VOL. CLXXIII NO.18
MOSTLY SUNNY HIGH 37 LOW 25
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Regular decision pool sees Gilmour lectures slight increase by 43 students on the Middle East By SAMANTHA STERN
The Dartmouth
SPORTS
RIDING THE PINE WITH HANK AND FISH PAGE 8
OPINION
HSU: AN OFT IGNORED ISSUED PAGE 4
ARTS
FILM REVIEW: ‘CHI-RAQ’ BY SPIKE LEE PAGE 7
READ US ON
DARTBEAT ALTERNATIVE TAILS THEMES WHAT TO WATCH ONLINE FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2016 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.
TIFFANY ZHAI/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
The number of students applying for regular admission stayed about the same.
By EMILIA BALDWIN The Dartmouth Staff
The 20,550 regular decision applications received for the class of 2020 barely exceeded the 20,507 applications submitted for the Class of 2019. Last year, regular decision applications increased by six percent from the previous year. In 2014, the College saw a 14 percent decrease in
applications from the year before, when 19,235 students applied for the Class of 2018. This year’s applications reflect a smaller pool than years prior — 22,416 applied in 2013; 23,110 in 2012; 22,385 in 2011. Interim dean of admissions Paul Sunde wrote in an email that the application pool for the Class of 2020 exhibits more diversity than those in past years. Appli-
cations from international students, first-generation students and students of color have either stayed the same or increased in number for both early decision and regular decision this year, Sunde wrote. Sunde also said that applicants include students from 46 states and 20 countries. He added that he thinks that SEE ADMISSIONS PAGE 5
Andrew Gilmour opened his lecture yesterday by joking that he had never before had the honor of speaking to a standing audience throughout his career in government. Students, faculty and Hanover residents crowded into the aisles and rear of Haldeman 041 yesterday afternoon to hear Gilmour, a senior analyst in the CIA’s directorate of analysis, provide a strategic perspective on the Middle East. In the lecture, sponsored by the Dickey Center for International Understanding, Gilmour addressed key transitions underway in the Middle East and drivers of change for its future. He also spent time giving the audience an idea of how analysts think. Gilmour began his talk by pointing out that the word analysis is a misnomer because it implies the breaking apart of information. Instead, Gilmour considers one of his main responsibilities to be synthesis, constructing a story that is logical and intelligible based on the evidence available. He said that one of the great-
est privileges of serving in the profession is that he must remain objective and seek to understand an issue in its entirety and without bias. Due to Gilmour’s knowledge of highly sensitive information, he declined to comment on the specifics of his job, including the extent to which his work relied on qualitative or quantitative data. The Middle East is in a period of transition that will affect the international system, Gilmour said. Gilmour noted three principal forces that are changing the nature of conflict and shaping the region today — a revolution in communication and information technologies, a deficit in widely accepted political ideologies and newly assertive actors. The downward spiral of Arab politics has shifted the political center of gravity towards the Gulf States, which are playing a bigger role in the security environment than ever before, he said. Gilmour said that one of the SEE LECTURE PAGE 5
College suspends Trustees approve graduate school KDE for violations By THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
By THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Dartmouth’s Organizational Adjudication Committee has suspended Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority for one term, effective immediately, according to a statement released to The Dartmouth yesterday by College spokesperson Diana Lawrence. The suspension will be followed by periods of social and College probation through Jan. 3, 2017.
The disciplinary measures were given in connection with KDE’s violation of College Standards of Conduct regarding a social event held at their house and local venue in November 2015. The release listed violations of the alcohol policy, disorderly conduct and property damage as reasons for the sanction. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
The College’s Board of Trustees approved a motion to establish a School of Graduate and Advanced Studies at a meeting in New York City yesterday. The motion was approved by faculty in a November vote after being raised in a town hall event in October. The new school will streamline administrative oversight of the over 800 Ph.D., M.S. and M.A. students at the College, in addition to about 200 postdoctoral students. There is no plan to increase the number
of graduate students, nor is any large reallocation of resources planned, Dean of Graduate Studies Jon Kull said. Kull described the decision to create a new graduate school as a bold signal, adding that the formation of a graduate school demonstrated the College’s commitment to supporting the research conducted by faculty. “Graduate students are already part of the Dartmouth community and they have been for a long time,” Kull said. Kull said that the new graduate school will provide institutional support for post-
doctoral students, in addition to being ideally situated to support programs that traverse departments and schools. The new school will strengthen the College as a whole without compromising the College’s undergraduate focus, Kull said. “If you look at our peer groups, we’re compared to universities,” he said. “By acting like a university in this way, it will help us look like a stronger competitive institution among our peers.” This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 2
DAILYDEBRIEFING The Harvard University Police Department has paused its investigation into the vandalism of several black professors’ portraits at Havard Law School due to the scarcity of new evidence, the Harvard Crimson reported. The department investigated the Nov. 19 incident as a hate crime. The vandalism led to student calls for better treatment of minority students on campus. The Columbia College Student Council at Columbia University announced their plans to improve support for low-income students, increase study spaces and advocate for transparency regarding student fees, the Columbia Spectator reported. Vice President Josh Sudman said he supports subsidies for low-income students to make participation fees more accessible. By placing a focus on specific, quantifiable goals, the Council hopes to better address the problems students face. Cornell University recently celebrated the grand opening of Klarman Hall, the first new humanities building constructed in the Arts Quad in over 100 years, the Cornell Daily Sun reported. Designed around a central atrium intended for both formal and informal gatherings, the modern building will be formally dedicated on May 26. - COMPILED BY JULIA VALLONE
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 3
Q&A with Randall Balmer on 2016 By JOSEPH REGAN The Dartmouth
