The Dartmouth 9/22/2016

VOL. CLXXIII NO.113

SUNNY HIGH 82 LOW 63

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Study finds broad support for diversity

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Corpse flower to bloom soon

By JULIAN NATHAN The Dartmouth

OPINION

PEREZ: GOLDEN RULE AT THE GREEN PAGE 6

OPINION

CHIN: BLM: WHY NH SHOULD CARE PAGE 7

OPINION

COPPOLA: A PLEA FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES PAGE 7

ARTS

SPOTLIGHT: CELESTE JENNINGS ‘18 PAGE 8 FOLLOW US ON

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Dartmouth students were largely in favor of giving minority applicants preference in admissions and faculty hiring procedures, a recent study co-authored by Madeline Brown ’16, Lauren Martin ’16 and government professors John Carey and Yusaku Horiuchi found.

Research participants were given side-by-side comparisons of two mock applicants for admission and were asked to indicate the candidate they preferred. African American and Native American applicants fared the best, and were preferred by 15 percentage points over their white counterparts. Hispanic or Latino undergraduate applicants also fared better than white applicants by a margin of 7 percentage points. The researchers emphasized that, regardless of a participant’s gender, race or socioeconomic background, survey takers held similar views.

Horiuchi and Brown explained that they were attracted to this specific topic because of recent campus events and national trends. This year, student activism and campus protests at the University of Missouri, Yale University and Dartmouth, among others, sparked national conversations about diversity, free speech and inclusivity. Brown said that the small quantity of research on this topic prompted her team to further explore and quantify attitudes about campus diversity.

The study included a fairly new method of statistical inspection called randomized conjoint analysis. According to Horiuchi, the conjoint analysis aims to control for social desirability bias, which he described by saying that “people SEE DIVERSITY PAGE 2

PAULA MENDOZA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

The corpse flower, fondly known as “Morphy,” will bloom some time this week.

By ANTHONY ROBLES The Dartmouth

The College’s resident “corpse flower,” known as Morphy, is expected to bloom at the end of this week for the first time since July 2011.

Housed in the greenhouse atop the Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center, the 13-year-old specimen of Amorphophallus titanum has only bloomed one other time throughout its life.

The flower will bloom for two

Plan invests in west campus

By SAMANTHA STERN The Dartmouth Staff

Expect to see more scaffolding around campus. The College announced a plan on Sept.

8 to expand and reconstruct the west side of Dartmouth in an effort to connect central campus to the Connecticut river.

The “Green to Blue” plan is still in its nascent stages and is the result of a 2012 master planning

effort by the Office of Planning, Design and Construction. Such an analysis is undertaken by the office about every 10 years to ensure that campus needs can be most effectively accommodated given the available development sites, said Lisa Hogarty, vice president of campus planning and facilities.

The Arthur L. Irving Institute of Energy and Society — a new inder-

disciplinary institute aiming to solve global energy problems — will stand at the center of the remodeling eff ort.

The Green to Blue plan also includes the construction of a 180,000 square foot joint Thayer School of Engineering and computer science building in addition to the renovation of the Tuck School of BusiSEE PLAN PAGE 3

to three days.

The flower takes its name from the putrid smell it emits when in bloom that is similar to rotting flesh. The smell will be at its strongest for the first 12 hours, although it will still linger for the duration of the bloom. Greenhouse manager Kim DeLong said that the bloom will most likely occur after visiting hours, noting that the flower will first begin to open in the late afternoon, continuing the process over the

course of the night.

Morphy was first acquired by the College nine years ago from a private grower based in New Hampshire. The flower, which DeLong refers to as a he, first bloomed four years later. Since then, Morphy has grown a leaf on two separate occasions. The leaf, which lasts for a year, then photosynthesizes and stores energy in the plant’s tuber, with the tuber eventually sending up SEE FLOWER PAGE 2

Q&A with religion professor Devin Singh

By FRANCES COHEN The Dartmouth

From kung fu training in Thailand to poetry writing, Devin Singh, now beginning his second year at Dartmouth, is not your typical religion professor. Growing up in a multicultural family, Singh’s childhood consisted of extensive traveling and cultural exposure. His experiences living in Morocco, Punjab, Romania,

Bosnia, Thailand and Cameroon, where his home was bombed as collateral damage in an attempted coup d’état, left him with a fascination with the cultural diversity of the world and a yearning to learn more. After earning a Ph.D. from Yale University, he became a Mellon postdoctoral fellow in integrated humanities and a lecturer in religious studies at Yale. Currently, SEE SINGH PAGE 5

PAGE 2

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Morphy blooms for the second time Support for diversity stronger than believed and weighs around 40 pounds, both figures are expected to rise before it a flower every five or six years. finally blooms.

