VOL. CLXXI NO. 21
PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH 32 LOW 19
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Web entrepreneur delivers talk Profs, students,
staff brainstorm D-Plan changes
B y SERA KWON
The Dartmouth Staff
SPORTS
MEN’S SQUASH DEFEATED BY N.Y. TEAMS PAGE 8
TRACY WANG/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian colored his speech with references to Grumpy Cat.
B y REBECCA ROWLAND The Dartmouth Staff
OPINION
DEALING WITH DOUBT PAGE 4
REFORMING RUSH PAGE 4
ARTS
DARTMOUTH IDOL PREVIEW PAGE 7
READ US ON
Though a Yahoo official once dismissed Reddit’s number of users as “a rounding error,” last year the website garnered about 731 million unique visitors and 56 billion page views. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian asked the audience to take advantage of the immense
accessibility of the Internet to learn skills and reach their full potential in a lecture that filled Filene Auditorium on Monday. Directing his comments at students, Ohanian said that failure becomes a reality for many after graduation, when grades no longer define success. Students can use the Internet to overcome some of
B y CLAIRE DALY
The Dartmouth Staff
FRESHMAN VIEWS ON CARNIVAL
Armed with a $10,000 budget, seven students traveled to New York City over the weekend to select a photograph for the Hood Museum of Art. After visiting various galleries, museums and private collections, the students chose “Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965,” by James Karales to add to the Hood’s collection. The students, participants in the
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SEE REDDIT PAGE 3
Students choose photographs to add to Hood collection
DARTBEAT
their failures and difficulties, Ohanian said. “As long as we have access and the ability to make the most of [the Internet], we can have our ideas spread far and wide,” he said. Entrepreneurs naturally face competition, Ohanian said. He then projected a meme of Grumpy Cat, a
The D-Plan’s flexibility is both its greatest advantage and biggest drawback, faculty, staff, alumni and students concluded at the first set of Moving Dartmouth Forward discussion sessions on Monday. The two meetings, held in the afternoon and evening to allow more community members to participate, were presented by the D-Plan Study Group, a research committee formed in response to College President Phil Hanlon’s address to the faculty last November.
The first meeting took place at noon in Haldeman Hall and drew a crowd of around 100 people, while a smaller group gathered for a second meeting on the Fahey Hall ground floor that evening. Attendees offered mixed opinions on the D-Plan. Discussion touched on housing capacity, course sequences, winter term student enrollment, adjuncts and visiting faculty teaching in the summer, international student visas, admissions, student leadership and the Greek system. SEE FORWARD PAGE 5
A memorial service for Torin Tucker ’15 will be held in Rollins Chapel on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. The service will include student reflections, and Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson will also speak. A candle-lighting ceremony on Baker Lawn and a gathering in Collis Common Ground will follow the service.
CHOW DOWN FOR CHARITY
Hood-sponsored Museum Collecting 101 program, met with program directors Amelia Kahl and Katherine Hart to finalize the decision on Monday. The photograph by Karales will cost the museum about $5,000, program participant Kate Bradshaw ’14 said. The Hood may use the remainder of the budget to purchase one of three second-choice photographs selected by the group, which are by SEE HOOD PAGE 3
TRACY WANG/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Students shared a meal during the Benefit for Burma, hosted by GlobeMed.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 2
DAily debriefing
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
SPRING BREAKERS
Jan. 31, 8:20 p.m., Lyme Road: Safety and Security, the College Troubleshooters and Hanover Fire Department responded to a fire alarm. There was no fire and the fire captain said the cause of the alarm was unknown. Batteries were replaced in the smoke detectors. Feb. 1, 12:38 a.m., Judge Hall: A Safety and Security officer transported a female member of the Class of 2017 to the emergency room at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for an earplug stuck in her ear. She was treated, released and brought back to campus. Feb. 1, 12:54 a.m., Brown Hall: Safety and Security conducted a welfare check on a female member of the Class of 2016 at the request of her mother, who had not heard from her daughter by telephone that night. An officer located the student in her residence hall. She called