a demand for counseling that is not being met. student body and can be misleading. The Senior CHD has nine counselors and a full- and partSEE COUNSELING PAGE 7 time psychiatrist on staff attempting to treat the
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
DARTMOUTHEVENTS TODAY
8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
“When Two Worlds Meet: East Asian Experiences in the West and at Dartmouth,” an exhibit curated by collections fellow Hannah Chung, Rauner Special Collections Library in Webster Hall
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Lecture: “Brains: Forms of Life in German Modernism” with German professor Andreas Gailus, Dartmouth Hall 206
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
“Forecasting Malware Spread” with University of Maryland computer science professor V.S. Subrahmanian, Kemeny Hall 007
TOMORROW
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Public Lecture: “Black LIfe/Schwarz-Sein” by Northwestern University African American Studies professor Alexander Weheliye, Haldeman 41 (Kreindler Conference Hall)
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Panel: “Media and Resistance in the Age of Digital Surveillance,” Haldeman 41 (Kreindler Conference Hall)
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Film: “20th Century Women,” directed by Mike Mills, Loew Auditorium, Visual Arts Center 104 RELEASE DATE– Thursday, February 23, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Oldest U.S. capital 8 Spade creator 15 Melodic movements 16 Ancient region now part of France 17 Is serious 18 Impulse conductors 19 Much toothpaste 20 U.S. neighbor 21 “Picnic” dramatist 22 Letter between November and Papa 25 Singer’s warm-up syllables 26 Indy-winning family name 27 Swears by 29 66, e.g.: Abbr. 30 Metaphor for jobs 31 Lav, in London 32 Singer Kitt 36 “... __ quit!” 37 Kind of bath 39 “Just like that!” 40 Sign-off words 42 Director Lupino 43 Corny state? 44 MSN, for one 45 “I’m good” 47 Jazzy Jones 50 Miracle Mets manager Hodges 51 Frozen fruitflavored drinks 52 Slanted piece 53 Sounds at spas 54 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee 55 Enchant 57 Blog comment format usually interpreted as the word spelled by eight aptly circled puzzle letters 61 Norse explorer 62 Daughter of Agamemnon 63 End of a baseball game, usually 64 Like siblings DOWN 1 __ Adams 2 “Who __ you kidding?” 3 Actress Vardalos 4 Polynesian archipelago natives
5 State as fact 6 Impede, as a plot 7 Guinness suffix 8 __ Her Way 9 “A Clockwork Orange” narrator 10 2015 Big Ten champs: Abbr. 11 Siren’s victim 12 Waist-length jackets 13 Faint trace 14 Trademarked weapon 20 One-piece beachwear 22 Former #1 golfer Lorena who hosts an annual Guadalajara LPGA event 23 Heads up 24 Adorable one 25 Screen __ 26 Four Corners state 28 Openly enjoy, as soup 29 Convened again 33 Rib eye alternative 34 Ethan of “Boyhood” 35 Gather up
PAGE 7
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
37 John who composed the “NBA on NBC” theme song 38 Much-followed star 41 Gorge crosser 43 Former Chrysler head 46 Early Jewish scholar 47 116-year-old prize
48 Philip Glass’ “Einstein on the Beach,” e.g. 49 Kelly’s ex-partner 50 Belgian treaty city 53 Jesus of baseball 54 She, in Cherbourg 56 Bar opening? 57 __ Lingus 58 DIRECTV parent 59 Ante- kin 60 Bummed out
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Miller: CHD deals with high demand FROM COUNSELING PAGE 6