Presidential elections often make both direct and indirect references to religion, with the current 2016 race being no exception. The Dartmouth sat down with religion professor Randall Balmer to better understand the role of religion in American politics. Could you become president without being Christian? RB: I think that 20 years ago it would have been impossible to be president without being Christian. I think things have changed. In 1960, Kennedy made a famous speech where he argued that voters should bracket their faith when they go into the voting booth. My construction is what I call the Kennedy paradigm of voter indifference to candidates faith, really prevails in American politics until the mid 1970s. And then, because of the massive corruptions of the Nixon administration, all of a sudden Americans care again about this question. And so they want to know that their presidential candidates are good, moral, decent people. I don’t think the issue is being Christian so much as it is we want to know if someone has a good moral compass — after Nixon. Nixon cured us of the Kennedy paradigm, he destroyed the Kennedy paradigm. And then the next president, Jimmy Carter, a Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher said, “I’m not going to lie to you.” What a remarkable statement that was in the mid 1970s. A president that is not going to lie to us? Johnson had lied to us about Vietnam, Nixon had lied to us about pretty much everything and here we had someone who said, “I’m not going to lie to you.” Although Carter’s presidency
was complicated in many ways, no one has ever credibly claimed that he lied. My supposition is that the farther we get away from Nixon the less important religion is going to be. Religion in this country serves as a proxy for morality. What we really want to know is that we have presidential candidates who are decent people. We don’t know how to ask the question other than, “Are you religious?” Which is a bad question because the flawed premise behind that question is that you can’t be moral without being explicitly religious. Do you think the influence of religion in politics is negative or positive? RB: Voters too often settle for shorthand self-descriptions from candidates. My example would be George W. Bush. He came onto the campaign trail and said, “I’m an evangelical Christian, I have strong moral values” and so forth. He even said in the Des Moines Register debate, in the leadup to the 2000 Iowa precinct caucuses, that Jesus was his favorite philosopher. But no one followed up on his claims. Your favorite philosopher calls on his followers to turn the other cheek, to love your enemies, how is that going to affect your foreign policy? Your favorite philosopher expressed concern for the tiniest sparrow. Will that have an impact on your environmental policies? Nobody bothered to ask those questions. I think we settle for anodyne statements from candidates. Trump is another example of that. He claims he’s a Presbyterian and that he’s a member of the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City, which is not a Presbyterian church. Yet, SEE Q&A PAGE 5
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
PAGE 4
STAFF COLUMNIST CAROLINE HSU ’18
STAFF COLUMNIST ANMOL GHAVRI ’18
An Oft Ignored Issue
A Fit of Fury
It is time for Asian communities to address mental health. In the hit televison show “Glee” (2009), character Marley Rose suffers from bulimia. Emma Nelson, a character in the show “Degrassi: the Next Generation” (2001), is diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. Eating disorders, once a taboo subject, have recently received ample attention in the media. Rather than attempting to hide them, people suffering from eating disorders are now encouraged to seek treatment and help. Despite the strides made in the realm of eating disorder awareness, there remains a glaring problem with how movies and television portray victims. They are almost exclusively white middle or upper class women. As a result, eating disorders are perceived as afflicting only white women. But, this could not be further from the truth. Eating disorders are just as prevalent and problematic in other racial groups, despite being hidden from public attention. Asian-American women, in particular, are at risk. According to Hue-Sun Ahn, a psychologist and outreach coordinator at Princeton University, women can feel compelled to fit the “geisha stereotype.” In keeping with convention, Asian-American women are supposed to be delicate, small, submissive and, most importantly, thin. Furthermore, the centrality of shame in many Asian cultures exacerbates the severity of eating disorders. Teenagers often feel ashamed to talk about problems they may be having for fear of being judged or criticized. As a result, many who suffer from low self-esteem suppress their emotions. In Asian cultures, food is central to the family dynamic. Eating has come to symbolize love. Parents spend hours in the kitchen carefully crafting elaborate dinners for the families, and family members show their love by eating together and sharing meals. It is considered “rude” for children to turn down food that their elders cooked for them. I distinctly remember my grandparents scooping heaps of food onto my plate when I was a child. They were not satisfied until I had finished every last bite. To them, cooking for and feeding me was just another way of demonstrating affection. However, a culture centered on food
becomes problematic when paired with the brutal honesty of many Asian parents. When I visit my relatives in China, they are quick to point out the weight I have put on. My female Asian-American friends can easily remember all the times that their grandparents (perhaps affectionately) called them “fat” or “chubby.” Although I don’t take my family’s comments to heart, many girls are seriously affected by such criticism. Paradoxically, Asian-American girls are expected to partake in family meals and eat heartily, but also feel pressure to stay thin. As a result, many Asian-American youth suffer great emotional distress. To complicate their situation further, Asian culture completely ignores non-physical disorders. As mental illnesses, eating disorders tend to fester in such an environment. Problematically, many in the Asian-American community do not view them as legitimate diseases. Beyond the realm of eating disorders, many Asians and Asian-Americans suffer from other mental illnesses. However, they do not seek professional help because of the social and cultural stigmas against doing so. According to a 2005 study, Asian-American college students are more likely than their white counterparts to have suicidal thoughts. Such troubling statistics should remind us of the need to address mental health issues within the Asian-American community. In recent years, prominent Asian-Americans have brought attention to the prevalence of eating disorders in their communities. The website “Thick Dumpling Skin,” started by Lynn Chen and Lisa Lee, provides a space for all Asian-Americans to discuss body image and their relationship with food. The website offers both poignant personal stories and scientific articles that shed light on an oft ignored subject. Unless we start talking about eating disorders within our community, nothing is going to change. It is of utmost importance that eating disorders become a central focus of Asian communities both in the United States and abroad. Raising awareness is the first step to addressing and eradicating this deeply embedded societal problem.
