VOL. CLXXIV NO.3
RAIN HIGH 52 LOW 39
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Panel releases MDF report College admits
26 QuestBridge student finalists By SUNPREET SINGH The Dartmouth
PAULA MENDOZA/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
The Moving Dartmouth Forward initiative, launched in January 2015, received its second evaluation.
By JOYCE LEE The Dartmouth Staff
SPORTS
NEW SWIMMING COACH SEEKS SUCCESS PAGE 8
ARTS
ADITYA SHAH ’15 DISCUSSES HIS MUSIC PAGE 7
OPINION
SHARMA: LIBERAL HYPOCRISY PAGE 4
VERBUM: CELEBRITIES, 2016 AND HOPE PAGE 4
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A second report evaluating t h e C o l l e g e ’s M ov i n g Dartmouth Forward (MDF) initiative was released to the Dartmouth Board of Trustees by an external review panel mid-December. Tufts University’s president emeritus and chair of the MDF external review panel Lawrence Bacow said that everything the College set out to do through the initiative has been done on schedule, changing the role of the review panel. “Now our roles [on the
external review panel] has transitioned a bit — less auditing if you will, and doing more assessment going forward, to see the impact,” he said. The report consisted of five areas for evaluation, including transfor ming residential life; promoting a safer and healthier campus; clarifying and strengthening expectations of individuals and student organizations; strengthening intellectual engagement while enhancing learning outside the classroom; and accountability. All five were met with largely positive comments in the report, although the panel
Ramblers Way opens in Hanover
By ALEX FREDMAN The Dartmouth
Ramblers Way, a new retail clothing store opening in downtown Hanover, offers a unique range of clothing options while maintaining an eco-friendly business model. The store opened its doors last month at 37 South Main Street. Headquartered in Kennebunk, ME , Ramblers Way offers premium, sustainably-produced clothing
for men and women. The new Hanover store is only the second retail shop opened by Ramblers Way. Ramblers Way brands itself as an “ethically sourced” clothing company, which lays the foundation for the company’s distinct product options. According to founder and owner of Ramblers Way Tom Chappell, ethical sourcing refers to both the purchasing of wool extracted SEE RAMBLERS PAGE 2
emphasized that many of the implementations were in early stages. “As I said to the rest of the panel, we’re only in the first or second inning of a nine inning game, but we’re seeing very positive signs,” Bacow said. Bacow said that responses from students and faculty members involved in the residential house system were quite positive, although some first and fourth year students were disaggregated, as fourth year students expressed some skepticism of the house system. By contrast, first year students SEE MDF PAGE 2
Twenty-six QuestBridge finalists were accepted to Dartmouth this year through the QuestBridge National College Match and early decision rounds. Of those finalists, 17 were admitted through the QuestBridge Match, accepted finalist Jasmine Butler ’21 said. The 17 students represent a nearly threefold increase from the six QuestBridge finalists matched with the College last year. The QuestBridge Match is an early-decision program that matches low-income students with 38 top colleges partnering with QuestBridge. Students can rank up to 12 colleges, and thus be considered for early admission by multiple schools at once, though they can only match with one school. When matched through QuestBridge, students are
required to attend the school they are matched with, except for Yale University, P r i n c e t o n U n i v e r s i t y, Stanford University and the Massachussetts Institute of Technology. These four schools do not require students to attend if they are matched. To become a finalist in the program, students submit applications akin to college applications to QuestBridge, with the primary difference being the weight given to income. QuestBridge then selects which applicants become finalists. In 2016, QuestBridge selected 5,338 finalists out of 14,495 applications, an acceptance rate of about 37 percent. If they are not matched with a school, finalists still have the option of applying to schools through the normal processes. Last year, a majority of the finalists, SEE QUESTBRIDGE PAGE 5
Dartmouth fellow surveys Upper Valley By RAUL RODRIGUEZ The Dartmouth Staff
Like many geographers, postdoctoral fellow Garrett Nelson sees the world in terms of maps. Despite spending his underg raduate years at Harvard University studying social and environmental studies, Nelson became fascinated by geography his senior year after taking a landscape architecture cour se at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In class, he parsed through papers and books
by geographers who were conducting studies like those that he was trying to channel in his dissertation “Towards the New Ruralism,” which looked at rural areas in the Northeast to see how civic virtue was cultivated in the countryside as well as the role that rural imagination played in American history. Nelson completed his Ph.D. on the confl icts of interest that arise with regional planning this past summer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and used the same research to buttress his current project. He
launched a crowd-sourced map in late November that prompts residents of the Upper Valley to outline the area based on their perceptions. He hopes that the venture will elucidate how individuals interact with their residence. “Geographers are interested in what those functional areas are in relation to how people live their lives,” he said. “So by asking people where they think each region is and where it’s centered, it helps SEE UPPER VALLEY PAGE 3
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
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Panel publishes MDF recommendations FROM MDF PAGE 1
