The Dartmouth Mirror 1/10/14

MIRROR JANUARY 10, 2014

SO FAR AWAY FROM ME // 2 IT’S GOING DOWN (I’M YELLING TINDER) // 3

THEN AND NOW // 4 TAKING NOTE OF ACCESSIBILITY AT DARTMOUTH // 6

ANTHONY CHICAIZA // THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

2// MIRROR

EDITORS’ NOTE

SO FAR AWAY FROM ME

TRACY WANG//THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

As we attempt to adjust to the frozen tundra that is 14W, we’ve noticed a lot of changes at the College on the Hill. Daylight hours have dwindled, King Arthur Flour has reintroduced the brie-and-apple staple to our daily diets and overeager ’18s are wandering their soon-to-be alma mater. And of course, there’s us — your new Mirror editors. We know we have big shoes to fill, especially when it comes to giving you your weekly dose of Overheards and double entendres. Before we dive into the lives of others, we wanted to take a minute to introduce ourselves. After extensive research on OkCupid (online dating is legit, we promise), we’ve come up with profiles to give you a little insight into our deeply private personal lives.

Erin Landau ’15, 20, Female, Los Angeles. What I’m doing with my life: Singing in the Dartmouth Decibelles, living off campus and loving it, editing this gem every week, hopefully skiing somewhere with actual snow, gazing happily into my SAD lamp, reading graphic novels. I’m really good at: Organizing my planner neurotically, doing all of the reading before class, crying during “Pretty Woman” (1990) and “The Lord of the Rings” (2001), getting fired up about global health issues. The two things I could never live without: Peanut butter and a Moleskine notebook.

Marina Shkuratov ’15, 20, Female, Westwood, Mass. What I’m doing with my life: Pretending to be a Mirror veteran (I’m a rookie transfer from the exotic news and arts sections), pretending to be characters I’m not on Mock Trial, pretending to apply for internships, pretending to go to the gym, actually reconnecting with all the amazing people and DDS food items I missed during my fall term in London. I’m really good at: Ballroom dancing, accidentally replying all on every blitz I receive, planning lunch dates two weeks in advance, wearing Russian hats. The two things I could never live without: My family and potatoes.

We’re so excited to dig deeper into serious and ridiculous issues on this campus, and feel free to blitz us anytime at mirror@thedartmouth.com with Overheards, questions, compliments or concerns.

follow @thedmirror

MIR ROR

ERIN LANDAU MIRROR EDITORS MARINA SHKURATOV EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LINDSAY ELLIS PUBLISHER CARLA LARIN

EXECUTIVE EDITORS

MICHAEL RIORDAN STEPHANIE McFEETERS

OVER HEARDS

ALISON GUH//THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

By ANDREW ZHU

Walking into my two-room triple this term to two barren, stripped beds stunned me. My home was missing my two best friends — there was no one there blasting music; the room wasn’t already a mess. I was forced to get ready to conquer my sophomore winter solo. I now have the most luxurious and spacious single on campus, but tr ying to fill up all the space by myself is going to be, well, a little lonely. The people whose clothes I would borrow, who hated waking up to my obnoxious sonic boom alarm and who enjoyed late night EBAs with me have left Hanover for Barcelona and Paris.

Almost ever y student will face this pang of loneliness at some point while at Dar tmouth. The idiosyncratic D-Plan stretches friendships across the countr y or even the globe, and it’s even harder to be without those we’re closest to when the Hanover winter makes campus feel especially empty.

Because of the breadth of offcampus and foreign language programs that Dartmouth offers, many students choose to go abroad and explore the world outside of Hanover during the course of their time here. And while the dozens of programs and internship opportunities dazzle on paper, the D-Plan can strain the relationships of even the tightest-knit pairs.

Yet because differing D-Plans tend to af fect only the friendships of upperclassmen, freshmen are left relatively unscathed. A member of the Dartmouth Aires,

’15 Girl: I think I did poorly on the SATs because I started making patterns with my answers.

Blitz overheards to mirror@thedartmouth.com

Christopher Gallerani ’15 spent freshman fall wondering about the mystical upperclassman members who were off campus.

“Ever yone talks about people who aren’t there in the group as missing them,” Gallerani said. “All the upperclassmen miss them, but I was going through freshman year wondering, ‘Who is this person?

What are they like?’”

For most people, including me, the unwanted effects of the College’s academic schedule are first felt during sophomore year. Gallerani and Natalie Shell ’15 are two friends experiencing one of the most extreme examples of the D-Plan’s cruel assault on friendships. After soaking up the sun and spending full days together during sophomore summer, Gallerani and Shell will not see each other for a calendar year due to mismatching plans. At the closing of Camp Dartmouth, Gallerani and Shell looked at each other and wondered with bewilderment what they were going to do during a year of separation.

But fear not, this doesn’t mean friendships are completely dissolved. Emily Brody-Bizar ’15 said that though Dartmouth’s fast-paced quarter system makes finding time to communicate more of a commitment, there are plenty of ways to overcome the distance.

