VOL. CLXXI NO. 17
MOSTLY SUNNY
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2014
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Student-designed apps win funding
UP TO INTERPRETATION
HIGH 19 LOW 4
By Claire DALy
The Dartmouth Staff
KANG-CHUN CHENG/THE DARTMOUTH
SPORTS
FIGURE SKATING TEAM HOSTS SHOWCASE PAGE 8
Visitors to the Hopkins Center examine a new installation.
DISCUSSING DEPRESSION PAGE 4
A DIFFERENT KIND OF DIVERSITY PAGE 4
ARTS
ARTISTS-INRESIDENCE PANEL PAGE 7
READ US ON
DARTBEAT BRIAN JOSEFF ’14 STARTS WEB COMPANY FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2014 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.
SEE DALI PAGE 3
Zipcar service expanded to include students 18 and over B y JESSICA AVITABILE
OPINION
Joshua Hall ’14 was playing cards at a party when he was struck with the inspiration for an app. Using Bluetooth technology, smart phones placed together on a table could create a digital platform for classic party games. Hall and Kalon Stephen ’14 have created a prototype for spin the bottle and hope to expand to include Cards Against Humanity, regular playing cards and original games. Their new app, Tether
Gaming, is one of eight winning proposals that will receive a grant, technical expertise, development space and design assistance from the Neukom Digital Arts Leadership and Innovation Lab as part of The Pitch competition. The apps provide technological solutions to problems that range from finding spring term housing to curing a worldwide epidemic. Over 30 groups composed of faculty, undergraduate and graduate students presented
The Dartmouth Staff
Leaving Hanover to dine and shop became easier this winter for students 18 and older, who can now use Zipcars on campus. Few students, however, have taken advantage of the service since it was expanded to include students under the age of 21 last November. Just 24 students under 21 have registered for a Zipcar
membership, parking operations coordinator Robin Guay said. While the Zipcar service has been available to older students since fall 2008, insurance regulations barred younger students from signing up, Guay said. Of students 21 and older, 474 have memberships, in addition to 151 faculty members and employees. Though policies vary by company and region, rental car services in the U.S. often require a surcharge for drivers under the
age of 25. Zipcars were expanded to younger students following concerns that students were too confined and had difficulty exploring the Upper Valley. “We received numerous complaints from parents that their child had no opportunity to use a vehicle besides the bus,” Guay said. “The College decided to go ahead with it as long as parents
JULIETTA GERVASE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
SEE ZIPCAR PAGE 5
Most students on campus can now access Zipcars.
Website consolidates Hundreds of students take course median data on mindfulness challenge
B y BRIAN CHALIF
The Dartmouth Staff
As students begin spring course selection, those curious about the level of difficulty of potential classes can check median grades using Median Town, a website that Matthew Marcus ’16 created over winter interim. Using data from the office of the registrar, the website displays trends in class medians
through bar graphs. During the first two days of winter term, the website received 800 unique visitors and 1,100 page visits. It now sees approximately three new visitors every day. Median Town contains information about the median grade and the enrollment size for each class dating back to winter 2008,
SEE MEDIAN PAGE 3
B y ASHLEY MANNING
Just 21 days can make or break a habit, according to Dartmouth on Purpose, a student organization that promotes student well-being and self-improvement. About halfway through the group’s 21-Day Challenge, almost 400 students, faculty and staff are participating, striving to live more mindfully. Participants set personal self-improvement goals at the start of the program and follow through by attending several
motivational milestone events, including a free Mighty Yoga session last Saturday and a meditation workshop on Feb. 5. Some students pledged to quit drinking, eat with strangers and live more sustainably, Maria Sperduto ’14, a founder of Dartmouth on Purpose, said. Health professions program pre-health advisor Sarah Berger will lead a workshop on mindful eating on Wednesday, as many students set goals related to nutrition. SEE PURPOSE PAGE 2