were uniformly enthusiastic, possibly because it was their first and only residential system that they had encountered. “I think that over time, you’re going to see the house system embraced by the entire student body, but that will take at least four years, probably five or six,” Bacow said. “It’s just the nature of these things, because even the first year students now are hearing stories from seniors about the good old days. Cultural change takes a while.” Student senate member for South House Jamie Park ’20 said that first years were naturally inclined to become invested in the new house system and that the social events provided were a way for students to meet new groups of people they would have never met otherwise. “I think the house communities have offered an outlet for students who aren’t inclined to socialize in other spaces and it has created a safer space for students who aren’t inclined to drinking,” Park said. “The social events aren’t always for everyone, but I know people who have gone to these events and made a lot of friends doing so.” Bacow said that because the house system was largely in its beginning stages, members of the houses, such as house professors, undergraduate advisors and graduate students in residence, were figuring out their roles within the communities. However, he said one positive effect that he noted from students was the new exposure undergraduates had to graduate students. Among the recommendations made within the report, Bacow emphasized that the College would have to encourage to get faculty to invest in the house system. He said that being a house professor must be a positive experience for the faculty and it was thus essential for them to feel supported by the College. “We didn’t hear that [the experiences] weren’t positive, but at least for some [members of the faculty], it was a lot of work, more than some of them had anticipated,” Bacow said. “We wanted to emphasize the importance of ensuring that the faculty who’ve assumed major responsibility of the house system have a positive experience, because if they do, it’ll be that much easier to recruit the second generation of faculty for the house system.” Senior associate dean of student
affairs Liz Agosto said that Dean of the College Rebecca Biron will be working with house professors to improve the system in light of the recommendations. Other efforts will include continuing to assess more data to see how alcohol and high-risk level drinking affects the community, as well as looking at the data more in depth. She said that the long term goal of consistently moving forward with MDF, which was recommended in the report, will largely be around the programs against sexual assault. “[That] needs to keep hitting the ground running,” Agosto said. “This is an institution where everyone should feel safe. That takes time to build i well, that’s where a lot of work needs to be done.” She said that while student responses to some of MDF’s initiatives, including the hard alcohol ban, may have been mixed, the work around sexual violence prevention, such as Dartmouth’s Bystander Initiative, has been positively received. She also said that the house communities and new influxes of resources into social events have been positively received by incoming students. Work done for the alcohol management program with student organizations and Greek Letter organizations have also been important, Agosto said. She said that the program refocused on health and safety, rather than rules and its minutiaes and the creation of safe spaces. Bacow said that the panel was encouraged by the evidence that there was a lesser number of students being transported with high alcohol levels in their blood. He also said that while it was the second year in a row that he heard that students were not enthusiastic about the hard alcohol ban, he also heard that students thought it was having a positive impact. Agosto said that the initiatives of MDF to decrease high risk behavior and increase inclusivity through programs such as the house system were connected in many ways. “We want to be a community that has fun and engages, and it’s never been about getting rid of alcohol but being a community that’s safe, respectful and takes care of one another,” she said. “I believe you learn best where you’re comfortable and where you feel you can express a dissenting opinion and have a space to belong ... so I think those two things are vital and deeply intertwined. The two work in concert.”
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
Sustainable clothing store opens
FROM RAMBLERS PAGE 1 COURTESY OF RAMBLERS WAY
Ramblers Way chose to open its second retail store in Hanover. Its flagship store is located in Kennebuck, ME. FROM RAMBLERS PAGE 1
humanely from animals and purchasing only from suppliers that treat employees well, such as providing them with a living wage. “Ethically sourcing our materials is part of our core values as a company,” Chappell said in an email statement. In addition to being ethically sourced, Ramblers Way is 100 percent sustainable and American-made. All steps in the production process are done in the United States and as close to New England as possible, according to Chappell. Also, all aspects of the supply chain meet strict environmental standards, such as the exclusion of synthetic materials and genetically modified organisms. “We start with the raw wool, make the fabrics and then create the garments,” store manager Joseph Crane said. “It’s an all-inclusive company.” Ramblers Way offers clothing sourced from Rambouillet Merino wool and Pima cotton and features a variety of styles that can be worn in business and outdoor settings. “We’re able to meet a lot of needs in a small shop in a small town,” Crane said. All of the clothing produced are long-lasting and biodegradable, lending itself to the company’s sustainability efforts, according to vice president of retail operations for Ramblers Way and designer Eliza Chappell, who is Tom Chappell’s daughter. She said that Ramblers Way clothing is designed with sustainability in mind; the result is premium products with reduced wasted material. For
example, a t-shirt with a seam down the middle can be produced with less material than a normal shirt while still maintaining an aesthetically-pleasing look, Chappell added. Ramblers Way was founded in 2007 as a mail-order company, and until the recent opening of the Hanover store, only featured one retail store in Kennebunk. The company was created by Chappell and his wife Kate. He