Today’s countless options for staying in touch mean that those who commit to their friendships — be it through Skype or blitz — can conquer the hurdles of the D-Plan.

Friends sink into each other’s photo

’15 Girl on the hookup culture: It’s just so weird that two strangers just get naked and touch each other.

’16 Girl: I think I just broke up with him over Snapchat.

streams, relishing images of the Eiffel Tower or sun-soaked beaches through a Mayfair filter on Instagram.

“If the friendship is important to both of you, then you both will find ways to make it work,” Gallerani said.

Even in this digital era, physically bridging the gap between friends is possible. Many students interning in relatively close cities such as Boston and New York return to the Hanover tundra for Winter Carnival and other big weekends throughout the year.

While living abroad, Shell said she was able to do the same, visiting several friends in Edinburgh, Dublin and Glasgow during the course of her foreign study program in London.

In spite of the friends we lose to off terms, the D-Plan may actually have some social benefits. Shell said she made the most of her term without many of her best friends.

She remains close with friends she made on campus during sophomore winter, a notorious term for flocking to warmer climates.

Beyond expanding social circles, our alternative schedule forces us to face the ways of the dreaded postgraduation “real world.”

“It gets you prepared or gets you thinking about what it’s like when you leave college,” Gallerani said. “In situations when you switch positions or when you move to a new company, you encounter similar scenarios.”

I’ll leave you with these timeless words of wisdom — stay in touch.

Trust me, it will be worth it. It’s hard to get used to two empty beds, but fighting through the hard parts only makes reuniting that much better.

’17 Guy by grill: What’s line for a burger?

’17 Girl: Bridgewater don’t come close to the emotional abuse we put each other under.

’14 Guy: I have no idea what a provost is.

IT’S GOING DOWN (I’M YELLING TINDER)

By LUKE McCANN In the darkest moments of my finals period last term, I looked for anything entertaining to distract me from the 10 pages I had to write in 12 hours. Bored of Facebook stalking and walking back and forth between KAF and Novack, I decided to create a Friendsy account.

After attempting to navigate the maze of recognizable faces, I found myself looking at the top murmurs, a collection of the most popular anonymous shout-outs to Dartmouth students.

“Are you the SAT? Because I’d do you for 3 hours and 45 minutes, with a 10 minute break halfway through for snacks.”

Other top murmurs featured a mix of witty pickup lines, sincere confessions and one rather elaborate comparison to the sexual power of an untamed grizzly bear.

As anyone who’s in tune with campus buzz has probably noticed, online dating apps and sites have become increasingly popular among Dartmouth students. Though services like Friendsy and Tinder have aspects that appeal exclusively to those looking to hook up or date, they also serve as an easy way to connect with friends and meet people. For some users, this social factor was what drew them to join in the first place.

“I usually connect with people on Friendsy that I already know outside of the Internet,” Bri Fontaine ’16 said.

“I think it’s just a fun site where I can find my friends and see funny things that people murmur about each other.”

While not every relationship that starts on the Internet ends in everlasting bliss, Fontaine mentioned that she knows of at least one current campus couple who met through one of these sites.

While it’s nice to think that all of us are using apps to become lifelong friends or lovers who sit around campfires singing the alma mater, it’s impossible to deny that some use these online mediums to facilitate purely sexual encounters. Friendsy’s features allow users to choose between asking others to be friends, to date or simply to hook up. According to Mojin Chen ’15, Dartmouth’s campus representative for Friendsy, 28 percent

of all “friends” clicks, 13 percent of all “hookup” clicks and 15 percent of all “date” clicks are part of a match.

Apps like Grindr and Scruff, both targeted toward queer men, are infamous for being aimed almost exclusively at orchestrating sexual encounters between users. One Dartmouth ’15, who wished to remain anonymous, said he uses Grindr quite often to search for potential hook ups.

“Sometimes it’s nice to just cut out the small talk,” he said. “We don’t have to pretend to be interested in each other’s personal lives and ask about each other’s majors, classes and the internship we did last winter. If I’m just looking for sex, using apps like Grindr is just easier and more efficient.”

The source said he often peruses Grindr when he has a minute to kill, examining profiles and pictures and occasionally engaging in chats with other men. However, he said that he does not use Grindr to make new friends or engage in frequent sexual activity.

“I guess most of the queer guys here already know each other, and if someone’s not out on Grindr then there’s probably not a good chance we’re going to hang out and become friends,” he said. “I also don’t prowl Grindr looking for random sex all of the time. Sometimes that happens, sure, but it’s really just more of being bored and having something else to occupy my mind.”

Unlike other online dating sites, Grindr attracts those looking to hook up because it is enveloped in an understood sexual culture, the source said. Describing it as “the elephant in the room,” he said that hooking up is not discussed openly but remains prevalent.

The small nature of Dartmouth’s campus can also impact the way people use Grindr and the manner in which people meet up for sexual experiences.