“At some point in the last couple Despite Morphy’s weight and of months he decided he had enough height, DeLong said that caring for energy,” DeLong said. the flower As the bloom starts, “At some point in has been the two green petals relatively on the side of the the last couple of low-maintuber will turn brown months,[Morphy] t e n a n c e. and part. This allows decided he had Because visitors to view the the flowinside of the flower, enough energy.” er’s natuwhich will be a dark ral habitat burgundy color, akin is in the -KIM DELONG, to the hue of meat. understoThe bloom will GREENHOUSE MANAGER ry of the serve not only as a rainforest, unique visual and olMor phy factory experience, but needs little also a scientific one. light, high The greenhouse will hand-pollinate humidity, and warm temperatures. the plant at some point over the two DeLong has been working with or three days when it is in bloom, Amy Olson, senior media relations using pollen sent by Rollins Col- officer, to publicize the upcoming lege in Winter Park, Florida, in the bloom. Olson and DeLong have hope of producing seeds. While the been collaborating to figure out how flower currently stands at eight feet to best handle crowds and visitors.

FROM FLOWER PAGE 1

The number of visitors has begun to increase as Friday, the estimated day of the bloom, approaches. On Sunday, the greenhouse welcomed around 170 guests, with that number growing to around 250 on both Monday and Tuesday. People will be able to keep track of Morphy remotely via a livestream on the greenhouse’s website.

After having watched Morphy on the livestream and reading multiple emails regarding Morphy’s upcoming bloom, Leslie Kelton, an education support technologist at the College, made a visit to the greenhouse on Wednesday. After the flower blooms she will revisit the greenhouse with her father.

With the news of Morphy’s upcoming bloom, more people will learn about what DeLong described as an “alien plant” so special.

“Morphy’s just awesome,” DeLong said. “He’s one of nature’s wonders and something you’re not going to see just walking out in the woods.”

ON THE JOB HUNT

tions, as well as to increase transparency in reporting the College’s diversity mettend to base their responses on what is rics.

Horiuchi proposed that support for considered acceptable.” Horiuchi said that this technique is more valid than campus diversity may be stronger than other methods because it prevents was once believed, explaining that those research participants from knowingly who oppose giving minority groups selecting a candidate solely based on one priority simply tend to be more vocal about their beliefs. trait alone.

“We often hear Horiuthe voices of those chi said the “I think it would be who express their study’s find- fascinating to see opinions aggressively, ings we re unexpected, more data collected on but those voices might not be representative and that “we other campuses. [of everybody],” he thought we said. would obThe results of this serve two dif- -MADELINE BROWN ’16, study have prompted ferent opin- CO-AUTHOR ON THE researchers to survey ions, because different campuses that is what STUDY within the next year we hear from to look for similarities the news.”

Brown was also surprised by the or differences in student opinion.

“I think it would be fascinating to results, she said, given the recent campus see more data collected on other camclimate.

This past year, topics like the Black puses,” Brown said.

Horiuchi said that among the camLives Matter movement and minority faculty retention dominated campus puses where future research might take conversations. Last spring, Dartmouth place are other Ivy League institutions, also outlined a plan to improve campus larger public universities like University climate with regards to inclusion and of Michigan and University of New diversity. The plan established several Mexico and smaller institutions, such working groups to form recommenda- as Davidson College.

FROM DIVERSITY PAGE 1

CORRECTIONS SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Students meet with employers during the career fair in the Hopkins Center.

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

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

PAGE 3

Joint CS and Thayer building planned FROM PLAN PAGE 1

ness. The new joint Thayer and computer science building, sited for Cummings Parking Lot, will be designed by Wilson Architects, a firm specializing in large laboratory buildings.

A committee composed of Thayer and computer science faculty have worked on planning this new interdisciplinary space since the summer of 2015.

Thayer is running into significant space constraints, Thayer dean Joseph Helble said, with a growing number of interested undergraduate major and non-major engineering students. Enrollment in engineering courses has skyrocketed over the past decade, and students are increasingly closed out of classes, he added.

Thayer saw 119 students graduate with Bachelors of Arts degrees in 2016. That’s about two times the number of engineering students that graduated in 1996, Helble said, and at the moment, the school does not have the faculty or physical facilities to accommodate the level of interest on campus.

As the divide between the digital and physical world disappears, Helble said that it makes sense for computer science and engineering faculty and students to be housed together.

“Virtually every device, every piece of hardware, now has software embedded in it,” Helble said. “[That] makes bringing computer science and engineering together seamlessly in one facility where students can interact with both

faculties without barriers between them even more important.”

Although there are a limited number of courses – such as a class named “Digital Electronics” – that are cross-listed in the engineering and computer science departments, none are co-taught by faculty from each. While still in the brainstorming phase, a planning committee with Tuck, Thayer and computer science professors are envisioning new joint programs at the graduate level, a possible minor, a collection of undergraduate courses and winterim opportunities, Helble said.

Hogarty said that the new proposed buildings themselves will aim to promote environmentalism through heavy insulation, triple glazed windows and a central heating and air condition system.

The Green to Blue plan will better integrate west campus, which can oftentimes feel like it is “in the back of the house,” Hogarty said.

In order to achieve this mission, trucks and trash will be hidden from sight in a new parking garage to be built beneath the new Thayer and computer science building. All new buildings are also intended to have a front lawn.