“Ethically sourcing our materials is part of our core values as a company.” -TOM CHAPPELL, OWNER OF RAMBLERS WAY formulated the idea after looking for clothing that fit specific performance needs but had minimal environmental impacts. Before starting Ramblers Way, Chappell ran a personal care products company called Tom’s of Maine, which was sold to Colgate in 2006 for $100 million. The establishment of the Hanover retail store is the first step in a major expansionary period for Ramblers Way. The company recently opened another new retail store in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and plans on opening stores in Portland, Maine, Cambridge, Massachusetts and West Hartford, Connecticut this year. In the next five years, Ramblers Way seeks to open 30 new stores in the U.S., according to the
New Hampshire Union Leader. Ramblers Way’s push toward more retail stores is intended to foster more personal customer service by allowing customers to see products themselves, Chappell said. He added that the retail stores offer a better opportunity to explain the company’s sustainable model to customers. Ramblers Way represents an intriguing model of retail stores unique to downtown Hanover, said Hanover town manager Julia Griffin. “We have a number of other high-end retailers that are selling high-quality clothing, but not with this kind of sustainability focus,” she said. “Because Hanover is really focused on sustainability, and has been for years on a number of fronts, this is a neat new business to welcome to the downtown lineup.” Griffin said the space the new store is occupying had been empty for some time and Ramblers Way is a major addition to a particularly strategic location in town. “We’re anxious to have them land happily in Hanover and thrive here,” she said. The choice of Hanover as the location for a new retail store was not a difficult decision for Ramblers Way. “We knew the town and knew that it would be a good, diverse clientele for us,” Crane said. Chappell has had a long-standing relationship with Hanover, serving as Dartmouth’s first Dorsett-Cottrell Fellow in Applied and Professional Ethics. “We hope to have a great relationship with the College, students and faculty,” Crane said.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
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Nelson maps Upper Valley boundaries with help of community pile them on top of each other.” Nelson said that responses us understand how they themselves have been interesting and varied. use the spaces they occupy.” For example, one response talked Nelson drew inspiration from about how the inclusion of a new geographers who led a similar study grocery store in Claremont made in Boston neighborhoods as well the respondent start to consider the as his colleague who did the same town a part of the Upper Valley. analysis for metropolitan areas in Others have written about their the United Kingdom. A common sense of place and how they feel part thread was aggregating together of a shared regional consciousness. people’s live opinions on where a One of the 83 responses conveyed roughly defined area is, he said. an idea of innate familiarity, The project discussing the is a geographic “Basically we draw a boundaries as i n fo r m at i o n places they have system, using shape on a map and biked, hiked, web mapping then we overlay all visited friends, to store and had adventures those shapes on top join everyone’s and know written and of each other through landmarks and g e o m e t r i c people’s responses.” key features by replies. heart. “Basically E ve r y w e d r a w a -GARRETT NELSON, d r a w n m a p, shape on a h o w e v e r, i s map and then POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW IN centered on we overlay all GEOGRAPHY a f o u r- t o w n those shapes area: Hanover, on top of each Lebanon, other through people’s responses,” N o r w i c h , H a r f o r d . N e l s o n he said. “The fact that you’re doing attributes this correlation to the it on a computer makes it digital, crossroads of the two interstates, but, in a way, it’s not that different the concentration of institutions than if I just asked people to cut like Dartmouth and the Upper out shapes from a paper map and Valley Plaza and the Amtrak Train FROM UPPER VALLEY PAGE 1
SAPHFIRE BROWN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Nelson’s project asks local residents to draw a map of the Upper Valley, which includes Hanover, Lebanon and Norwich.
stations, a sentiment echoed by project participant Susan Boutwell. “The center of the UV is Lebanon, Hanover, Norwich and Hartford … the work center of the region,” she said. “The boundaries also accommodate the school supervisory unions in Vermont
… school administrative units in “‘Upper Valley’ used to be New Hampshire H a n o v e r , … [and] regional Lebanon, White “‘Upper Valley’ planning.” River Junction and But both Nelson used to be a 10-mile radius,” and former editor Ta y l o r s t a t e d . o f t h e Va l l e y Hanover, Lebanon, “Now it’s a 60-toNews and former White River 70-mile radius and New Hampshire miles across.” Junction and a 10- 50 commissioner of Nelson hopes agriculture Steve mile radius. Now that the website Taylor agree that it’s a 60-to-70-mile will show how it is the term “Upper important not to Valley” is a socially- radius and 50 miles take geographic c o n s t r u c t e d across.” terms for granted, idea, as the term to understand how “Upper Valley” ordinary people had its genesis -STEVE TAYLOR, see the spaces they when Valley News FORMER EDITOR live in and interpret resolved to expand f o r t h e m s e l ve s i t s c i rc u l at i o n , OF THE VALLEY the ways that Taylor said. b o u n d ar i es are AND AND FORMER “If a lot of drawn, which could NEW HAMPSHIRE people thought influence regional the ‘Upper Valley’ COMMISSIONER OF planning and was big, then that’s AGRICULTURE transportation. what it’ll be; if He also they thought it was believes that a small, then that’s collective sense of what it’ll be,” Nelson said. belonging could also have partisan Taylor has a different opinion. implications. He said that the “Upper Valley” “The more you could get people is a done deal, that people have to understand what they have in become comfortable with it and common and think of themselves have moved forward, those arguing as neighbors the more you can for an “Upper-Upper Valley” see political actions in common,” notwithstanding. Nelson said.