The anonymous source said that at Dartmouth, there are a significant number of gay and bisexual men who aren’t completely out of the closet. For them, meeting up for the first time can be challenging on a campus that is too tight-knit and interconnected

for secrets.

“Once, I invited some guy over to my room ­and we weren’t hooking up yet, like just sitting around chatting,” he said. “A girl from my hall knocked on the door, and the guy was super uncomfortable and apparently knew her and didn’t want her finding out. So I had to pretend I wasn’t in the room, so she wouldn’t come in.”

Some members of the Dartmouth community, however, don’t delve into the more nefarious aspects of these apps and websites. Many students said our small campus makes the hookup culture of these sites impractical — one’s almost guaranteed to see last night’s partner-in-crime the next day at FoCo or make eye contact with them in line for mozz sticks at Late Night Collis.

“You can’t exactly be discreet about anything here,” Daniela Pelaez ’16 said. “You can try to keep it a secret for a while, but eventually someone’s going to find out. Someone is always your friend’s lab partner or in a club with your roommate.”

Larry Meadows ’14 agreed, saying that those who request friendships on Friendsy are probably already friends in real life. The anonymity of these sites makes trusting “mutuals” challenging because people may not be who they appear in their profiles, he said. Even when he does use these sorts of sites, Meadows said they are mostly time-wasters or boredomrelievers.

“I’ll scroll through it, but I won’t click on anything,” he admitted. “I won’t be like, ‘Oh I want to hook up with you or I want to date you.’”

While Friendsy, Tinder and Grindr may be notorious for the sexually liberated lifestyle they can enable, it seems that many students see them more as an entertaining distraction than a legitimate tool in the pursuit of love and romance.

“They’re more popular than you would think, but I’m not sure people really take them too seriously,” Fontaine said. “I think they’re just a way to have fun and waste time.”

Students outside the Dartmouth bubble say they use online dating

apps for similar purposes.

Hannah Cashen, a Cornell University sophomore, said in an email that she peruses Tinder mostly to be amused.

“Honestly, I’m just curious how hot the guys I’d match up with would be,” Cashen said.

Many students, both at Dartmouth and elsewhere, admit that despite the draws of online apps. they are sometimes cautious to use them for fear being judged by their friends.

Lauren Langer, a sophomore at Wesleyan University, said she intentionally avoids using Tinder and Friendsy because she wouldn’t want people to think she couldn’t “get a date the normal way.”

This idea of a proper way to start dating was echoed by Cashen, who said she would never accept a date offered through an app or website.

“I would feel like I didn’t go about it right or I was cheating the system,” she said.

Though students at Cornell, Dartmouth and Wesleyan claimed their small campuses or rural settings made online tools less useful and more potentially awkward when it comes to meeting new people, Columbia University sophomore Courtland Thomas said in an email that his larger school and urban environment makes these services ideal. A large student body, many surrounding colleges and the ever-distracting presence of New York itself make it difficult for Columbia students to meet each other naturally, he said. The possibility of meeting and dating young people outside Columbia’s campus is a primary motivation for using the apps, since the Internet can connect students to swarms of young people living in the city.

The prevalence of alternative modes for flirting and connecting across college campuses indicates that perhaps the stigma is fading or has even vanished entirely. Here in Hanover, however, it seems that Friendsy will continue to provide more mindless fun than romance, and I eagerly await to hear more about the untamed grizzly bear.

MIRROR //3

TRENDING @ Dartmouth COLD DISTRIBS

Everyone seems to be scrambling to find labs: try ice -coring?

PANHELL Is rush happening? Is it not happening? After that very public blitz from the Panhellenic Council, will there be any real fallout? Stay tuned for more.

D-PLAN REGRETS As we’re watching friends rejoice on beaches in New Zealand and wave hello in photos from warmer climates, many are wondering why they made the choice to be on this winter. To be honest, we don’t know either.

SLIPPING AND SLIDING

If we could count the number of falls per day and submit our findings directly to the administration, would they finally salt the sidewalks? Where exactly is all the alumni money going ?

FOCO SALAD

Number one Overheard in FoCo right now: what is with the salad bar changeup?

WHAT’S A PROVOST?

TRACY WANG//THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

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&

By Min Kyung Jeon THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

With Dartmouth regular decision applications due today, Common Application essays are still very much on the minds of future freshmen. For graduating seniors however, applications are nothing but a relic of the past.

We asked four seniors to review their Dartmouth application essays, and the results were striking, poignant and sometimes hilarious. For many, re-reading applications was a reminder of both how much they had changed and opportunities Dartmouth had allowed them to pursue through the years.

KAROLINA KRELINOVA ’14 When I got out of the shadow of the mountain and looked back, I saw a picture of one city divided only by river floating naturally under the bridges. I kept going up. The way was hard and steep, and sometimes I needed to get off the bike and catch a breath or take a picture with my camera, as I would be sorry to forget moments like these. The silent messages of the signs reading “Do not leave the road. Mine field!” made me realize how similar the road of one individual and the road of a country can be, to peace or to war.