Survey shows that there has been an increase in satisfaction with psychological counseling services, but only slightly as the satisfaction rating has risen by only one percentage point since 2014. The issue of higher counseling demands during the second half of a term should come as no surprise to Dartmouth students. The College is a stressful place, and the D-Plan, as I was warned during week one, can compound students’ stress by packing lots of work into a fast-paced 10-week period. Aside from compounding stress, the structure of the D-Plan can affect access to mental health resources. A c t i ve M i n d s, a s t u d e n t group focused on mental health awareness, suffered from the constant turnover in leadership that the D-Plan generates. As students move on- and off-campus, it can be difficult to have consistent membership, causing peaks and valleys in any group’s momentum and focus. While Active Minds took a break in the fall and has yet to hold a meeting this term, the new co-presidents, Molly Carpenter ’19 and Charlene Browne ’19, are “excited to revitalize the club and get a larger presence on campus in the future,” according to Browne. Active Minds hopes to “shift [its] goal more toward resources and awareness rather than being a place where personal experiences are shared,” Carpenter told me. “While we hope to be a safe space for those experiences to be shared, we would really like to gear [the club] more towards raising awareness for problems that we have on campus and becoming
a network for social support for students,” she added. So what’s to be done? The D-Plan is an integral part of Dartmouth, and while it causes issues with mental health resources on campus, it is not going anywhere. A more stressful second half of the term is common. CHD strives to increase the number of appointments available during this time, but the College could certainly assist them by providing additional funding for the hiring of more clinicians and therapists. Decreasing wait times year round would greatly improve our resources and help students in need of counseling. The issue of student turnover in groups due to the D-Plan is more difficult to address. However, clubs could benefit from greater collaboration. Some clubs, such as Dartmouth on Purpose — a group focused on mindfulness, wellness and self-care — interact with other organizations on campus and support one another by cosponsoring events. But others, such as Active Minds, exist in isolation. Other groups such as the recently created Student Assembly Wellness Committee also seek to promote general student health and wellbeing. Josue Guerrero ’18, a Student Assembly representative from East Wheelock House and co-chair of the Wellness Committee, told me about the Mental Health Awareness Week that the Committee is planning beginning on Feb. 27. This week will hopefully bring together student organizations and raise awareness for mental health issues on campus. “They’re actually people here willing to help you if you just reach out,” Guerrero said. “I just don’t think students are willing to look
for that or they might not know that it’s there.” Increased solidarity between clubs would help magnify their presence on campus and allow students to realize how many resources are available at Dartmouth. Perhaps these resources should be better advertised at Orientation programming and later at clubs fairs. What can we, the average Dartmouth students do? First, we can join clubs and student groups that promote self-care and wellness. We can support our peers with a hug and ourselves by making counseling appointments at CHD. We can advocate for increased funding for mental health resources throughout the term by writing letters to the deans and to College President Phil Hanlon. We can participate in workshops sponsored by CHD and the Wellness Center, as well as events run by student groups such as the coming Mental Health Awareness Week. We mu s t b e a w a r e t h a t simply discussing these issues can be a double-edged sword. Orientation prepares students for the more difficult moments of their Dartmouth career, but that does not absolve the College from its duty to keep students healthy. Simply being aware of stress does not make it go away, and it is easy to become complacent once an issue is out in the open. To be satisfied with the “things will be hard” narrative is to give up on improvement. The conversation around mental health does not end after Orientation week and should be more than a conversation. Mental health resources must continue to improve, for the wellbeing of the current students and the students to come.