The Office of Planning, Design and Project Management is also proposing a pedestrian and bicycle bridge that will run over the town cemetery, from the Class of 1953 Commons to the river. In the design of the bridge, the office has been cognizant of the need to balance convenience with the fact that the cemetery should remain a place of serenity, project manager Douwe Wieberdink said.

Although there are no current plans for recreational facilities along the waterfront, the town has long-term plans to create a walking trail that would run largely around the river and form a “necklace around the town,” director of campus planning Joanna Whitcomb noted.

Whitcomb said that it might be surprising that planning at the College is very much like working in an urban setting like Manhattan.

Dartmouth is constrained on a 250acre site by the Connecticut river, neighborhoods in the east and the town of Hanover to the south. As a result, the long-term future of the College will entail expansion towards the north, she noted.

Only the construction of the Irving Institute is proceeding within a set timeline and budget. The rest of the plan is merely conceptual, and fundraising efforts will be needed to finance any additional construction outside of the energy institute, Whitcomb said.

THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS

PAGE 4

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

DARTMOUTHEVENTS TODAY 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

“The Matter with Pantheism,” professor Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Wesleyan University, Room 105, Dartmouth Hall

4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Lecture by Roth Distinguised Visiting Scholar and visual artist Enrique Martinez Celaya, Room 13, Carpenter Hall

7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Telluride at Dartmouth Film: “Graduation” (2016), directed by Cristian Mungiu, Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center

TOMORROW

12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

North American Orienteering Championships, middle distance, Oak Hill/Storrs Pond

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Charles C. Jones Seminar on Small-scale Electronics for Large-scale energy, professor Jason Stauth, Spanos Auditorium, Cummings Hall

7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

“Cafe Society” (2016), directed bt Woody Allen, Loew Auditorian, Black Family Visual Arts Center RELEASE DATE– Thursday, September 22, 2016

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 It’s often a stretch 5 Grim, as a landscape 10 Debit card choice 14 Superstar 15 Command 16 Troublesome tykes 17 Bad-blood situation 18 One out for blood 20 Some browns 21 Number in an outline, perhaps 22 Put in stitches 23 Variety show array 26 Disdainful look 27 Holes in sneakers 29 Cruising 31 Slenderstemmed palm 32 Where to see a wake 33 Botch 37 Lease alternative 38 Babies, or what some babies wear 41 Historic beginning?

42 Kentucky Fried side 44 Brewery fixture 45 In-groups 47 Irish New Age singer 49 Runs aground 50 Striped quartz 53 Pork-filled pastry, e.g.

55 Ruined in the kitchen 57 Brooke Baldwin’s network 58 Auto parts giant 61 Pearl Harbor battleship 63 Third-generation Genesis name 64 Remote button with a square 65 Capital on the Willamette 66 Pedometer measure 67 Many millennia 68 Sky scraper?

69 Stage layouts

DOWN 1 Garage contraption 2 What a light bulb may mean 3 Europe’s highest active volcano 4 Veteran seafarer 5 Cold War Baltic patrollers 6 Coaches 7 Acknowledge 8 Account exec 9 Angel who replaced Jill, in ’70s TV 10 “The Deer Hunter” setting 11 Saturate (with) 12 Let off the hook 13 Late bloomer?

19 Bit of subterfuge 24 Entrechat, e.g.

25 Call at home 27 Lover of Psyche 28 Ketch kin 30 Green sign information, traditionally 32 Suitable 34 Raise stakes in a game ... and a hint to a hidden feature of five Down puzzle answers

35 Like many apps 36 Cop to the crime, with “up” 39 Address with an apostrophe 40 Smack 43 Wings eaters’ needs 46 Aloof demeanor 48 “In thy dreams!”

49 Hung sign

50 Treat badly 51 Zest 52 Illegal firing 54 USDA inspector’s concern 56 Ph.D. hurdle 59 Well-versed artist?

60 Deadly slitherers 62 Fast-forward through

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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

PAGE 5

Singh reflects on past classes, religion and global experiences FROM SINGH PAGE 1

he is a 2016-2017 Dartmouth Public Voices Fellow with OpEd Project.

His study of the close relationship between economic concepts and Christianity was awarded the Whiting Fellowship at Yale and the Manfred Lautenshlaeger Award for Theological Promise from the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Singh’s academic interests center on religious thought in the modern West and in sites of colonial encounter. He is particularly interested in the relationship between Christian tradition and economic and political factors. His current book project, “God’s Coin: Theology, Politics, and Monetary Economy,” addresses the role that monetary and economic concepts played in creating the Christian doctrine and the resulting God-like image of money in the Western mindset. Singh is teaching “God and Money,” “What Matters” and “Religion and Social Capital.”

The Dartmouth sat down with Singh to discuss his work, life and time so far at the College.

What brought you to Dartmouth and what have you enjoyed so far during your first year here?

DS: There was a great job opening and, from a practical perspective, there were a few folks here who taught in ethics and philosophy of religion, which are areas that I work on. Dartmouth is just such a great place, having fantastic students to interact with, and I enjoy my experience in the classroom interacting with students in both small seminars and larger lectures. The College is also very supportive of its faculty in terms of research and publications and things like that, so it was a very appealing, very cool context.