In her Common Application essay, Krelinova narrates the experience of “hiking up the Cross,” or climbing up the tallest mountain in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Krelinova, originally from the Czech Republic, said that her essay attempts to consolidate her experiences living abroad in Bosnia and Herzegovina for two years as a student at the United World College in Mostar.

When Krelinova reaches the mountaintop and looks down at the city underneath, she contemplates the peaceful setting with the chilling knowledge that in Mostar, something as seemingly innocuous as a football match can bring a severe threat to the country’s security.

“When you’re living in a city like Mostar, you’re living in a town that is a visible reminder of the past conflict,” Krelinova said. “With destroyed buildings still in sight, people are naturally carrying with them pain and ugly memories.”

Since coming to Dartmouth, Krelinova has delved deeply into the academic studies of conflict

and ethnicity. In this sense, her high school experiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina helped shape the direction she took at the College.

Dartmouth has also helped Krelinova gain a stronger understanding of the harsh realities of the world.

“I was really idealistic, naive in a lot of ways, in high school,” she said. “I used to walk around telling people, ‘You know, just smile and everything’s going to be okay.’ I was living such a comfortable life that although I faced some obstacles, I was imagining that nobody’s obstacles are insuperable. Throughout my time at Dartmouth, I have gained much critical understanding of structural issues that are much deeper, more daunting and more serious than whatever I experienced before.”

Krelinova said that she valued meeting many people unlike herself at Dartmouth.

“I have learned that diversity means not just many different people being in the same place at the same time, but actively engaging with those people,” she said.

In his Common Application essay, Kim described his childhood self as a “coward who refused to let seawater come up to his waist, who feigned disinterest when all his friends ran off to have fun with bumper cars.” Upon reflection, Kim said that this reference to his former timidity explained to colleges his fears about coming to the United States for the first time. To convey this apprehension on paper, Kim employed a narrative structure in his essay, writing a short story about his experience observing fellow passengers on a train in his hometown of Seoul, South Korea.

While the train crosses the Han River, he spots a man in his 70s mumbling to himself and imagines that the sound is that of the “mixed feeling of regret and pride for having forsaken so much out of sense of duty for his family and country.” Kim assumes that because of the man’s age, he must have participated in the New Community Movement, a nationwide government initiative in the 1970s that sought to modernize the rural South Korean economy by emphasizing diligence, self-help and collaboration.

Kim said he desc observation of those aro demonstrate his awarene to schools.

“I don’t have a connection with these but I can envision w lives have been,” he ad application.

After observing other Kim stares at himself i window and ruminat changes that have occu life from childhood to hig am not destined to be the was or am right now,” he “My history lies ahead.”

Kim said that his and future plans, of whi provides a glimpse, ha more concrete at Dartm graduating, Kim hopes graduate school for ar aiming to someday create structures under the abidin of harmony and balance “Dartmouth gives u resources and oppor explore our interests ov years,” Kim said. “If w about it, we should be a our passion during our

MIRROR //5

SANTIAGO GUERRERO ’14 I started to write a novel of Diego´s story, how did he manage to enjoy his life despite of his circumstances and how he is now studying in one of the best colleges in the United States with the aim of going back to Ecuador and doing something for it. I realized that I found my passion again and I made it stronger, as now I use literature not only for social change, but for individual change as well. I think I can do great things with my writings. I think I could awake people to see what is happening now in my country. Always, when something affects me and I am starting to feel bad, I remember his words: “You have a life that a lot of us would have dreamed to have. Make the most of it.”

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r passengers, in the train tes on the urred in his gh school. “I e someone I e concludes. ” aspirations ich his essay ave become mouth. After s to attend rchitecture, e meaningful ng principles e. us so many tunities to ver the four we’re serious able to find time here.”

MINGYU KIM ’14 Out of the subway, I walk towards Deok-su Palace. Crimson quilts of shadow are spreading. Roadside stalls stand close together as they start emanating bright lights one by one. Struck by such a brilliant display of life, I remind myself: although my daily struggle may involve grades or employment prospects, I must not forget that there is room to harbor personal conviction, room to furnish my parts — as always.

JOSEPH BONNELL-HALL ’14 All of the canoes lined up to wait. Then one at a time, we made our entrance by pulling hard and quickly coming to a stop at land.

The crowd at role call was enormous. Hundreds of spectators on shore, many people with cameras, and even a few Canadian News Stations all had their gaze on us. Paulie and Andy asked me if I wanted to introduce us when it was our turn. I was a little hesitant because there were so many people there, but then I realized that it was a great honor and wanted to do it. I stood up and told the crowd at the top of my voice, “We are the Macaw tribe!”

Guerrero wrote his Common Application essay on literature’s impact and potential to inspire social change. In it, he describes how he always enjoyed writing about the social problems plaguing Ecuador, his home country, ranging from the millions of migrants working in other nations to the countless poor children selling candy in Quito, the country’s capital.