Donald Trump’s decision to skip tonight’s debate could backfire. On Tuesday night, during a rally in Iowa, Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump announced that he would not be attending tonight’s Fox News debate. He invoked his contentious relationship with Fox News and Fox anchor Megyn Kelly, who he has called a “lightweight,” untalented and unprofessional. He lashed out at Fox News for unfair treatment, his primary reason for skipping the debate. Trump’s bypassing of the debate is unprecedented, as he currently leads the large Republican field. Facing Trump’s allegations head on, Fox has actively defended Kelly. In addition, Trump’s announcement came on the heels of a tongue-in-cheek statement from Fox News. Fox News told CNN’s media reporter Brian Stelter, “We learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president — a nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings. Although Trump was already considering taking the night off this evening because of his checkered past with Kelly, Fox’s statement threw him over the edge. It remains unclear whether Trump has overstepped his bounds. With the first caucuses rapidly approaching, his strategy could very well backfire. Trump’s aggressive, off-the-cuff style could have massive repercussions. Although his fiery demeanor has rallied supporters across the country, this time could be different. To bypass the debate because of alleged bias flies in the face of the confrontational style that Trump has embraced thus far. Trump’s situation is even more precarious, as he already faces stiff competition from Sen. Ted Cruz. With the Iowa caucus on Feb. 1, Trump may have inadvertently given Cruz a bump in the polls. Tonight, Cruz and other GOP candidates will have the opportunity to make their case on stage without Trump looming over them. Every Republican candidate will be able to throw punches without fear of being hit back on national television. Who knows? The staunchly conservative Cruz may even take the lead in Iowa if the real estate mogul skips the debate. Amidst the political circus, one thing is clear — in a fit of fury, Trump may have just sealed his fate. Furthermore, Cruz and other candidates will
CARTOONS 6175 ROBINSON HALL, HANOVER N.H. 03755 • (603) 646-2600
REBECCA ASOULIN, Editor-in-Chief ANNIE MA, Executive Editor SARA MCGAHAN, Managing Editor PRODUCTION EDITORS SARAH PEREZ, Opinion Editor ANDRES SMITH, Opinion JESSICA LU, Assistant Opinion CAROLINE BERENS, Mirror HAYLEY HOVERTER, Mirror
Editor Editor Editor Editor
GAYNE KALUSTIAN, Sports Editor RAY LU, Sports Editor HALEY GORDON, Arts Editor HALLIE HUFFAKER, Arts Editor
RACHEL DECHIARA, Publisher MAYA PODDAR, Executive Editor PRIYA RAMAIAH, Managing Editor BUSINESS DIRECTORS AMY CHANG, Finance & Strategy Director JASMINE XU, Finance & Strategy Director PHILIP RASANSKY, Advertising Director ANDREW ZHU, Operations & Marketing Director SHUOQI CHEN, Design Director HENRY WILSON, Technology Director
MAY MANSOUR, Dartbeat Editor GRACE MILLER, Dartbeat Editor KATELYN JONES, Multimedia Editor TIFFANY ZHAI, Photography Editor
ISSUE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
ELIZA MCDONOUGH, Photograhy Editor NEWS EDITOR: Estephanie Aquino , LAYOUT MANAGER: Jaclyn Eagle, TEMPLATING EDITOR: Jaclyn Eagle.
SUBMISSIONS: We welcome letters and guest columns. All submissions must include the author’s name and affiliation with Dartmouth College, and should not exceed 250 words for letters or 700 words for columns. The Dartmouth reserves the right to edit all material before publication. All material submitted becomes property of The Dartmouth. Please email submissions to editor@thedartmouth.com.