Do you have any favorite classes that you teach either here or in the past?

DS: The “God and Money” class was a great experience. I also teach a class called “What Matters” that I’ll be teaching again this winter, which was fabulous. In this class we explore questions of meaning and significance. What does it mean to say that something matters, and how do we even decide that? It was also an introduction to modern religious thought and philosophy, so we read a lot of famous philosophers.

Students really jumped in to own the material, and people were very open and transparent about their own struggles regarding “what does

it mean to look at meaning in life?” and “how do I find meaning in life?”

And we could relate this philosophical stuff to everyone’s own personal question of what it means to live significantly in the modern world.

There was a cool session where I had students do team presentations and people did things such as “what is Instagram all about?” in terms of the power of the image and why we are so obsessed with our own image maintenance. So all these were cool ways to look at contemporary culture except with these questions of meaning and significance. We had a section on religion and technology, where we watched the movie “Her,” which was about what it means to fall in love with artificial intelligence and what kinds of questions that raises. Do we need to be in love with somebody who has a body? Why or why not? Why is that significant?

In your opinion, what makes the study of religion so important and what about it is applicable to different disciplines?

DS: Religion, probably together with philosophy, but particularly in religion, is one of these lenses or approaches where we can talk openly about things like belief, values, significance, meaning. These are all things

COURTESY OF DEVIN SINGH

Devin Singh is starting his second year teaching at the College.

that are still part of other disciplines, but other disciplines maybe don’t address them directly. Religion allows you to ask those questions head-on and to talk about things like morality and ethics as well, which are all important discussions. Even though we can’t necessarily say that we all agree in terms of ethical decisions, we still need to have those conversations and wrestle with them and try to agree as a society or a community about what is ethical or good. Religion gives us those kind of insights and also helps us think about alternatives like other kinds of worlds and other possibilities, whether it’s a redeemed world or Heaven. Language like that gets at thinking about transforming our current world and transforming situations of injustice or suffering. It also forges an empathetic mindset as well because we’re reading people’s beliefs and values that may be very different from ours. I think students, particularly students here, have been good about not just saying “this is weird, I don’t agree, and I don’t want to engage,” but instead “let me read this and really dig in and try to figure out why it matters so much to them and maybe that will help me to understand my own world and understand their world better.”

People can kind of project themselves into somebody else’s perspective and point of view as well. It also teaches people to be really good analysts of culture and look at things critically to see the hidden values and value judgements in society.

How did your unique upbringing influence your work?

DS: So my dad is from India, my mom is Anglo-American, or basically white, and so there was that multi-cultural background for me.

I was already born into a situation where I was having to cross cultures and different religious backgrounds, whether Sikh or generally nondenominational or Episcopalian on my mom’s side. My mom joined the foreign service working for the state

department, the USAID [United States Agency for International Development], doing diplomatic and developmental work around the world, so I was raised as a child in Cameroon and Morocco, thrown into these different cultures, religious, linguistic contexts and everything. I think my upbringing made these realities much more real to me, that there are so many different perspectives, so many different ideas about what a well-lived life looks like, so I didn’t take those things for granted. I chose to major in religion as an undergraduate at Pomona mainly just because it was what was interesting to me at the time. I didn’t pick it as a career choice necessarily, but I thought “this is what really matters to me now, to talk to folks about the big questions of life and meaning and whatnot,” and I think part of that was working through this upbringing. Religion became a really useful framework to talk about questions of compassion, suffering, justice, economics and politics, which all really relate to religion today.

What do you like to do for fun, outside of the classroom?

DS: I play guitar, and I was also trained in martial arts for a lot of my life so I have my black belt in kung fu. I went to Thailand to train and did some full contact kickboxing. Physical fitness is also helpful to stay sane, whether it is running or weight-lifting. Also I’ve dabbled a little bit in art, whether it is drawing or poetry or things like that to sort of balance out the really heavy stuff that I have to do for work. I do a lot of traveling as well. Growing up the way I did, I kind of have the travel bug in my blood so I’m always trying to visit new cities, new countries. And then, of course, hanging out with friends, cooking and chatting, that sort of stuff.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