“I found inspiration in the streets of Quito,” Guerrero writes. “I identified with the experiences of real people and exemplified their suffering through my writing so that it could be an incentive for the reader to do something about these problems.”

Guerrero then confesses in his essay that after starting to participate in literature contests and earn prizes, he became preoccupied with reputation and financial awards.

Only after a high school classmate, Diego, recounted the tale of his family’s complete disintegration due to his father’s alcoholism and mother’s murder did Guerrero find his way back onto the correct path for writing. After putting his own troubles in perspective, Guerrero better appreciated writing’s power to raise social awareness and ability to earn him personal satisfaction.

“Diego was happy enough to keep smiling despite his dark past,” Guerrero writes. “He told me that the only wise thing to do when something bad happens is to simply go on,

looking for hope in all situations and appreciating the marvelous little things in life.”

Coming to Dartmouth forced Guerrero to cut back on some of the writing he had done in high school, as the rigor of academics got in the way of his ability to write substantial literature. Though he is looking forward to graduating and moving on to a more relaxed life, Guerrero said that his time Dartmouth taught him a lot.

“I was really proud of my writing back then, but writing was also a very lonely endeavor,” he said. “So college has been a good break for me in a sense, helping me to meet new people, become more social and confident, step out of my comfort zone and so forth.”

When he applied to Dartmouth, Guerrero considered the College an excellent institution that housed accomplished peers and dedicated professors. While Dartmouth has lived up to his expectations, Guerrero has also found negative qualities that he never expected during his time as a high school student. Coming to Dartmouth showed Guerrero that for many, personal interests give way to the pressures of finding a high-paying job and living up to the stereotype of a successful Ivy League graduate.

“Dartmouth actually has a really materialistic scene,” Guerrero said.

“People care a lot about getting comfortable, high-paying jobs and tend to forget their real passions.”

In his essay, Bonnell-Hall details his experiences accompanying the Macaw tribe on the Journey, an annual Native American cultural celebration in which many Pacific coastal tribes canoe to a host tribe’s location. In summer 2007, the final destination of the Journey lay north of Victoria, Canada.

“These are the most important parts of paddling — teamwork and giving your 100 percent,” BonnellHall writes. “Even one person who is off rhythm or lagging behind can jeopardize everyone else.”

Tracing his perilous, exhilarating adventure down the Pacific coast, Bonnell-Hall explains that the tribe leaders designated him a head paddler for his hard work.

Bonnell-Hall said his high school self harbored a strong desire to do good work for his tribe, Sandia and Isleta Pueblo, which he continues to participate in to this day.

During the cour se of his Dartmouth experience, BonnellHall focused and clarified his high school goal of contributing to his tribe.

“I’ve always wanted to get into environmental studies to help my people,” he said. “Dartmouth helped me focus that, and now I plan to pursue water resource managing after graduation.”

Bonnell-Hall said his academic experience at Dartmouth has been extremely satisfying, in large part because the professors he has

interacted with have understood and reinforced the goals he has held for a long time.

“I think highly of the professors I’ve had, not only in environmental studies but also in Native American studies,” he said. “My Dartmouth experience has so far reinforced my purpose and aspirations.”

Last term, Bonnell-Hall visited South Africa and studied the unique nara plant for his culminating experience in the environmental studies department.

Entering surroundings he had never experienced before helped him gain further understanding of conservation and development, the topics he plans to pursue in the future.

REBECCA XU // THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

6// MIRROR

TAKING NOTE OF ACCESSIBILITY AT DARTMOUTH TRACY WANG//THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

By MARIAN LURIO Within our increasingly medicalized society, information processing disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can easily be conflated with Adderall and similar “miracle dr ugs,” peddled nonchalantly across campus by students who don’t always understand the deep issues behind the disabilities. Due to a culture where legitimate treatment for learning disabilities can be marred by stereotypes of partying or cheating the system to get ahead, students utilizing a variety of accessibility ser vices on Dartmouth’s campus are often misunderstood.

The Student Accessibility Ser vices office, created in 2006, works to ensure that undergraduates with disabilities, including information processing disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, receive the adjustments and ser vices they require. In the 2012-2013 academic year, Student Accessibility Ser vices worked with 286 students with disabilities, 142 of whom had diagnosed information processing disorders, according to Student Accessibility Ser vices director Ward Newmeyer. This number represents a nearly 25 percent increase from the 2011-2012 year. The of fice also ser viced 118 students with ADHD — some of whom are also included in the information processing disorder count — in the last academic year, a 60 percent increase from the year before, he said.