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02/23/17
PAGE 8
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
Review: “Future” stuck in the past By JACOB MEISTER The Dartmouth
The beginning of 2017’s music landscape has been uncontestably dominated by rap artists from a city that has recently become a key niche of American popular culture: Atlanta, Georgia. Following the release of Migos’ wildly successful “Culture” in late January, Atlanta’s unique brand of trap rap has maintained a constant presence on radio stations, late night talk shows and the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Undoubtedly, Future, another giant of the Atlanta trap music scene, realized that Migos’ recent success provided a fortuitous increase in media attention for trap music and artists from Atlanta. Future, whose real name is Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn , announced that his forthcoming album would arrive on Feb. 17, only to be followed by a second album a week later. True to his word, Future released his fifth album, “FUTURE,” last Friday. The self-titled album, like the rest of the hip hop artist’s discography, excels at setting a mood that is almost tangible throughout the album. Future is known for his revolutionary practice of using auto-tune to synthesize his raps rather than to help him sing. Parts of his flow and lyrical style were picked up by other aspiring artists following Future’s three-peat of hit albums and mixtapes in 2015: “DS2,” “Beast Mode” and “56 Nights.” One just has to compare the recent works of Migos and 21 Savage to Future’s “DS2” to see his impact. He continues to utilize his technique to marvelous effect, giving his songs a distinct, soulful aesthetic. Future’s bouncing, synthesized drone-flow meshes together perfectly with eerie, upbeat instrumentals and quick snare beats of producers Metro Boomin, Zaytoven and DJ Khaled, among others. On “FUTURE,” like in his other work, his attitude often switches between two distinct personas. One is a no-nonsense, melodic trap king with an intense darkness inside of him, as found in “Super Trapper,” when he raps “Rags to riches, **** these snitches, I ain’t scared, bruh / Cold and sheisty, put some prices on your head.” The other version
is a carefree, pill-popping kid from the ATL who, as in “Mask Off,” just wants to have fun. Sometimes the goal is to become the toughest drug dealer in Atlanta. Sometimes it’s just to have fun and make money in whatever way possible. While these songs are pleasing to listen to and occasionally even relaxing, they obviously ring hollow lyrically. Like most trap music, there’s not much below the surface. There are similar themes in every song: using drugs, selling drugs, using violence against competitors, making money and spending that money on luxurious vices (mainly women). Future uses an easily recognizable couplet form in most songs and rarely attempts to tell lyrically complex stories. Listeners don’t hear the downsides of this lifestyle, but they aren’t listening to Future to think; they’re listening to, as one friend puts it, “get pleasantly lit.” However, throughout the album, Future’s graphic lyrics usually come off as deeply offensive to women and the LGBT community. Again, this is nothing new to trap music or to the rap genre or even to the wider music industry, but it simply gets tiresome when sexism and homophobia are present on every single song. On the album’s first track, “Rent Money,” Future raps with many expletives boasting about the number of women he has “won” from other inferior rappers. Similarly offensive variations of the phrase appear consistently in nearly every single song on “FUTURE.” A flat-falling skit at the end of “Flip” in which a woman calls into a radio station and wins a prize has a similar effect. Obviously, the skit was intended to be comedic, with the woman winning faulty condoms and geographic tracking devices so that she can find her significant other and “tell him this his baby too.” I’m not sure who Future’s intended recipients are. Lines, such as these, further stereotypes of absent black fathers and golddigging black mothers who have children in order to procure more child support. It disturbs me that mainstream artists feel the need to per petuate these kinds of dangerous norms in 2017. Perhaps Future feels beholden to his roots in trap culture, or perhaps he feels that this is simply what will