have the floor to endlessly spin the Fox News versus Trump feud as the nation watches. They will have control of the narrative, shaping the story to best fir their campaign strategies. In fact, Cruz has already gotten a head start. In recent days, he has portrayed Trump as a thin-skinned narcissist, calling him “a fragile soul.” Likewise, the Texas senator has said that Trump, “Owes it to the people of Iowa to have the humility to come in front of them, to make the case, answer the hard questions and look them in the eyes.” In contrast, other pundits have opined that Trump’s absence may bolster his already impressive national lead. At the moment, the billionaire sits between 33 and 41 percent, according to polls from NBC News/Wall Street Journal and CNN/ORC. According to this logic, Trump’s absence is him rallying against the conservative media establishment, all the while proving his conservatism. Moreover, his actions have already garnered an incredible amount of media attention, which will boost him even further in the polls. In response to Trump’s opting out of the debate, Kelly responded, “Trump is used to controlling things, but he doesn’t get to control the media.” As of right now, it seems that Kelly will moderate tonight’s debate. According to a spokesperson for Fox News, “Megyn Kelly is an excellent journalist and the entire network stands behind her — she will absolutely be on the debate stage on Thursday night.” If Kelly and Fox News are decidedly biased against Trump, he has all the more reason to stay in the debate. In true Trump style, he can counter their attacks and maybe even win additional votes. However, his absence only validates the criticisms of detractors. By skipping the debate, Trump looks like an egotist who easily has his feathers ruffled. In other words, he plays right into the hands of his worst critics. Although he might change his mind at the last minute, Trump campaign officials have said that Trump will organize another event to replace the debate. “Let’s see how much money Fox is going to make on the debate without me,” Trump said. In the meantime, Trump is hoping to visit with members of Wounded Warriors Project in Iowa while other GOP candidates take the stage. Mr. Trump better hope that voters value some last minute philanthropy just as much as his appearance on the debate stage.
By Jane Lee ’19
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
CIA analyst discusses the Middle East FROM LECTURE PAGE 1
most notable features characterizing the region today is the absence of broad-based political institutions. He noted that unemployment and a burgeoning population in the Arab world are compounding instability. Another concern is that the idea of citizenship, something you can pledge your identity to, has never fully taken root in the Middle East, he added. According to Gilmour, religion also complicates forecasts of the region. The Islamic revival has been complemented by an awakening of religious and ethnic identities, he said. Being an analyst involves the challenge of understanding how religion, leadership, institutions and exogenous factors all interact, he said. Taking into account these multiple influences is a bit like playing the game of tri-dimensional chess in Star Trek, Gilmour added. While Gilmour declined to comment on many questions posed in the question and answer session, he was able to offer advice to one student who asked what the best way is to learn about the world. Devoting time to learning languages is a prime pathway to cultural understanding, he said. Marcus Blackwell TU’17 said that he found the way Gilmour reflected on the history of the region interesting. “I’ve always been interested in the Middle East and [the lecture] was a really fascinating chance to hear from someone that has learned that much depth on the subject matter,” Blackwell said. Brian Raymond TU’17, who formerly worked under Gilmour in the CIA, stressed the importance of Gilmour’s application of multiple disciplines to solve problems. He added that it was important to consider the history of the Middle East to understand the upheaval seen since 2011. “The arch of history, particularly from the mid 20th century until today has been characterized by the failures of overarching ideological frameworks that structured order in the Middle East,” Raymond said. “Political parties and institutions to organize [political order] are absent, and in that absence, we see a revulsion against the existing order without necessarily movement in a unified direction, for example, towards democracy.” Choosing which speakers to host at Dartmouth is an “informed but complicated calculation,” director of the Dickey Center Daniel Benjamin said. Benjamin said that he looks for speakers who are captivating and can address particularly relevant issues. “We try to remain topical, but also
try to find people of real distinction, so we can bring the world to Dartmouth,” he said. At the same time, Benjamin also seeks to ensure that all of the Dickey Center’s pillars of activity — the environment, gender, health, human development and security — are being addressed. Benjamin, who met Gilmour during his time working in the U.S. State Department, said that bringing him to campus was an “irresistible possibility.” International affairs have been dominated by events in the Middle East, and a dramatically different world is emerging than the one that arose after World War II, he said. Gilmour can speak to these changes, Benjamin said. Gilmour has approximately 31 years of experience working for the foreign intelligence agency. Among other senior positions, Gilmour has served as a fellow in the CIA’s Center for the Study of Intelligence and as Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia on the National Intelligence Council. “Gilmour is at the pinnacle of the analytic world at the CIA,” Benjamin said. “I know him as someone who has deep stores of knowledge on every country I’ve ever asked him about.” Benjamin noted that Gilmour is thoughtful, experienced and highly regarded. In an era in which religious identity is a central factor shaping events in the Middle East, Benjamin also thought Gilmour’s insight would be especially valuable, as Gilmour holds a B.A. in the comparative study of religion. “Particularly at a time when we have a presidential campaign going on in which some candidates are saying the most outlandish things about Muslims and we have a rising tide of Islamophobia and others seem to almost be ignoring the problem, I think it’s terrific that Dartmouth students and residents from the Upper Valley can hear something that is based on facts and then take that and chew on it for a while before we all have to go to the polls,” he said. However, Benjamin emphasized that he did not purposefully schedule the visit for before the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primaries. Feyaad Allie ’16, a War and Peace fellow at the Dickey Center who attended the event, praised the decision to bring Gilmour to campus. “I think it’s great because he’s currently in the CIA,” Allie said. “A lot of people that we’ve had in the past maybe had been in the CIA before or were in the later stages of their career. If you care about international relations and security issues, then it’s cool to be able to interact with people who work in that field.”