Some students who request accommodations through Student Accessibility Ser vices enter Dartmouth having already been diagnosed with one or more disabilities. Though some have longstanding histories of diagnosis and academic adjustments, Newmeyer or a staff member speaks with each student directly to assess

individual situations and needs. tested. When acquaintances come M. had always suspected she had After a pre-screening in the of- to her seeking pills for a long night a mild form of ADHD, she never fice, some students are referred of studying or writing papers, N. under went any testing because of expenses and the slower pace of for official testing for a disorder, turns them away. which can cost up to thousands H., who has had extra time and a her high school classes. of dollars but qualifies those diag- separate testing room since fourth “At my high school, I would nevnosed for ser vices that will tailor grade for an auditor y processing er have wanted to get diagnosed Dartmouth’s academic experience disorder and ADHD, said accom- with ADD because the people that to their needs. modating her packed schedule for I knew that had ADD were extreme “We’re looking for issues that extra time on tests is sometimes cases and were sometimes picked the student may or may not have difficult but necessar y. H., who on for it,” she said. identified for themselves, but we’ll also takes Adderall, emphasized After talking to a psychologist, ask questions because there’s no that qualifying for a disorder and M. was shocked to find out that she cookie-cutter approach,” New- receiving the adjustments that had been diagnosed with a reading meyer said. accompany it is more dif ficult disorder, an auditor y processing disorder and mild ADD. N., who spoke on the The College waived her condition of anonymity like language requirement and the rest of those inter viewed granted extra testing time about their personal experiand note-taking ser vices.

“Sometimes I feel like ences, was diagnosed with These ser vices enable stuattention deficit disorder as other students and dents with various learning a teenager. She had never even my friends ... Are disabilities to receive notes used the extra time offered to taken by other students in her in high school, but when judgmental about the the class, supplementing she came to the College, N. fact that I get extra their academic support sysquickly found herself falling time because they see it tem. Though she has not yet behind on exams and in-class essays. She soon decided as an unfair advantage.” used extra time on any tests, receiving notes through the to approach Student Acces-N. program has helped her stay sibility Ser vices to explore on top of classes, she said. the available options. N. has “The ser vices I received found that professors are sympathetic to students’ require- than acquiring medication, which after the process are extremely ments for test-taking adjustments is sometimes prescribed without helpful, and I feel much more confident and aware of my learning and always give her the extra time extensive testing. she needs.

“Extra time isn’t the new Ad- styles now,” M. said.

Not all students, she said, are derall,” she said. “You don’t just M. said she has found Dartas understanding as professors get extra time — it’s not something mouth students and staff to be more open to those with learning are required to be. They see the that you just apply for.” ser vices provided to her as an The diagnosis of one or more disorders and mental health issues unfair advantage used to get an disabilities can be a welcome relief than students at the large public edge in class, she said. to students who wonder why they high school she attended. Instead “Sometimes I feel like other fall behind in certain classes or of being stigmatized or ignored, it students and even my friends, in Dartmouth’s fast-paced atmo- seems commonplace for students to seek aid for the difficulties they especially if we’re in the same class sphere. together, are judgmental about the After struggling to complete face. fact that I get extra time because Dar tmouth’s language require- “Here, I feel like ever y second they see it as an unfair advantage,” ment before her approaching person I talk to is taking some N. said. graduation date, M. met with kind of medication for a disability She says she is often frustrated her undergraduate dean, who or illness,” she said. “It seems to when classmates and friends make advised her to seek help. After a be more normal than anything.” light of taking medication or claim pre-screening, M. was referred to A., who was diagnosed with they could easily get diagnosed if a psychologist for testing. While ADHD without hyperactivity and

several processing disorders his sophomore fall, said he had contemplated getting tested for years. He worried that doing so would relinquish his control over the process and alienate him from other students.

“I wanted to be sure that I would not start blaming ever ything on my disability and that I was the one making all of the decisions, not a parent or legal guardian,” he said.

Much of the stigma around seeking aid stems from result of widespread abuse of controlled substances meant to treat ADHD, A. said. Such abuse can remove the legitimacy from the real benefits that medication can provide for many with ADHD. For A., who hails from Europe, coming to Dartmouth removed some of the barriers and stigma that he had experienced back home. While a student in a European school system, A. had long suspected he had learning disorders. The deeply entrenched stigma surrounding learning disabilities, however, deterred him from ever getting tested before moving to Hanover. The process is made difficult by how seeking treatment for “invisible” disorders is stigmatized more than finding help for physical disabilities, he said.

In spite of the adjustments some students make in the face of a learning disorder or ADHD, different learning styles do not have to limit academic potential.

Newmeyer said that many students develop strong character and unique problem-solving abilities after embracing the difficulties associated with their conditions.

Formulating a sense of “disability pride,” he said, is important in a society that often overlooks the potential benefits of a wide range of disabilities.

MIRROR //7

COLUMN

WHAT HAVE WE DONE? IN CASE

By SEANIE CIVALE and AMANDA SMITH YOU WERE WONDERING

COLUMN

By

KATIE SINCLAIR Winterim was once only three weeks long, and those three weeks were completely torturous after freshman fall. Jan. 3, 2011, the day of our 11W reunion, seemed better than Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year all wrapped into one.