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
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STAFF COLUMNIST HANSA SHARMA ’19
VERBUM ULTIMUM THE DARTMOUTH EDITORIAL BOARD
Liberal Hypocrisy
Celebrities, 2016 and Hope
Michelle Obama urged Democrats to take the high road. They’re failing. On the night of Nov. 8, I went to sleep early. It would be 3 a.m. in Madrid before the results were finalized. An ardent — albeit silent — supporter of former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton since her first run for the highest office in the country, I expected her to take it home in a landslide considering her poised performance in the debates and good standing in the polls. But when I woke up that cold morning after, I had a sunken feeling of despair that not all was right with the world. The electoral college had failed to accept Clinton as our first female president and now President-elect Donald Trump had taken several swing states. Having spent the grueling, exciting and nastiest home stretch of the election abroad in Europe, I was physically distanced from the vitriolic atmosphere that divided the nation and pitted my fellow citizens against one another not only in issues of ideology but also of identity politics that plagued the very essence of their being. When I returned to New York City for Thanksgiving, this dissonance and resistance to our presidentelect amplified and manifested itself in many forms, including loud, broadcasted protests and small Post-it notes written to Ivanka Trump in the Union Square subway station. Although it was encouraging to see fellow New Yorkers and tourists from around the world engage in their acts of civil disobedience, several of the messages heard in person or online regarding Trump and his family were alarming, to say the least. Of particular interest is Melania Trump’s libel suit against author Webster Tarpley who perpetrated rumors that she was a high-end escort. Besides these defamatory allegations sparked by the release of racy photos from Melania’s former modeling career, liberals have attacked Trump’s daughter Ivanka and raised suspicions about his son Barron’s wellbeing. Considering the backlash against Trump during the election for his sexually explicit and misogynistic comments, many of his critics seem to be guilty of the same practices they accuse him of: sexism, slut-shaming and disrespect toward the disabled. How can the same people who rallied behind Clinton degrade another
woman, especially considering that she’ll be the future First Lady? As First Lady Michelle Obama so eloquently and inspiringly stated at the Democratic National Convention in efforts to galvanize voters for Clinton, “When they go low, we go high.” Current supporters of the Democratic Party seem to be doing less of that and more of continuing obstructionist practices in retaliation against Republican opposition during the Obama administration. Giving Republicans a taste of their own medicine will not only steer away centrist Democrats from the party but also build further divisions between centrists and progressives who supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders during the primaries. Many blamed Clinton’s loss on a lack of consistency in message as well as a failure in connecting to everyday Americans. Her neoliberalism has often been faulted with pandering to the same corporate interests other Democrats chastise. When Democrats run such negative campaigns against their opponents and display the same vitriol progressives try to eliminate, it does not take long to determine that the party has lost its progressive backbone in webs of hypocrisy and corporate interests. It can only re-emerge in legitimacy after committing to a clear message that can rally the entire population instead of engaging in buzzwords that serve to divide rather than unite our diverse electorate. As Michelle Obama has said, it is often beneficial to take the high road instead of participating in the mud-slinging of retaliatory politics. It is time for the Democratic Party to go back to the drawing board and re-examine its vision after this debilitating defeat. There is hope and a chance to move forward without reducing ourselves to obstructionism and government shutdown. While Clinton lost her bid to become the first female president, other promising candidates won important congressional races, including Sen. Kamala Harris of California and Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. It is now up to the Democratic Party to choose wisely, and tread the path to 2020 wisely since nothing is ever truly in the bag.
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ISSUE
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
NEWS EDITOR: Alexa Green, NEWS LAYOUT: Sonia Qin, 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.
The last year was not one of despair but of hope, death shows us.
Judging from internet memes, press coverage rapidly in the U.S., coming alongside the and the national election, 2016 was the year announcement of a 67 percent drop in the HIV the world went mad. To paraphrase the rate in Malawi, to name just two global health Broadway hit “Hamilton,” the world seemed to milestones. Measles was officially eradicated have turned upside down. One piece of unity from the Americas in spite of the best efforts amongst a year of division came from grief, of the anti-vaccination movement, and world however. Celebrity death after celebrity death hunger reached a 25-year low. Teen birthrates in marred 2016 — and, as the baby boomer stars the U.S. have also hit an all-time low, and ebola, of our youth age, that trend will likely accelerate. an international horror story just months ago, Those deaths, strangely, brought people now has a vaccine that boasts a 100 percent together. Whether it was Alan Rickman or David success rate. Bowie, Prince or Mohammad Ali, William So it’s not all bad. We so often do not hear Christopher or Carrie Fisher, international the good, but — in the death of a national icon mourning provided a glimpse of unity amidst — we can pause for a moment to remember it. a fraught time, albeit with no less sadness. The Rickman’s Severus Snape taught a generation news media, popular internet and word on the value of loyalty. Bowie’s music and public the street find common cause in the mourning persona helped millions realize that they could of our collective dead. There was no hint of be themselves, and, far from being ashamed, President-elect Donald Trump’s tweeting or they could become better and stronger people for former Democratic presidential candidate their oddities. Ali inspired generations of sports Hillary Clinton’s controversial emails as people fans with his tenacity and helped American and news outlets left and right told sad stories Muslims come out of the shadows and become of the death of kings. an ever-more integral part of American society. That was as it should be. Although often And then there’s Fisher. Her legacy is the saddest parts of our 2016, the deaths of of paramount importance. Her work in stars like Fisher provided an interlude from recognizing her own mental health issues, the media bias toward fear combating the public and the waxing politics “Fisher’s Leia did not stigmatization of mental of hatred both nationally bark orders but rather health and