PAGE 5
Class of 2020 to be admitted March 31 FROM ADMISSIONS PAGE 1
the academic quality of the students — both in the early and regular decision pools — are on par with, or stronger, than those in other application seasons. Sunde said that he thinks the increase in early application numbers, as well as the sustained levels of regular decision application numbers, is due to the admissions office’s recruitment efforts. He noted that he thinks Dartmouth’s dedication to implementing progressive policies is evident to applicants. Sunde said that many alumni whose children are considering the College told him that they wish they had had the residential housing system, which will be implemented in fall of 2016, when they were undergraduates. Laila Alamuddin, a certified college counselor working at College Bound Consulting, an independent college consulting firm in the Chicago area, said that working with students applying to Dartmouth-caliber schools is difficult because of the students’ high hopes. “The quality of the application pool at the Ivies, the Stanfords and Dukes is unparalleled,” she said. “It’s common for high-achieving students to be disap-
pointed when acceptances come out.” Tin Phamm, a prospective student from Stockton, California, said that his experience applying to Dartmouth was positive, saying that the College’s supplement was straightforward with clear instructions. “I actually enjoyed the supplement,” he said. Phamm said that the most nervewracking part of the application process is seeing himself at a college to which he might not be accepted. “In terms of anxiety, I’d say I’m nervous because Dartmouth is such a good school and I could really see myself there,” he said. Alamuddin also said that many students applying to Dartmouth and its peer institutions during the regular decision cycle were denied or deferred from a high-caliber school in the fall. She said that she thinks this adds a lot of stress to the regular application process. “A lot of these kids are coming out from some disappointment, but they’re the types of students who feel like they absolutely need to go to a top-ranked university in order to have the best experience,” Alamuddin said. Alamuddin advises her clients to
stay patient and to not take the college application process personally. “It all depends on what the particular school is looking for that year, and the games they might be playing to increase their yield,” she said. She also advises her students to avoid comparing themselves to fellow applicants, as college admissions are not as simple as accepting the student with the highest GPA. “I’ve had cases where the noticeably less qualified applicant fares better than the student with higher ACT scores and a higher GPA,” she said. “There’s really no rhyme or reason to it at all.” During the early application cycle, 504 students were accepted for the Class of 2020. For early applications, this year’s pool of 1,927 applicants reflected a 3.6 percent increase from the year before. Regular decision applicants will be notified by the College on March 31. At the University of Pennsylvania, 33,163 applied for regular decision; at Yale University, 26,777. Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University and Princeton University have yet to release their admissions data for this cycle.
Balmer talks religion and politics FROM Q&A PAGE 2
no one seems to be challenging him on that claim. How appropriate is it, and is there a need, for religion to be brought up in political discourse? RB: I think that religion is a legitimate part of public discourse, I don’t think there is any problem with that. I am a passionate defender of the First Amendment. I’ve been an expert witness in some pretty high-profile First Amendment cases. Some people misconstrue that to say that because I believe in the separation of church and state, people shouldn’t bring their religious beliefs into politics. I don’t believe that at all. I happen to think that the arena of public discourse would be impoverished without those religious voices. Now, there are many ways to have that conversation. If you try and commandeer that conversation into a way that brackets out other voices, that is not appropriate. But can people bring their religious convictions in with them to the voting booth? Absolutely. I am a person of faith myself, I couldn’t separate that out from who I am. That is who I am. Now if the question is about candidates, yeah I think that’s legitimate. But again, as a voter, as a scholar who studies this stuff, I would like to see some of those statements of faith challenged. Has religion always been important in politics?
RB: It was assumed to be important for a long time. Actually in 1952, the election was fascinating to me because over the course of that campaign Dwight Eisenhower was asked what his religion was and if he had been baptized. It turned out he had never been baptized. He is the only president to be baptized while in office. Can you imagine a candidate today saying, “Aw gee, I’ve never been baptized but I’m kinda busy right now, I’ll wait until I get into office?” You just couldn’t get away with that today. This campaign is so interesting to me for all sorts of reasons. Bernie Sanders, in terms of religious rhetoric, he has all the passion of a Hebrew prophet. He’s arguably the most religious person in the race. In terms of having religious principles form his policies — I’m not sure that he would acknowledge them as religious principles — if you look at the Hebrew prophets in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament, he is speaking their language. He is calling the wealthy to account, he is decrying the persistence of poverty in a world of plenty and in an affluent society. I think he is the most religious person running for president. As the race heats up, do you think we should we expect more religious rhetoric?
RB: Yes I do. Hillary was asked a question in one of her appearances in Iowa a couple of days ago and she riffed rather extensively on her faith and what it means to her. Last fall I taught “Religion, Politics and the Presidency” and we had E. J. Dionne from the Washington
Post come up. He said when he came to class, “I expect that Hillary will start ramping up her religious rhetoric.” He thinks that what she believes is utterly sincere on her part. It is utterly sincere. I think so too, that it is very much a part of who she is. Do you think that perhaps it makes sense religion is referenced in United States politics, considering the U.S. is a very religious country? RB: The First Amendment set up, to put it in economic terms, a free marketplace for religion. It means that no one religion or denomination or sect or religious group enjoys government favor over another. Of course over American history it hasn’t always worked that way, but generally it has. What that did is set up that marketplace where you have all these different religious groups competing against one another. That ensures that religion in America is vibrant and more dynamic. We have a richer religious culture in the United States than anywhere else. Now it is changing. Americans are less religious than they were before. But compared to any other nation we are off the charts. We can have another conversation about the quality of that diversity, but in terms of quantity and how we see ourselves as Americans, we are very religious people. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and space. The full story can be found online.