We were hyper-aware of all the deficiencies of our home existence — no friends, no four-daya-week sleepovers, no weird semi-intellectual conversations with strangers. We withered away without them, waiting for 11W like it was the only thing keeping us alive. Seanie often watched Dartmouth webcam’s live feed of the Green with a guarded secrecy that made her feel like she was doing something illegal rather than just pathetic. Amanda alternated between hibernating and eating ice cream.

We have arguably come a long way since then. At school now, we often dream of days lounging motionless at home the way we once dreamed of Jan. 3. And this winterim, in a surprising turn of events, we actually did stuff.

Between us, we travelled to four states (two Hawaiian islands and three Florida Keys), changed hair colors, had surgery, began to conquer a fear of flying, learned a ton about our families, got two additional piercings, got no jobs, spent New Year’s Eve together on an island, developed an addiction to Kahlua cake and realized more than ever that the friends we’ve made at Dartmouth are lifers. So given that 2013 began with Amanda severely chipping a front tooth and Seanie waking up from a nap alone at 12:13 a.m., 2014 looks pretty golden. But that is not to say that strange and unfortunate things haven’t happened over break.

Amanda: Over break, my dad asked how I felt about taking a rogue road trip through Southern Florida. In response, I dug out my copy of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road,” which I bought in Scotland and then did not read, packed a bag and leapt into the passenger seat.

Though we were no Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise, we were a funny and spontaneous duo, and we did have our own set of noteworthy adventures. These included salsa dancing at a Cuban restaurant in Miami, snapping pictures of crocodiles in the Everglades, embarking on a deep sea fishing trip on a ship with a captain named Wishbone and a first-mate named Fluff and dining with strangers at an oceanside fish market in Key West (I ordered a hamburger).

That same night, my dad and I went to the hotel bar, exhausted after a long day of fishing.

The bartender was a cool Ukrainian girl with magenta hair and a wrist tattoo that she admitted she regretted. Also, she was my age. Younger actually, but only by a few months. I could tell rather quickly that she took a liking to my dad.

At one point, I’m pretty sure she slipped my dad her number, and after a few drinks (Dad: beer, Me: ginger ale), she invited the two of us to come out with a group of her friends. Now,

I had already been out clubbing with my dad earlier that break (long story), and that wasn’t an experience I was looking to repeat.

I gave my dad a look that very clearly read, “I am tired, you woke me up at 7 a.m., this is not happening.” He nodded, which I thought meant that we were on the same page. We were not on the same page.

When my dad returned to the hotel at around 2:30 in the morning, I was already fast asleep. I decided against asking about the rest of his evening, because I did not and do not want to know. My ignorance about this matter will help preserve what little remaining sanity I have. I did, however, proceed to tell my dad that he could have my blessing to remarry on one condition: the woman of choice must be older than me.

Seanie: Sometime in the past three years, my dad started referring to time I spent at home as “Occupy 34th Street.” My brothers found this hilarious and began calling me “the girl in the room,” as if I were a relative of Bertha from “Jane Eyre.” I collected so much stuff in my room I felt it was nearing the point of no return. So this winterim, I tried to tackle it.

Every time I return home, I suddenly remember the unimaginable number of half-empty middle school beauty products I have lying around my bathroom. They all have names like “Cherry Blossom Shimmer Butter — FOR THE HANDS,” as if Bath and Body Works is personally challenging you to put it elsewhere. Such a product is one of my room’s many uncovered relics, which also include a wax model of my hand holding a fake rose made at a bat mitzvah, a plaque with the words “Coach’s Award” (the award for the weak) given at the end of my basketball career and 17 extremely mopey diaries.

There is no concrete point to me writing about old junk. But now that it’s 2014, I’ve been thinking about all the stuff I’ve accumulated at Dartmouth. I’m one of those sentimental types, and I’ve started to realize that I’m scared for graduation — not only because of the joblessness and destitution and lack of direction, but because I don’t know what is going to happen to my little things. These things feel important, and tossing them out is like letting go of their stories.

We’ll stop before this sounds more like an episode of “Hoarders” and just hope that someone gets us. An FYI before we reach our word limit — since 2011, we’ve spent much time adjusting our D-Plans to avoid being in wintery Hanover. Now we’re back for the first time, and we’re terrified. If you see us fall on the snowy ground, please comfort us.

Yours, Lucy & Ethel

In case you were wondering, we have now marked approximately 2,014 rotations of the earth around the sun since the birth of some guy in Bethlehem. I say “approximately” because evidence suggests that Jesus was born between 7 and 2 B.C., so the count’s a little off. We could just call it “Common Era,” satisfying all non-Christians, though I know Dionysius Exiguus, the monk who coined “anno Domini” in 525 A.D., would be just a tad disappointed.

I also say “approximately” because measuring a year is actually really hard.

First, there’s a difference between sidereal days and solar days, whatever those mean, because the earth’s relationship to the stars changes as the earth moves around the sun.

So we have two separate ways of measuring our days ... or something (I’ve never taken astronomy). Then there’s the question of when a year actually starts — in my opinion, ringing in the new year in the depths of winter is a pretty bleak way to begin what’s supposed to be a time of cleansing. Various cultures set the start of the new year in the spring, though realistically it’s never wise to bet on when spring will arrive in Hanover.