PAGE 6

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

STAFF COLUMNIST DANIEL FISHBEIN ‘19

STAFF COLUMNIST SARAH PEREZ ‘17

Moving Dartmouth Backward

Golden Rule at the Green

I grew up in a small town with smallWith fewer spots available for brothers town values. I knew almost everyone in my and a sense of paranoia toward Safety and high school, and most of my friends spent Security as well as any action that might their weekends running outside or going to rub the college the wrong way, the Greek church. I still clearly remember the shock I system now seems a lot more exclusive than felt when, one spring day about four years the open and inviting fraternities I visited ago, I visited my sister, a Dartmouth ’16, at with my sister four years ago. If Dartmouth college and first set foot in a fraternity. then were the same as it is now, I know that I I have heard lots of people look back would not have been able to see the vibrant with a sense of nostalgia at frats before social scene the College had to offer, and College President Phil Hanlon’s Moving perhaps would not have eventually applied Dartmouth Forward campaign. A lot of my to Dartmouth. underclassmen peers talk about that era as Though Hanlon’s Moving Dartmouth if it comes straight from a scene of Animal Forward plan has many benefits, its bigHouse. Indeed, some of those sentiments are gest drawback is that it does not establish based in reality. One of my friends, a ’15, any comparable communities on campus. recently told me the other day about fabled Despite attempts to phase out fraternities, cocaine-fueled bacchanalias held upstairs many of my friends and I still feel obliged at Alpha Delta. To a lesser extent, on my to rush, especially without any alternative visit to see my sister, I drank way too much place to relax with people we might not vodka — then given out in frat basements otherwise see or meet. Yet with fewer houses — and, as a then non-drinker with quite a available, the rush process has turned into a low alcohol tolerance, could barely get out sort of drama fest, in which potential pledges of bed to go home with have no choice but to my mom around noon pander to brothers in “In reducing the the next day. an attempt to get bids Now, as a ‘19 about to presence of Greek life anywhere. In trying to potentially go through do away with what he the administration the rush process, both viewed as an exclusive, the pros and cons of has diminished the hierarchical system, Hanlon’s crackdown on Hanlon has only reinaccessibility of a Greek life have become forced these concepts clearer to me. On the community on campus in the fraternities that one hand, Dartmouth previously open to all.” remain. has taken measures I see the attempts the against an institution College has made to crethat many see as the embodiment of a pa- ate new and different social spaces. Maybe triarchal, elitist hierarchy, one that could be all these places need is time to integrate into taken as a launching pad for sexual violence Dartmouth culture. Perhaps, if my sister had in which both women and those who didn’t taken me to a North Park House event, I attend the right prep school are meant to would have viewed it the same way I view frafeel excluded. ternities. Yet Dartmouth could also be more On the other hand, in reducing the pres- open to alternative Greek houses such as the ence of Greek life the administration has Tabard, which are gender-neutral and thus diminished the accessibility of a community more inclusive than traditional fraternities. on campus previously open to all. Since AlRegardless of what action Dartmouth pha Delta, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Beta chooses to take going forward, I regret that Alpha Omega fraternities have been either my class, and likely many classes after my shut down entirely or put on probation, I’ve own, have to bear the brunt of this culture overheard frat brothers in currently active change. As Hanlon has shifted his attentions houses saying that they expect more selective toward Dartmouth’s future, he may have rush classes than ever. neglected its present.

Last week, U.S. News and World Report table after you’ve devoured your Collis released its highly anticipated national muffin? To discard your greasy napkins university rankings. While Dartmouth’s after you’ve helped yourself to more mozstanding in terms of undergraduate teach- zarella sticks than you care to admit? Like ing plunged from second to seventh place, the vast majority of students on campus, I the College on the hill moved up to 11th have reservations about Dartmouth Dinplace overall. At the very least, we can ing Services and its ability to nickel and breathe a sigh of relief now that we have dime us beyond reason. That being said, beat Cornell by a solid margin across both its employees should not be responsible for measures. Our counterparts in Ithaca will our inability to clean up after ourselves. thankfully continue Last but not to be the butt of Ivy “Sure, we can least, a conversation League humor. regarding our general In the spirit of full nail our next case carelessness wouldn’t disclosure, I am skep- interview or cram for a be complete without tical of U.S. News’ of the gym. multivariable calculus mention rankings. As New York Pro-tip for the 20s (and Times columnist Frank exam, but wipe down everyone else, for that Bruni posits in his matter): please don’t be a toilet seat that we most recent column, the person who leaves “Why College Rank- used? Now that’s up their weights, exercise ings Are a Joke,” these equipment or bodily for debate.” classifications amount fluids lying around. to little more than a Forgetting to unload “marketing ploy” — or, six 45-pound plates as I see them, a total crapshoot. I know from the leg press machine won’t get you that I’m incredibly blessed to attend one many friends. Leaving a puddle of sweat of the top educational institutions in the the size of Occom Pond near your cardio country, and I certainly didn’t need some machine probably won’t either. While I’m arbitrary algorithm to remind me. But for all for getting a good workout in, the least those of us who needed the extra dose of we can do is leave the space the way we validation, I’m happy for you. Going to a found it. “top 11” school is definitely something to In all honesty, I’m not a model for how be proud of. to do any of these tasks perfectly, and to Yet before we become complacent and say otherwise would be obnoxiously selfhang our hats on our No. 11 ranking, there’s righteous of me. But at the very least, I something we must discuss. While we can know that I can do better, and for this, I debate ad nauseam what exactly made us probably have my parents to thank. So, drop out of the top 10 a few years back, Mom and Dad, thank you for the lists of that won’t be the focus of this column. weekend chores. Cleaning up after my pet Instead, this column will focus on seem- land tortoise or helping put away groceries ingly irrelevant issues, ones that will have may have cramped my style on Saturday absolutely no bearing on mornings, but I guess it next year’s U.S. News was all worth it.

“I have reservations rankings.