its treatment and globally. Fisher’s and fighting for the rights accomplishments — as led from the front, of the mentally ill helped the iconic Princess Leia in committing herself to spark a revolution in the “Star Wars” saga, as care in America. There a mental health advocate, wholeheartedly to her is still much to be done, as a memoirist and writer beliefs.” but, thanks to Fisher and — could draw away the many others like her, the cynicism and loathing from veil has been lifted back. our national dialogue to Mental health care is more provide moments of open introspection on the available. And the national conversation now widest possible scale. includes those with mental health problems in Fear is an easy emotion to tap. From the ways it never could have before. United Kingdom’s decision to exit the European As Princess Leia, Fisher also helped show Union, stage right, to our own incredibly multiple generations of young people how to challenging presidential election, everyone from lead rather than command. Fisher’s Leia did family members to national media personalities not bark orders but rather led from the front, found it all too easy to delve into the darkest of committing herself wholeheartedly to her human emotions to create a 2016 wracked with beliefs. She took action, was decisive and will anxiety and wary of a nameless “other.” The ultimately be remembered, in all likelihood, as previous year has become seen as a calendrical the greatest fictional anti-fascist ever created. pariah, exiled to the hell where awful years of It is also wrong, as is so often said, to say she grave global misfortune go. only inspired young women. No, Fisher inspired But that was never the truth of the matter. millions of boys and girls to be all that they Environmentally, great strides have been made. could be — to be leaders and to be firm in their China is set to ban the ivory trade in 2017 and has morals and beliefs. announced a ban on the construction of new coal When there is a pause from political mines. The giant panda is no longer endangered fragmentation, media fear-mongering and (manatees, too). Wild tiger populations increased internet-fueled sensationalism, we can for the first time in a century. Globally, an area remember the good of which we are all capable, larger than the United States was set aside as collectively and individually. The deaths of marine preserves. Scientifically, major advances so many icons of pop culture, sports, science occurred worldwide, from the invention of an and politics in 2016 provided such pauses and ocean cleanup prototype that could substantially allowed us to remember their achievements and, reduce marine pollution to the announcement through them, the good we have all done. The by Israeli and American scientists that a cure next year will include many more celebrities’ from radiation sickness could be around the deaths and will likely be reported in the same corner. And speaking of Israel, what was once light: sorrow, but with hope, love and a sense one of the world’s driest countries now produces of what we can and have done to better this over half of its own freshwater supply, making planet. it an agricultural hub in the Middle East. Fisher said that, upon her death, she wanted Then there’s public health. In 2016, the rate it reported that she “drowned in moonlight, of unsheltered veterans continued to decline strangled by [her] own bra.” So let it be written.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
College accepts QuestBridge cohort FROM QUESTBRIDGE PAGE 1
1,600, were admitted to their schools through the general early and regular decision rounds, as opposed to the 657 matched by QuestBridge. Finalists who are accepted through QuestBridge Match are each provided with a full four-year scholarship by their school. However, the specific components of the scholarship can vary from school to school. Nine of the QuestBridge finalists were admitted through the College’s early decision process this year, bringing the total number of QuestBridge students admitted to 26. Vice provost for enrollment and president of admissions and financial aid Lee Coffin wrote in a statement to The Dartmouth that the College was excited about the QuestBridge cohort. “The College expanded our commitment to this national access partnership that serves highachieving, low-income students,” Coffin wrote. When asked why she thought the College accepted so many students through QuestBridge this year compared to prior years, Butler said that she thought that top schools are beginning to realize how valuable and unique QuestBridge
students are, due to their personal experiences. Melanie Gomez ’21, a QuestBridge finalist admitted through early decision, said that getting her acceptance letter was an experience she would always remember. “Getting into an Ivy [League school] is something high schoolers dream of, and for QuestBridge finalists who have had very tough upbringings, it is a dream come true to attend Dartmouth on a full-ride,” Gomez said. Like Butler, she said that she thought that top schools are increasingly focusing on admitting QuestBridge students because they come from diverse backgrounds, bringing different talents to campus. Current QuestBridge scholar Andrew Sosanya ’20 was one of the six QuestBridge students matched with the College last year. Sosanya said that Questbridge played a large role in his deciding to apply to the College. “QuestBridge opened my eyes — it helped me understand the application process and led me to learn about Dartmouth,” Sosanya said. “Without QuestBridge, I would have never even applied to an Ivy [League school].” He said that he thought that Dartmouth should have started
accepting more students through QuestBridge earlier, as it would be doing both the College and the students a favor. Sosanya added that he was surprised when only five others were matched with him, stating that he thought QuestBridge students brought new perspectives to the College. The trend of admitting more low-income students is a national phenomenon, with 767 total finalists matching with QuestBridge’s partner colleges this year, an increase from 657 finalists last year. Associate director of communications and external relations for QuestBridge Grace Sun wroteinastatementtoTheDartmouth that an increasing national awareness of the underrepresentation of highachieving, low-income students on college campuses has resulted in this uptick in focus on programs such as Questbridge. The desire to make college more accessible while also improving the socioeconomic diversity of student bodies is also a factor. “Since our earliest years, we have partnered with top colleges, like Dartmouth, to create programs to help these students understand that attending a top college is not only possible, it is also affordable,” Sun wrote.
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THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
PAGE 6
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
DARTMOUTHEVENTS TODAY 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Charles C. Jones Seminar, Spanos Auditorium, Cummings Hall
5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Friday Night Sing-Ins, Paddock Music Library
7:00 p.m.
“Certain Women,” directed by Kelly Reichardt, Visual Arts Center 104 Loew Auditorium
8:00 p.m.