PAGE 6
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
DARTMOUTHEVENTS TODAY 4:15 p.m.
“Goddesses, Women, and Star Persona in Bollywood Film,” Florida State Professor Kathleen Erndl, Room 002, Rockefeller Center
4:30 p.m.
“Six to Start - Market Validation,” DEN Startup Bootcamp, Director of Entrepreneurship Jamie Coughlin, DEN Innovation Center
4:30 p.m.
Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Awards, Filene Auditorium, Moore Building
TOMORROW 3:30 p.m.
“Quantum Entanglement in Many-Body Systems and Boundary Theories,” Microsoft Researcher Fernando Brandao, Wilder 104
7:00 p.m.
“Mountainfilm on Tour,” film special, Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts
7:00 p.m.
Men’s Basketball, Dartmouth v. Columbia University, Berry Leede Arena
ADVERTISING For advertising information, please call (603) 646-2600 or email info@thedartmouth. com. The advertising deadline is noon, two days before publication. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Opinions expressed in advertisements do not necessarily reflect those of The Dartmouth, Inc. or its officers, employees and agents. The Dartmouth, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation chartered in the state of New Hampshire. USPS 148-540 ISSN 01999931
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
PAGE 7
Spike Lee’s ‘Chi-Raq’ sparkles but fails to deliver
a rival gang led by Cyclops (Wesley Snipes), turns violent when gang The Dartmouth Staff members draw guns at one of Furious, messy, urgent, crass Chi-Raq’s concerts, leaving two and often heart-wrenching, Spike dead, part of an endless cycle of Lee’s “Chi-Raq”(2015) (“Chi” as violence. After the death of a child in Chicago, “Raq” as in Iraq) is a in a drive-by shooting, the women, controversial satire that comments lead by Lysistrata, declare that they with sloppy yet biting rhythmic have had enough and begin their prose on race, sex and gun violence sex strike. The idea is simple: deny men sex until they give the women in Chicago’s South Side. The movie draws from Aristo- peace. While Lysistrata’s sex strike phanes’ play “Lysistrata,” a fifthcentury B.C.E. Greek comedy in storyline oftentimes seems almost which women refuse to have sex operatic, with musical numbers with men as part of a protest to and a strangely crass scene involving the sexual end the Pelohumiliation of ponnesian ConfederacyWar, Chi-Raq “The idea [of the strike] aobsessed genopens with a eral, the secstark message is simple: deny the men ondary story— the lyrics sex until they give the line of a priest of Nick Canand a grieving non’s “Pray women peace.” mother makes 4 My City” up the film’s (2015) ememotional core. blazoned in Jennifer Hudred across the son plays Irene, screen as the song plays. The film starts with the mother of the 11-year-old girl the narrator stating that there are whose death serves as the impetus more gun deaths in Chicago than in for the strike. Lee sadly underthe United State’s wars abroad. A utilizes Hudson, but she gives a truly excellent and dapper Samuel stellar performance as a brimming L. Jackson serves as a fourth-wall well of anger and sorrow. John breaking narrator and the em- Cusack is the blazing Catholic bodiment of a Greek chorus. He priest Father Mike, loosely based quickly reveals that Chi-Raq is the on Michael Pfleger, a real-life priest nickname of Demetrius (Cannon) a rapper, gang leader of the Spartans and protagonist Lysistrata (Teyonah Parris)’s boyfriend. The Spartans’ conflict with the Trojans,
By JOYCE LEE
and social activist. Cusack plays the purposeful role well, particularly in one funeral speech in which he rails against the socioeconomic inequality that creates the underground economy fueled by gang violence and the glorification of thug life by more privileged Americans. With Father Mike’s conviction and Irene’s heartbreaking rage at the death of her daughter and the gun violence that killed her, the two crusade to combat their neighborhood’s apathy. Lee tackles his inevitably controversial source material with cinematic gusto — pulling out all the stops with his vibrant cinematography displaying the clash of the purple-clad Spartans and the orange-clad Trojans to the rhyming verse that makes up the dialogue. The film’s music, which ranges from strong hip-hop beats to forays into R&B, gospel and jazz, is especially powerful against Chicago’s urban backdrop. The result is a fast-moving and surreal series of scenes that are cobbled together into a disjointed but not displeasing narrative that touches on themes of race, gender and poverty. Yet for all of its surrealness, “Chi-Raq” is unapologetic in its penetration of the divide between the fantasy inside the screen and the reality outside. The film does
not forget Michael Brown, Trayvon of blood lust and carnal lust, with Martin, Sandra Bland, the victims guns as blatantly obvious phallic of the Charleston church shoot- symbols, but ultimately, the film ing and the endless other victims fails to address the fact that these whose deaths helped spur the women have, to some extent, been Black Lives Matter movement. The reduced to sexual objects. Yes, the film’s up-to-the-minute references women make a stand for peace, but make an emthey are women phatic statewho do so solement: what ly through the r o l e d o e s “Though the film’s power of their p r i v i l e g e d approach to gun bodies. Lee atAmerica, tempts to display white Amer- violence and race is these women ica, play in straightforward, its as empowered this blackwithout addressportrayal of the power on-black ing the fact that of black women borders black women are violence? P a r r i s , on misogynistic.” often the most of “Dear discriminated White Peominority group ple” (2014) in America. Perfame, as haps it is because L y s i s t r at a , of this ingrained gives a simple answer: respect. In societal truth that the final triumher sex strike, she asks for people phant scene rings false — it almost to not take advantage of an already feels jarring to see a black woman horrific situation by capitalizing on given what she has demanded, all violence. In one stand-out scene, through the power of her body. she and a group of fellow strikers While this idea is absolutely someyell “Respect,” at a group of police thing society should contemplate, officers. Lee is not intentional about it and Though the film’s approach to the conclusion ultimately leaves gun violence and race is straight- one feeling unfulfilled. It’s a bitforward, its portrayal of the power tersweet way to end a decent film of black women borders on misog- that could have been radical, but ynistic. The film draws an interest- unfortunately fails to address some ing connection between the power significant questions.