At risk of The inspiration for about Dartmouth s o u n d i n g l i k e yo u r this column came from Dining Services and mother or coming across an unlikely place — the as a disgruntled senior, bathroom across the hall its ability to nickel this all needed to be said, from my dorm. Hear me and dime us beyond especially at the start of out. As a resident of first a new term. True, cleanthe River cluster, Rich- reason. That being ing up after ourselves ardson Hall, Topliff said, its employees probably won’t put us Hall and now Ripley, back in U.S. News’ top Hall I consider myself should not be ten. Being more mindful a reluctant connoisseur responsible for our won’t win us additional of the good, the bad praise or prestige. It and the ugly of campus inability to clean up won’t make midterms restrooms. It has never after ourselves.” less painful or lines at ceased to “amaze” me Collis shorter. how we, as Ivy League But who cares? I’d students, are often incapable of performing much rather be a part of a community that the most basic of courtesies, e.g. flushing a truly cares for one another, and I hope I’m toilet. Sure, we can nail our next case inter- not alone in voicing this opinion. This isn’t view or cram for a multivariable calculus a call to join hands and sing Kumbaya. This exam, but wipe down a toilet seat that we is just a reminder of something we learned used? Now that’s up for debate. long before coming to Dartmouth — treat The same goes for tables at Collis Café, others the way you want to be treated. the Class of 1953 Commons, the Court- When everything is said and done, we only yard Café and even Novack Café. Would get four years here. It’s up to us to make it really be too taxing to wipe down your the most of it.

Moving Dartmouth Forward makes Dartmouth more exclusive.

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ISSUE

NEWS EDITOR: Amanda Zhou, Carter Brace, LAYOUT MANAGER: Evan Morgan, 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.

Basic respect transcends any ranking.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

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CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST CRISTOFORO COPPOLA ‘19

STAFF COLUMNIST CLARA CHIN ‘19

A Plea for Syrian Refugees

BLM: Why NH Should Care

On Sunday morning we woke up to now, were at some point fleeing misery and the news of another terrorist attack. Af- injustice. So why aren’t we listening to the ter the terrorist attacks in Paris, France, desperate voices of Syrian refugees?

San Bernardino, California and Orlando, It seems that the threat of terrorism has Florida, those in Nice, France, New York made countries reluctant to act. Yet we and Minnesota now seem to have been the often ignore how difficult it is for terrortargets of radical Islamic terrorism. ists to infiltrate both Europe and the U.S. It is important not to ignore the timing In the U.S., intensive and highly efficient of these attacks. On Tuesday, President screening processes take between 18 and 24 Barack Obama hosted a major United months. In Europe, the two main gateways, Nations summit on the refugee crisis. This Italy and Greece, are unreliable sources problematic coincidence makes the task that for ISIS fighters. The first has an overseas the president faces ­— to increase efforts in crossing that is dangerous and costly, while helping and accepting more refugees ­­— the second is far away from the main block even harder than it initially was. Never mind of European countries, and travel across that the man captured by the police in New borders still adds considerable, unnecesYork was a United States sary obstacles to their citizen. Never mind that “As the DHR reads, mission. It is therefore Syrian refugees were not no coincidence that, involved in any of the re- ‘everyone has the in all cases except one cent attacks on U.S. soil. right to seek and in Germany, European There will still be those Union and U.S. citizens ready to argue that, by to enjoy in other carried out all of the atstopping refugees from countries asylum tacks. entering our countries, To considerably reduce from persecution.’” the problem of terrorism the threat of terrorism — will subside. one that cannot entirely This concept is not only wrong but vanish in the short term — we ought to dangerous. Refusing to help millions of invest in education and fight radicalism of people that flee war, hunger and torture all forms at home instead of denigrating goes against what the United States of the other as the source of all evil. This America ­— a country among the founders mindset is the same as that of the so-called of the Declaration of Human Rights­ — “Islamic State” and does not belong in a stands for. As the DHR reads, “everyone civilized society. has the right to seek and to enjoy in other Of course, to decide whether the threat countries asylum from persecution.” of terrorism outweighs the need to help The Declaration of Human Rights millions of lives is not easy — but countries was written just after World War II, the must have the courage to act and not let last time the world saw a scale of mass fear drive policymaking. The Syrian civil migration smilar to today’s. When the Jews war has shattered the lives of millions of fled occupied Europe to regular people; as Justin find shelter in the U.S., Trudeau, the Prime people feared that Nazi Think of Omran Minister of Canada, spies could be smuggled said at the UN SumDaqneesh, the fivein across the Atlantic, mit on Tuesday, the just as people now fear year old boy who Syrian middle class the arrival of terrorists. sat, covered in dust has disappeared: docAt that time, however, tors, lawyers, teachers the U.S. responded cou- and blood, in an and professionals of all rageously and, by the ambulance after sorts now live in refugee end of the war, had camps in miserable conaccepted more than being saved from an ditions.

650,000 refugees. On airstrike.”

Most importantly, the other hand, in hanthere are hundreds of dling the Syrian crisis, thousands of children the current administration has admitted that could potentially become a lost genonly 6,726 Syrian refugees as of July 2016. eration; many are orphans without school But it wasn’t just after World War II that the and, thus, have few prospects for the future.