Mark Morris Dance Group, Hopkins Center Moore Theatre
TOMORROW
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
“Nabucco,” Met Opera in HD, BFVAC Loew Auditorium
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
“Queen of Katwe,” directed by Mira Nair, Visual Arts Center 104 Loew Auditorium
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
“The Entertainer,” Branagh Theatre Live, Hopkins Center 123 Spaulding Auditorium
RELEASE DATE– Friday, January 6, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Carnival Cruise Line headquarters 6 Net gain? 10 One often taking a bow 14 How many crosswords are solved 15 Plot to plow 16 Creepy look 17 Bridge 20 Young Skywalker’s nickname 21 “At Wit’s End” columnist Bombeck 22 Like Cheerios 23 Bridge 27 Liked a lot, with “up” 28 Taqueria order 31 A3 or Q7 34 Leave 37 Whistle-blower 38 Way around the block? 40 Luau band 41 Meatball medium 43 Roll in the yard 44 Inn crowd option 47 Cause of some closings 48 HBO drama set in Baltimore 50 __ Friday’s 52 Bridge 58 Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque prayer 60 Sci-fi navigator 61 Gen __ 62 Bridge 66 Number of times a horse can enter the Kentucky Derby 67 “Dies __” 68 Copy, in a way 69 Essen’s region 70 Celebrate an anniversary, say, with “out” 71 Secretly watch DOWN 1 Hebrew prophet 2 Absurd 3 __ fool 4 Club __ 5 Take in
54 Kolkata cash 39 “Jeopardy!” 6 Harmful ray type 55 Slangy refusal staple 7 More than 70% 56 Wafer brand of Earth’s surface 42 Flaws and all 57 Place to find a 45 Is for everyone? 8 Lab greeting flag 46 Bikini in the 9 “Ars gratia artis” 58 Le Pew’s Pacific, e.g. is written in an defense 49 It starts a bit arc around his before Christmas 59 Dish list head 63 Limit 51 Astronauts’ gear 10 Zoom along 64 Jackie O’s 53 Channel with a 11 “Time for me to second “Congressional split” Chronicle” online 65 “Shirt Front and 12 Smoke passage Fork” artist archive 13 Gull relative 18 Carrying, so to speak ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 19 Hen holders 24 Common street name 25 Strait-laced 26 __ ejemplo 29 Geometric art style 30 Several 31 Start of a subordinate title: Abbr. 32 “You meant 8 p.m. not a.m.?” 33 Vacation spot with horseback riding 35 Toon often seen in a hunting hat 36 Shelled veggie 01/06/17 xwordeditor@aol.com
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01/06/17
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
PAGE 7
Alumnus Q&A: music composer Oliver Caplan ’04
By Zach Cherian The Dartmouth
Oliver Caplan ’04 is a professional composer who graduated from Dartmouth with a double major in music and geography, and served as president of the marching band. He went on to the Boston Conservatory of Music, where he graduated with a master’s in music in 2006. Caplan is currently working on his second original album, which he expects to be released during the fall of 2017. His work will be played in a concert on Jan. 22 by the Dartmouth Wind Ensemble, which has recently joined a nationwide Consortium Commission. When did you first become interested in music and composing? Did one come after the other? OC: I’d say it was one of those “hindsight is 20/20” things. I had taken piano lessons since kindergarten, and I used to play piano all the time. I could not pass by the instrument without stopping to play, but I was always playing my own music and improvising instead of practicing what I had been advised to practice by my teacher. My teacher actually complained to my parents that I wasn’t serious
enough, that I wasn’t practicing. Thankfully, my mom said to him, “Well, he really loves playing Bach and Mozart at your house once a week, when he’s there.” So I think it’s funny in retrospect, because at the time, I think if there were a betting poll, I would have likely been the least likely person in my teacher’s piano studio to become a professional musician. When you look back, it’s clear that I was developing as a composer. I used to improvise. I composed pieces, but I didn’t know how to write them down at the time when I was in elementary school. Dartmouth was when I started composing more seriously. How does the Dartmouth Wind Ensemble piece fit into your repertoire?