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS
PAGE 8
SPORTS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
THURSDAY LINEUP
No athletic events scheduled
Men’s tennis splits home matches against ranked opponents
By MARK CUI
The Dartmouth Staff
On Jan. 22 and 24, No. 41 Dartmouth men’s tennis continued its frenetic stretch of January matches by splitting its two home games, dominating No. 72 Clemson University 6-1 but falling in a narrow loss to No. 53 Pennsylvania State University 2-4. The team’s overall record stands at 3-1. “The win over Clemson was great,” George Wall ’17 said. “It was great to turn the tables on them after they beat us pretty badly a few years ago. [Penn State] is very good and competitive. We played a very close match but maybe just needed to execute our game better in tight spots.” The Big Green decisively claimed victory over Clemson on Friday, sweeping doubles 3-0 and finishing with a 5-1 record in singles. The Dartmouth double tandem of Dovydas Sakinis ’16 and Brendan Tannenbaum ’16 followed up last week’s 6-0 victory over the University of Buffalo with a 6-4 victory over Clemson’s Luke Johnson and Robert Dudley. After losing 4-6 in a close match to Buffalo last week, the second duo of Max Fliegner ’18 and Wall avenged its
loss with a 6-4 victory over Clemson’s Austin Ansari and Christian Harris. The final duo of Roko Glasnovic ’19 and Max Schmidt ’17 completed the sweep with a thrilling 7-6 (6) win over Clemson’s team of Alex Favrot and Daffra Sanon. Tannenbaum said the victory over Clemson gave the Big Green confidence. “One of the key takeaways is that we can play with the big schools that come from Power 5 conferences,” Tannenbaum said. “We are a tough team to beat on our home courts and we gained experience against a good team that will help us going forward.” The team also dominated on the singles side, with its five victories all coming in straight sets. Dartmouth’s Sakinis (ranked 18 nationally in singles), Ciro Riccardi ’18, Fliegner, Wall and Eddie Grabill ’19 all beat their Clemson counterparts Johnson, Favrot, Ansari, Arturo Pinazo and Dudley. The final scores of the five matches, respectively, were 6-1, 6-3; 7-6 (4), 7-5; 6-3, 6-3; 6-4, 6-4 and 6-2, 7-5. The lone loss came from Tannenbaum, who competed hard in a close 6-4, 6-3 battle against Clemson’s Sanon. “The win over Clemson was a very good team win,” coach Chris Drake
RIDING THE PINE WITH JOE CLYNE AND HENRY ARNDT
Four weeks into our penultimate term, there should be nothing that this campus has to offer us anymore. We’re seniors. It’s winter. We’ve done all there is to do and seen all there is to see. We’ve hiked the Fifty three times and crossed the Dartmouth X once. (Note to freshmen males: the grass is not always greener on the other side.) KDE is suspended now, and our final chance to get a coveted Derby invite has gone up in flames. But when all the signs are pointing toward misery and despair, toward a jaded contempt of Dartmouth’s campus, your boys Hank and Fish simply can’t get enough. We are eternal optimists, too stupid to comprehend the negative omens in front of our very eyes. We’ve tasted the top for too long. With a mouth full of caviar, it’s hard for us even to imagine gruel. For many, the stacks are a symbol of pathetic desperation, a destination to be avoided at all costs. To us, the stacks are a second home, our last quivering connection to the false idol of academia. Most seniors have
long grown weary of the ritualistic monotony of pong. For us, the games are just beginning. The vast majority of campus has matured beyond the seductive pleasure of freshman year’s simple joys. And yet, our adolescent minds remain drunk on the seemingly routine boons of immaturity. We’re swimming against the current and that has somehow only made us stronger. As the huddled masses retreat into their disparate corners of campus under the misguided belief that there’s no juice left to squeeze, we are out here on our hands and knees sucking each and every ounce of milk from Dartmouth’s teat, loving every drop more than the last. We recognize the folly in stepping away from the trough before we have had our fill. Although these musings clearly merit campus-wide publication in their own right, our parochial editors have demanded that they possess some modicum of relevance to the sports section in which they nominally reside. Constrained by the impos-
said. “They’re a very good and wellcoached team, and compete hard. They actually beat us three years ago on a similar weekend so it was nice to get a win. Doubles played very well, and singles built on that lead. We did a good job of closing out.” Following Clemson, the team lost to Penn State 2-4 on Sunday afternoon, going 1-2 on doubles and 2-3 on singles, with the sixth singles match canceled midway after Penn State secured its fourth point. For doubles, Sakinis and Tannenbaum were defeated 4-6, while Wall and Fliegner fell 3-6. Glasnovic and Schmidt recorded the lone doubles victory of the day with a final score of 6-3 against Penn State’s Leonard Stakhovsky and Constant De La Bassetiere. In singles, Riccardi cruised to an impressive 6-2, 6-1 victory over No. 120 Aws Laaribi. Despite losing the first set 6-4, Fliegner proceeded to add another victory for the Big Green by winning the next two sets 6-3, 6-3 over No. 99 ranked Matt Barry. Tannenbaum dropped his match 6-7 and 4-6 against De La Bassetiere while Schmidt won the first set 6-4 before dropping the next two 3-6 and 6-7 against the Nittany Lions’ Ben Lieb. Wall’s game against Hanzlik was