sell best. There is no denying that our country has proven time and again it will accept overt sexism and even sexual assault from the rich and famous. Future even directly references the most recent instance of this on “High Demand,” rapping “Grab on that pussy like Donald.” If it works for a president to speak this way, it may as well work for a rap artist. In the past, I have excused the lack of content in Future’s music, but there is a point when the general mood is not enough to make an album worth listening to. Future’s music has failed to develop in the way other rappers’ music normally does. Any song off of “FUTURE” could easily have been on “DS2,” his album from two years ago. The only difference would be the song’s beat, which may be moderately more complex than the rest of the album. This is not enough. The reason rappers go from being just rappers to being cultural icons is because they innovate. Kanye West essentially reinvents himself and the rap genre every time he releases a new album. Kendrick Lamar went from rapping complex lyrics on simple beats to telling masterful, completely planned American narratives while accompanied by live legendary jazz artists. Future continues to rap about the same themes, except now he has more money because his last album was so successful. In all fairness, Future produces content much more frequently than either of those artists, but maybe he should consider giving up immediate, easy musical gratification in the name of improving himself as an artist. In his defense, recent reports allege that, due to a breach of contract agreement with his original A1 Label, Future may have to give up all profits from “FUTURE” and his upcoming album, “HNDRXX.” While it does not excuse the notable lack of development and quality of Future’s music, as a business decision, it does make sense for him to release the new content as quickly as possible to fulfill the obligation. Even so, I want to see an Atlanta rapper go from being a trap lord to a rap god. But if Future wants to achieve that status, he needs to break away from his past. Rating: 6.2/10
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017
QUICK PICK
The members of the directorate share their favorite songs of the moment. Madeline Killen, arts editor 1. “Roses” by Carly Rae Jepsen — If you still associate Jepsen with “Call Me Maybe,” first of all, you’re wrong and second of all, listen to “Roses.” Then remember that it’s a bonus track. It’s not cool to hate Carly Rae anymore, guys! Jump on the bandwagon and memorize all the words to every song on “Emotion,” okay! 2. “Hold You Back” by Ryan Hurd — My favorite genre of music is country music with lyrics that don’t either offend me as a woman or as an English major, which is a very small genre. Hurd’s music makes up a disproportionate percentage of it. “Hold You Back” tells a story without being sickeningly cheesy, and the song is catchy but not Eric Church-cheap. Nalini Ramanathan, arts editor 1. “All I Want for Christmas” by Mariah Carey — It’s never too early in the year to appreciate this Christmas classic. Whether it’s that final pageant scene in “Love Actually,” or its tragically shortened run at this past fall’s GDXmas, this song never disappoints me. 2. “Herside Story” by Hare Squead — This song is just really cute. It’s on my shower playlist. Kourtney Kawano, production executive editor 1. “I’m Better” by Missy Elliott, featuring Lamb — The only thing better than old school Missy is comeback Missy. With lines like, “He watching my body like he watching ‘Scandal’” — a guilty pleasure of mine — Missy brings back her lyrical heat reminiscent of “Work It” and “Lose Control.” However, I’m really into this song at the moment because of a video I saw featuring choreography by Willdabeast Adams. If you’re into the rising popularity of YouTube choreographers, then I suggest you one, check out Willdabeast’s combo and two, download “I’m Better” to your Spotify playlist immediately. 2. “Everybody Wants to Fool the World” by Common Kings — This is currently one of my favorites partly because I just saw Common Kings perform in Boston this past weekend so I’m still fangirling over how good they were but mainly because this is a damn good song that reminds me I only have three weeks left here until spring break back home. Ray Lu, editor-in-chief 1. “May We All” by Florida Georgia Line, featuring Tim McGraw — It’s one of those nostalgic, windows-down, radio-up kind of songs that came out just too late for 16X. Versatile enough to be on both your “Country Bums” and “Feelin’ Country” playlists. 2. “Closer” by the Chainsmokers — I’m not pretending to be cultured here. Parker Richards, opinion editor 1. “America” by Simon & Garfunkel — For many, these are dark times in our country. It pays to remember the good times, too. Simon & Garfunkel’s 1968 classic is melancholy yet hopeful. Building progressively to a crescendo, the song deals with fundamental issues of the American experience: wanderlust, social mobility, a dream for a better future. Erin Lee, news executive editor 1.“Incomplete Kisses” by Sampha — If you’re feeling something emotional and Frank Ocean-esque, Sampha’s your guy. Dreamy and downtempo, this song is poignant, if not a little depressing — perfect for a chill winter day. 2. “Enough” by Flume, featuring Pusha T — Flume back! Fresh off a Grammy win, he released another EP of songs leftover from his album, and the standout is “Enough.” Completely different from anything else Flume’s put out so far, Pusha T goes hard — cocaine, sex, money, it’s got it all.