OC: This is a piece that connects to my deep love of nature and the environment and the outdoors. I call it a tone poem, inspired by different aspects of life in the Alpine Zone. The title is “Krummholz Variations,” a German word that means crooked wood, and it refers to these gnarly, twisted, funky trees — gateways to the higher world. When I’m hiking in higher altitudes, one of the things that moves me is thinking of beauty that prevails in really harsh conditions. As much as there is this
nature aspect there, I think there is so that he could program them side also something very human about by side — that’s where the idea for that aspect of resiliency. I do hold the Consortium started. onto things like that in difficult times. I think it’s worth mentioning that Including myself, there are four one of the other groups also has a Dartmouth connections in this Dartmouth connection — Atlanta project. The piece is commissioned Chamber Players, their general by a consortium manager is of 13 ensembles “When I’m hiking in Rachel Ciprotti around the ’ 0 2 . [ Pe a s e ] c o u n t r y — higher altitudes, one of and Matthew D a r t m o u t h the things that moves M a r s i t , t h e Wind Ensemble director of is one of them. me is thinking of beauty D a r t m o u t h Each ensemble that prevails in really W i n d is having its Ensemble, are p r e m i e r e harsh conditions.” also conductor perfor mance, colleagues in the and this is wind ensemble Dartmouth’s premiere performance. world. [Marsit] brought College The idea for the piece and the lead wind ensemble to the table as a for the consortium was another Consortium member. Dartmouth alum, Andy Pease ’01. He was the conductor of the What are you currently working marching band when he was a senior on now? and I was a freshman. He had this Stravinsky octet for winds and brass, OC: I am currently working on and it’s a really beloved piece in the recording my second studio album, wind ensemble world, but it’s really which will be entitled “You Are Not unusual instrumentation — it’s flute, Alone.” It’s a collection of very clarinet, two bassoons, two trumpets, deeply personal chamber works. two trombones — so people love this They raise awareness on themes piece that you bring together these that I think are important. Breast instruments to play the Stravinsky cancer is one, marriage equality octet. He had this idea of machining and the environment — those are a companion piece with the same all very important to me. There instrumentation as the Stravinsky, are four different pieces; they relate
those themes. One is “You Are Not Alone,” which is the anthem for victims and survivors of breast cancer. There’s another piece entitled “Love Letters,” which is music that I wrote for my own wedding ceremony with my husband Chris. To put it in perspective, I would say that when I was at Dartmouth in 2004, we would not have been able to get married. That’s how much the world has changed since then. “To the Sea” is inspired by a Massachusetts community organization that worked for 20 years to build this “Rails to Trails” program converting an old railway into a bicycle path that connects communities to the waterfront while reconnecting people to nature. There’s a final piece called “Connect All We All Connect,” which sets a text by Bar r y Duncan, a master palindromist. It’s a palindromic text and a poem exploring the strength and fragility of human connection. The pieces have different topics, but the overarching theme that binds them is that they’re all pieces about community and love and connection and transformation, becoming greater as a community. This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Aditya Shah ’15 breaks barriers with Indian classical music video
classical music which uses various frameworks that are improvised upon by each musician. A d i t y a S h a h ’ 1 5 , n o w Shah initiated the project under professionally working as an inbound the supervision of professor of music sales consultant for HubSpot in Theodore Levin, who said that he Cambridge, Massachusetts, still later became involved in the music’s creation. finds time to make waves in the music “[Shah’s] project “[Shah’s] world. This past June, was of great interest project was of Shah released a music – something radical great interest – something video to accompany his song “Pilgrims in the world of Indian r a d i c a l i n the world (K abir),” one of classical music.” of Indian several Indian classical classical songs recorded as part music,” said of a project Shah -THEODORE LEVIN, Levin, a started at Dartmouth PROFESSOR OF MUSIC specialist in as an undergrad. The the musical video is sponsored by the Hopkins Center’s Class of 1961 e t h n o g r a p h y o f C e n t r a l Arts Initiative Fund, a grant meant Asia. to help talented undergraduate Furthermore, Shah said that the students start special projects in the project is also the first Indian classical music video to be funded by any arts. Shah said he harbors a very deep Dartmouth grant. Conceived during respect for the genre and aims to a history Foreign Study Program reflect that in his music. Since 2006, in London, the video is meant Shah has trained in north Indian to foster a sense of intercultural harmony and sympathy, a concept classical vocal music. In the song “Pilgrims (Kabir)”, Shah summarizes as “cross-cultural Shah sets the couplets of famous partnership.” 15th century Indian poet Kabir This idea is mirrored in the to a raga, a component of Indian cast and production team of the
By Arunav Jain The Dartmouth
project, in which, Shah said, features the voices and acting of himself and the Italian-American vocalist Christine Ghezzo. The project was also produced in collaboration with the African-American videographer Antoine Douglas. Shah’s aim of building amity among people of different traditions and cultures can also be traced back to Kabir’s composition of the song. The poet’s work is remembered in Indian history for its ability to appeal to members of both Hindu and Muslim faiths, something unheard of during that time. Shah said that the message of the song is not bound in any one particular religion. “You’ve got this poet [Kabir] who is Hindu, Muslim or neither – the message in the song is universal, but the way the message is conveyed is essentially Indian classical,” Shah said. In regards to the language barrier that could potentially be a hurdle for people engaging in his music, which is sung in vernacular Hindi, Shah believes that it should not completely discourage anyone from enjoying his work, a sentiment which Levin shares as well. While Levin does not subscribe to what he calls a “cliché that music is an international language,” he said
that listeners can respond to certain in changing the hegemonic aspects of the music regardless of Eurocentric narrative to include their fluency in the language in different world nations, but not which it is written. only what lies at the peripheral “What I am responding to when I but at the metropole too,” he listen to the song are the melody, the said. “I encourage everyone to harmony and always bring out the structure,” perspective “I completely support the Levin said. “I that has not been like all of the Dartmouth in changing championed.” things I can t h e Zhang ’20, h e g e m o n i c Amy respond to who intends to through all of Eurocentric narrative pursue a minor in m y m u s i c a l to include different music, connected knowledge.” with Shah’s Shah was world nations, but not mission. i n s p i r e d t o only what lies at the “ B e i n g a b l e undertake to access such t h e mu s i c a l peripheral but at the e x t r a o r d i n a r y e n d e a v o r , metropole too.” examples of which he said music can is “solidly inspire both and proudly -ADITYA SHAH ’15 students already rooted in interested in the Indian classical subject and those m u s i c , ” a s a r e s p o n s e t o unfamiliar with it,” Zhang said. what he observed to be an Working closely with his family, underrepresentation of South Asian Shah is currently in the process musical traditions at Dartmouth. of adding subtitles containing Through his project, Shah said translations to the video in order he aimed to contribute to the to minimize the language barrier. student body’s attempts to promote Making other cultures accessible more diversity in the College’s to all may seem daunting, but, as sociocultural narrative. Shah exemplifies, definitely not “I completely support Dartmouth impossible.