canceled after Penn State secured the team victory. The score at the time was 3-6, 6-4, 4-4. “Penn State competed very well,” Drake said. “It really came down to a few points here and there. We had a some chances at doubles, and we had a few chances at one and three. I thought Penn State served very well. Our guys, as always, fought back, and it was a battle of all sorts, but couldn’t quite get over the hump.” In addition, Drake also noted that the team would learn and improve from the close loss. “We talked with the team about trying to extend our leads,” Drake said. “We want to make sure we’re working on serving well. If we can hold serve we can extend our lead. That’s something we can do a bit better. Especially with how tough our schedule is, we will probably see a lot of close matches. We want to stay calm and collected and be ready to execute on big points, which are all really important. We’re going to continue to work on those skills so we can execute our game in pressure situations.” Highly ranked opponents combined with a high frequency of games made January a challenging month for the men’s tennis team. Drake
emphasized that the team should not get too caught up in each individual game and instead should focus on the big picture. “We have a really challenging schedule this year so we try not to get too up and down after any of the matches,” Drake said. “We just want to make sure we learn from the matches and make sure that we are improving.” Tannenbaum noted that the team welcomes a demanding schedule. “We still feel like we can win every match no matter if they are ranked or unranked,” Tannenbaum said. “We want to play a tough schedule and prove ourselves against tough competition and help us improve throughout the season and prepare us for Ivies.” Next weekend, the team looks to compete in other challenging matchups against No. 35 Drake University and No. 37 Tulane University. In particular, Tulane’s team presents a daunting individual test for Sakinis who will face the No. 1 college tennis player, Dominik Koepfer. “It’ll be cool to have the top ranked player in college tennis to come to our building, and it will certainly be a challenge for Dovydas,” Drake said.
sible task of using sports to convey our idle thoughts, we ingeniously and strenuously crafted a metaphor that, though strained, is impugnable. Peyton Manning epitomizes the same mindset to which your noble columnists subscribe. As Peyton grows older and his forehead grows larger, he has started to realize that this season may indeed be his last rodeo. For much of the season, we did not expect Manning to be in this position. We never dreamed that he would have enough gas in the tank to end an admittedly noble career with his second Super Bowl ring. In fact, we were hoping that he did not. Somehow despite all his trials and tribulations, Manning stands ready to claim the ultimate crown once again, to defy the opposition and place himself on the mountaintop one final time. Even the naysayers like us have grown intoxicated by Manning’s unwillingness or inability to accept his own limitations. In a season marked by both glorious highs and shameful lows, Manning’s one consistency has been his ability to keep trudging forward, no matter the emotional humiliation and no matter the physical cost.
After leading the Broncos to a 7-0 start and setting the NFL record for career passing yards in the tenth week, Peyton seemed poised to close his career on a high note, statistically superior to all opposition. In the same game where Manning set the record, he suffered an injury that, when combined with his relative inefficiency, would serve to sideline him for all but the regular season’s final 23 minutes. This same period saw the rise of the electric 6’8” behemoth Brock “The Rock” Osweiler. Calm, collected and handsome in the pocket, Brock commanded a series of late-season wins, including an OT thriller over the New England Patriots, that seemed destined to seal Peyton in amber as an historical relic. However, despite tallying 17 interceptions during his abbreviated regular season (which was good for second most in the NFL), Peyton remained the Broncos’ ace in the hole. When they needed a savior, the Broncos ditched the young buck and turned back to “Ol’ Reliable.” Now, Manning’s wily tricks have elevated the Broncos from competency to transcendence, marked by their upset victory over the Patriots.
Despite the opposition of the critics, as the world closed in on him, Manning stuck with what worked. Manning could have retreated, but those who knew his character understood that he never would. Now, he stands a game from transcendence, one playoff performance from the pantheon. Routine has triumphed over the erotic pleasure of novelty and stands the chance to do so again. If you simple-minded readers are still struggling to grasp the inherent meaning of this complex analogy, we are Dartmouth’s equivalent of Peyton Manning. Obviously and easily the most successful columnists and students of a generation, we still somehow seem to find ourselves neglected by those who arrogantly consider themselves our equals. Somehow, we are the only ones who recognize the simple pleasures in the habits we nearly all take as givens. Only we can find apotheosis in the activities many students regard as merely habitual. Therefore, we hope to leave you with a closing mantra, a message to cling to in the silence of your hearts. You can’t take anything for granted. There is no such thing as quotidian joy.