U.S. acted decisively to defend those most Think of Alan Kurdi, the three-year old in need: according to the Pew Research boy found dead on a beach near Bodrum, Center, more than 3 million refugees have Turkey. Think of Omran Daqneesh, the resettled in the U.S. since 1975. five-year old boy who sat, covered in dust These numbers say a lot about the and blood, in an ambulance after being character of this country. Has the U.S. saved from an airstrike. Think of them not always been the refuge of those being and the millions of others that have been persecuted? Is American society not the denied “the right to live in freedom and result of the numerous waves of migration safety,” as the DHR demands. Only then, that almost always occurred because of war when we are conscious of the consequences and poverty? Just by looking around our of our decisions, will we be able to build campus, you realize that the U.S. is built walls, shut our doors and pretend as if the on families that, just like the Syrian ones world outside does not concern us.

Martha Rosler created a photomontage in New Hampshire, as residents of a called “The Grey Drape” (1967-72). The country much more diverse than their piece shows a woman in a silky dress pull- state, to give credence to this and similar ing open a window frame in her modern issues. Minority groups in cities such as American home, smiling placidly despite New York and Los Angeles benefit from a the soldiers marching on a battlefield out- larger presence. Because these communiside her window. This image appears in ties hold enough political weight, politimy head whenever I contemplate the col- cians in those cities and their respective lective attitude in New Hampshire toward states pay attention to race-related matthe Black Lives Matter movement. Like ters. They are also more likely to receive the woman in her utopic home, Dart- support from constituents who are not mouth and New Hampshire as a whole people of color. tend to evade the issue of police brutality Yet in New Hampshire, minorities due to a false perception that it doesn’t risk having their concerns ignored. Racconcern New Englanders, white people ism clearly exists in New Hampshire. In or students at the College. According to a 2009 survey on racial profiling in the those with this mindset, race doesn’t mat- Seacoast Region of New Hampshire conter in a state like ours. ducted by Dr. Susan Manfull at the UniAt the surface level, this “colorblind- versity of New Hampshire, all African ness” seems plausible. In the 2015 census, American participants said they expeNew Hampshire was roughly 93.9 per- rienced one or more instances of racial cent white. Black Lives Matter is never profiling. While groups such as Showing a prominent issue in state elections here, Up for Racial Justice and campus orgaeven in the Senate race. Neither of the nizations at Dartmouth sometimes stage senatorial candidates, incumbent Repub- protests or demonstrations, their suplican Sen. Kelly Ayotte nor Democratic port is less widespread than it is in areas Gov. Maggie Hassan, appear to have pub- where the demographics are more dilicly commented speverse. In homogenous cifically on Black Lives states like Vermont or “Outside of the Matter.

New Hampshire, esBoth politicians have relatively diverse pecially outside of the taken a generic stance relatively diverse bub­— but only on attacks bubbles at campuses bles at campuses such against police, not the such as Dartmouth, as Dartmouth, erasure more complicated and is a common experience controversial issues of erasure is a common for minorities and those police brutality and experience for who care about police racial profiling. A July brutality.

2017 Union Leader ar- minorities and those Race is one of the ticle notes that Hassan who care about upcoming presidential has said that “an attack election’s primary ispolice brutality.” against members of law sues. This is partly a reenforcement is an atsult of Donald Trump’s tack against the very fabric of our soci- inflammatory, racist comments on issues ety. The heinous attack on members of ranging from immigration to police brulaw enforcement in Baton Rouge is also a tality. How can politicians and citizens in tragic reminder of the danger that all of New Hampshire avoid discussing Black our brave law enforcement officers face to Lives Matter when it is one of the most keep our families and communities safe.” salient topics regarding race in the naSimilarly, Ayotte said, “as former attor- tional arena? ney general, I know full well the dangers New Hampshire is a strikingly differfaced by law enforcement each and every ent state from others. It is often described day on the job. They encounter the worst as smaller, quainter and less diverse, and of the worst in our society, and I stand I have heard people offhandedly joke that fully behind our brave men and women it is not important once the presidential and their families. There is no justifica- primary is over. It is true that different retion for violence against police and these gions of the country are so distinct that, horrific acts must end immediately.” The once you settle down in one place, it can article appears in the “Public Safety” sec- be difficult to understand the struggles tion of the Union Leader, not the news of those who live elsewhere. The issues or politics sections, again suggesting how of urban city dwellers or Southerners politically unimportant Black Lives Mat- can seem distant to those living in New ter is considered in New Hampshire. This Hampshire, or any similar New England is a subtle but dangerous implication. state, but finding empathy for them will When politicians avoid commenting on help bridge the gap caused by political the national movement of Black Lives misunderstandings between different reMatter while commenting on other na- gions of the country. By understanding tional, political issues, they give permis- the issues of small voting groups in our sion for their constituents to do the same. own state, we can truly become part of This type of thinking can be danger- the national community, aware of all its ous. It is especially important for people conflicts and disputes.

Fear of terrorism should not blind us to the suffering of Syrian refugees.

Understanding Black Lives Matter ties us to the national community.

THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

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Student Spotlight: Costume designer Celeste Jennings ’18

By NALINI RAMANATHAN The Dartmouth Staff

With her trusty X-Acto knife, a love for color and a distinct penchant for productivity, Celeste Jennings ’18 has already started to make a name for herself in the world of design.

Although she had always been very involved in art, receiving third place in the Clinton Foundation’s Curbside Couture fashion show, an event where students make fashion from recycled materials, was when she began to see her career path.

“It really made me think after college I could do something with art for a living,” Jennings said.

Thus, Jennings decided to major in art, rather than following her initial plan of environmental studies.

This year, she also won Mood

Designer Fabrics’ Neoprene Design Challenge, where she created a pattern that incorporated both geometric and floral elements.

As a fan of the television show “Project Runway,” whose fabrics often come from the New York-based company, Jennings found out about the competition from an email. The project began during her spring break, when she decided to make at least one illustration per day.

“You know, if I see a cool design I can really draw it up, but I’ve never spent a lot of time creating my own designs,” Jennings said.

By the end of her break, she had about thirty different drawings.

With some help from Dartmouth’s digital arts lab specialist Christopher Ivanyi, she learned how to scan these illustrations and duplicate parts

of them on Photoshop in order to perfect and finish her designs.

As winner of the challenge, Jennings’ design will be printed on a neoprene fabric in a few weeks.

Although the material was originally used for scuba diving suits and swimsuits, fashion designers are also using the fabric, particularly when it is thinner, to produce other types of clothing.

The material will be available for purchase in Mood’s New York store and Jennings said that it may be available online as well. Jennings said she currently plans to use this material to make herself a shirt, pants and a jacket.

When she first came to Dartmouth, Jennings planned on a career in fashion design. Now, however, she sees a future in costume design.

COURTESY OF CELESTE JENNINGS

Celeste Jennings ’18 has experience in fashion design, but she hopes to pursue costume design after graduation.

“I still get to be a fashion designer, standard for the rest of the class,” except I’m applying it to theatrical Randall said. pieces and still have things that I’m Much of this work, Randall supposed to read about, analyze noted, also dealt with her own emoand like apply psychology, culture, tions and identity. their social class and what year it Jennings similarly expresses her is,” Jennings said. “I don’t know, for emotions and identity in many other me, it’s so much more exciting.” fields of art. For her final project This term, Jennings is intern- in studio art professor Zenovia ing for the Shakespeare Theater Toloudi’s “Introduction to ArchitecCompany at the Harman Center ture” class, Jennings created a house for the Arts in Washington, DC. that served as both protection for a Currently, the company is working woman and acted as a prison. on a production of “The Secret Gar“She had this capacity to unpack den.” Jennings works in the costume these neglected topics through her shop, where she helps with sewing art,” Toloudi said. and observes some of the reasoning These topics, Toloudi said, inbehind designers’ decisions. clude class and the role of women.

Jennings was also a costume Jennings has also been very indesigner for Carene Mekertichyan volved in Soul Scribes, Dartmouth’s ’16’s senior thesis production of “for slam poetry organization, and was colored girls” this spring. She said it president her sophomore summer. was the largest production she ever “A lot of her poetry deals with designed for, as well as her first time social justice, issues of race and her working with a professional designer. experiences as a Black woman,” “It was initially intimidating, but Niamè Daffe ’18, one of Jennings’ I learned a lot and I grew a lot as close friends, said. a costume designer,” Jennings said, In the future, Jennings also plans noting that the designer was always to create a non-profit organization honest with her opinions. to provide resources in the arts for Jennings hopes to remain in- minorities of all ages. When she was volved in studio art in the future as growing up, she initially wanted to well. be a contemAs an art porary dancer. “[Jennings] had this major, Jennings However, as an said she tends to capacity to unpack African-Amerbe drawn more these neglected topics ican girl growto low-relief/ ing up in the mixed media through her art.”

South, Jennings art, a category said that it was of art which inoften difficult -ZENOVIA TOLOUDI, volves slightly for her to find raised textures STUDIO ART PROFESSOR good teachers on two-dimenwho were willsional pieces . ing to work with These works are often produced her. Thus, Jennings said that she with one of her favorite tools, the wants to ensure that other individuX-Acto knife, although Jennings als have the right financial help and hopes to integrate sewing into her resources to be successful in what work as well. they are passionate about.

One of her favorite art pieces is Her peers are supportive of her a low-relief, abstract profile of her many endeavors as well. head, which has things exploding “She’s really dedicated and from it. She did this piece in the fall always willing to improve,” Saaof her freshman year in studio art djo Sow ’18, another of Jennings’ professor Colleen Randall’s “Pursuit friends, said. “To me, it seems like of Color” class. Jennings said this she’ll really go great places.” was one of the first times she felt freedom in her work.

The Last Word with Celeste Randall noted the great deal of Jennings: work Jennings put into her pieces, noting the large scale of her works Favorite artist: Alice Walker as well as a lot of meticulous gluing. Favorite poet: Elizabeth Acevedo “She was very productive Favorite song I’m listening to right now: throughout the term, did more CRZY by Kehlani work than required and set a high Favorite color: charcoal gray