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
SPORTS
PAGE 8
TODAY’S LINEUP
MEN’S HOCKEY VS. PRINCETON 7 p.m.
First-year swimming coach seeks to turn team around
James Holder, the new head coach of men and women’s swimming and diving, has set out to change the culture of the swim program, which former coach Jim Wilson headed for 23 seasons on the men’s side and 10 seasons on the women’s side before stepping down last year. Holder hoped to improve upon last season’s performance in which both teams finished eighth at the 2016 Ivy League Championship, but the start of this season has shown that better results may not come quickly. Holder coached at Georgetown University for the past six years. Before that, he was an assistant coach for five seasons at his alma mater, Princeton Univer sity.
Holder’s focuses include team community, recruitment and training. “My goal is to recruit a really strong class, get the kids that we have on the team faster, which I think we’re doing,” Holder said. “Hopefully [we will] score more points at [the] Ivy [League] Championships, and ride the wave that we create into the future.” After being named the head coach in April, Holder has added consistent warm-ups and stretches to the team’s training regimen, along with an emphasis on injury prevention. There has also been greater stress on positivity, he said. Holder’s athletes have already begun to feel the change in the team’s culture and mindset during practices. “Now, every time we get in the water, there’s a sense that the work
you do is going to get you closer to achieving your goals for the end of the season,” men’s co-captain Timo Vaimann ’17 said. Holder also said that he hopes to bring the team together. “One thing we’re working on is trying to create a really good culture based on hard work and doing what’s best for the team, and keeping each other accountable... focusing on things we can control instead of necessarily winning or losing meets,” Holder said. “At this point we’re not talented enough to really be all that competitive, but I think focusing on the culture and those types of things we can take away positives from meets.” Holder said he is optimistic, especially for the latter part of the season, as current training begins to pay off. “Our best meets are to come
0.882
-20
1,125
Men’s basketball free throw percentage against CSU Bakersfield, its best of the season
Goal differential for women’s hockey through 12 games
Career points for guard Fanni Szabo ’17, 14th all time for the Big Green
0.5
4
9.0
Fumbles forced per game by linebacker Folarin Orimolade ’17, who was named an AP All-American in December
Freshman players on the Big Green men’s squash team
Rebounds per game for forward Evan Boudreaux ’19, currently first in the Ivy League
By SABENA ALLEN The Dartmouth
NATALIE CANTAVE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
James Holder has worked to instill a culture of positivity within the swim team.
towards the end of the year,” he said. Holder also seeks to break the long streak of low placings in the Ivy Championships. He intends to utilize the Big Green’s underdog advantage. “Nobody in the league is expecting much from us, so I’m hoping that we can surprise some people in the years to come,” Holder said. Vaimann believes the team’s greatest strength is its resilience. “A s a t e a m , t h e b i g g e s t accomplishments have been the work that we have put in [in] terms of our training,” Holder said. The team has seen improvements this season through new swim sets designed to improve speed and endurance as well as increased morale. “I think [our] optimism has been one of the greatest improvements,” men’s co-captain Joby Bernstein ’17 said . “Spreading negative energy can be very harmful to not just one’s self but to the entire team. I have seen a lot more encouragement and belief in one’s self this year.” Many members of the team have improved their times during the early season. “The team seems to be getting into better shape by the week,” Vaimann said. “Even at the end of the rough training trip in Hawaii, when swimming against [the University of] Hawaii, many swimmers beat their times from the mid-season meet at Brown [University], which is something that I haven’t seen before.” For example, Caroline Poleway ’19 beat her 200-yard butterfly time from the Dec. 3 meet at Brown during the meet at Hawaii
on Dec. 19, improving her final time from 2:09.59 to 2:09.42 seconds. But this early success has yet to translate into the team’s overall record. On Nov. 11 to 12, the men and women’s squads lost a tri-meet to Cornell University and Harvard University. The men’s team placed last at the Bruno Invitational, and the women’s team took fourth out of six teams. Holder said that he came to Dartmouth to win championships. He hopes to make the Big Green his home for a while. “I definitely see Dartmouth as a place that I could be long term,” Holder said. He also plans to build the team through recruiting and improve its standing on the whole. “I am really pleased with the recruiting class we have coming in next year,” Holder noted. “There are a lot of girls and guys in that class that can come in right away and help us out with the Ivy [League] Championships, which is definitely what we need.” Current team members are also optimistic for the future of the team. “I acknowledge that rising in the Ivy League rankings is a strenuous, long-term process,” Vaimann said. “However, it would be great if we could manage to make the first step and rise from eight position to seventh this year, which would set a better foundation to build from for the next season.” The swim team’s next meet is against the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University in New Haven on Jan. 6 to 7. After that, the Dartmouth Invitational will be hosted on Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21.