For all intents and purposes, I think we can agree it is the year 2014, which is worth noting because one, that’s my graduation year — it says so on my sweater — and two, it marks, um ... 100 years since the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the beginning of World War I. Wait, that’s depressing. Let’s stick with the first.

If this were Buzzfeed, I could devote a column to a “Best of 2013” list, because that’s what writers do when it’s the week between Christmas and New Year and they’re lazy and just want to eat cookies and drink eggnog.

But I have missed my window to recycle old content from the previous year and pretend like it’s new, so I must be original.

As expected, I didn’t get as much done over winter break as I’d planned to. Case in point — I had an eight-week gap between the last column and this one, and here I am writing this the day before it’s due, resorting to the time-honored elementary school format of “What I Did Over Winter Vacation.”

Wouldn’t you like to know? Well, I went skiing. Two good friends from home and I went on a carnival cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, and instead of spending our money on tequila and tacos we perused every single tourist shop on the hunt for the perfect silver bracelet. I spent New Year’s Eve at a dive bar hanging out with three random people who were my best friend’s buddies from study abroad in Israel (my friend didn’t make it past 10:30 p.m.). I went to the beach and Chipotle multiple times. Yes, I know Chipotle is a chain restaurant. Yes, I am eating at a chain restaurant when I live in Southern California. Yes, there is cheaper, more authentic Mexican food to be had. But

frankly I just really, really like Chipotle. The closest Chipotle is 79.3 miles (yes, I Googled it) from Hanover, so I had to take the opportunity.

To avoid thinking about riding my bike in sub-freezing weather, I rode it on the beach.

Despite weeks of practice, I’m still no match for my nearly 60-year-old father who only has one and a half knees. When you spend too much time on bike lanes, you get irrationally mad at people who can’t follow the simple rules of the road — walkers and slower bikers on the right, faster traffic passes on the left. And, oh my God, why are you letting your child skate on the wrong side of the road with his new rollerblades from Santa, allowing him to be nearly run over by hardcore bikers? You can tell they’re hardcore because of the multi-colored spandex and willingness to take out children.

It was about 75 degrees between Christmas and New Year at home, which only makes the transition back to the frigid land of 10As in the Life Sciences Center that much more difficult.

But I will persevere, partly because I don’t have a 10A. I will write a thesis! I will get a job! I will pass my last bio class ever and then spend senior spring basking in the comfort and ease of the humanities.

I hope everyone had a relaxing winter break and was able to make a hefty dent in their Netflix queues. I, for one, watched all of “Breaking Bad” in a week and a half. Welcome to any new readers who were doing something fun during their off terms in exotic locations. To those of you who were on in the fall and are just reading this column now, what is wrong with you? It’s definitely the highlight of my Friday.

I hope everyone is off to a good start on their New Year’s resolutions, though I don’t really buy into resolutions, since the vast majority of them involve losing weight, making money or not spending money and being organized, all of which are boring and most likely unachievable.

I’ll just resolve to be awesome all 365.25 days of the year.

Whatever calendar you choose to follow (besides the Mayan one, alas, that one ended), it’s hard to argue that this is not the beginning of the end. Or rather, the trudging, middle part of the beginning of the end. It’s kind of like the Hobbit trilogy (another thing I watched over winter break), where you’re just waiting for them to get on with it and kill the dragon already. Though I am quite fond of Benedict Cumberbatch and so was actually rooting for the dragon the whole time. Winter’s a bit of drag for everyone, even for freshmen who are just beginning to experience their first one. Hang in there, guys. We can have our own pagan New Year festival come March.

8 // MIRROR

MIRROR ASKS

THE MIRROR ASKS: WHAT IS YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION?

Finally figure out which cereal leaves the best tasting after-milk.

— Natalie van Brunt ’16

React better to bad news and little disappointments.

Life’s too short to cry over spilled milk.

— Mary Eliza Hartong ’16

I finally have a passport, so my resolution is to leave the country.

— Gardiner Kreglow ’14, Advertising Director

To feel better about myself at the expense of others.

— Troy Palmer ’16

Go to the gym seven times a month, or at least trick the people I recruited to motivate me into thinking I did.

— Marina Shkuratov ’15, Mirror Editor

Mindy Kaling’s character on “The Office” once said her resolution was to get more attention. It spoke to me.

— Luke McCann ’16

I would like to unpack my stuff by the end of the term. I still haven’t found my pillows.

— Stephanie McFeeters ’15, Executive Editor

To stop treating the entire campus like my own personal Slip ’N Slide.

— Michael Riordan ’15, Executive Editor

Now that I’m settling in for hibernation, I want to actually cook in my kitchen.

Cereal doesn’t count.

— Erin Landau ’15, Mirror Editor

YOLO. — Lindsay Ellis ’15, Editor-in-Chief

KELSEY KITTELSEN// THE DARTMOUTH STAFF