her mother to reassure her that she had been at a party with friends. Feb. 1, 1:42 a.m., Kappa Kappa Kappa Fraternity: Safety and Security, Dartmouth Emergency Medical Service, the Hanover Fire Department and Hanover Police responded to an intoxicated male member of the Class of 2016, who was transported to DHMC due to his level of intoxication. He was later transported to Dick’s House and admitted. Feb. 1, 2:23 a.m., Fahey Hall: A Safety and Security officer responded to a call from Fahey Hall, where a female member of the Class of 2017 had vomited. The officer transported her to Dick’s House, where she spent the night. Feb. 1, 7:39 p.m., Thompson Arena: A Safety and Security officer was notified of an intoxicated male member of the Class of 2017. He was evaluated by Dartmouth EMS and transported to Dick’s House, where he was admitted due to his level of intoxication. Feb. 2, 2:51 a.m., Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity: Safety and Security and Dartmouth EMS responded to an intoxicated male member of the Class of 2017. He was transported to Dick’s House, where he spent the night due to his level of intoxication. Feb. 2, 4:42 p.m., Dartmouth Skiway: A female member of the Class of 2017 sustained an injury to her head while skiing on the Howard Chivers trail. She was transported by the Ski Patrol to the first aid area, then by ambulance to DHMC. Feb. 2, 6:07 p.m., Thomas Hall: A Safety and Security officer and Hanover Fire Department responded to a fire alarm caused by burning food on the third floor. Feb. 3, 4:29 a.m., Hopkins Center: A Safety and Security officer on routine motor patrol noticed that the Hopkins Center marquee had been changed to say something that could be construed as offensive. The officer removed the letters. — COMPILED BY LUKE M cCANN FOR DARTBEAT
Corrections We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com. “Dartmouth beats Princeton 5-3” (Feb. 3, 2014): The print version of this article failed to identify the story’s author, Josh Schiefelbein. “Performers race through 30 plays in 60 minutes in Play Space Show” (Feb. 3, 2014): Because of an editing error, the article initially identified Perri Haser ’17 as a cast member, not a spectator..
TRACY WANG/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Students discussed Alternative Spring Break programs at a trip leader meeting in the Tucker Foundation living room.
IVY LEAGUE NEWS
Non-tenuredfacultybring‘different’skills B y jonathan lobel The Cornell Daily Sun
Despite a recent study finding, which found that students in introductory classes learned more from non-tenure-track faculty than tenure-track faculty, Cornell administrators and faculty said they believe both types of professors bring benefits to education at Cornell. The study, released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, concluded that students taught by untenured faculty were more likely to earn better grades in future courses. The study is based on data collected from over 15,000 students at Northwestern University between 2001 and 2008, according to The New York Times. According to Laura Brown, senior vice provost for Undergraduate Education, faculty who have just completed their doctorates and are arriving to Cornell without tenure are exposed to different perspectives, approaches and experiences than professors who have been teaching for many years. “Newer faculty who have recently been trained as graduate students have been exposed to different kinds of experiences in relation to how we understand teaching and learning,” Brown said. “[These faculty] might have different perspectives to bring to
their teaching that are less available to people who have been teaching for a while.” Similarly, new faculty members are exposed to the newest and most cutting-edge research, according to Brown. These non-tenured teachers might be doing certain kinds of work that are entirely new, she added. While professors who have been teaching for a long time can also learn new research and teaching methods, “incoming [non-tenured faculty] who are starting out have all kinds of opportunities for innovation,” Brown said. According to The New York Times, some fear that tenure-track faculty can become so immersed in their research that they invest little energy in their undergraduate teaching roles, but Brown said she believes that such a phenomenon does not occur at Cornell. “All of [our faculty] still have significant teaching responsibilities and consider teaching to be an important part of their job,” she said. “We really do involve our most advanced researchers in teaching.” Prof. Ronald Ehrenberg, industrial and labor relations, said the degree to which a tenure-track faculty member cares about undergraduate teaching can vary greatly across departments. Ehrenberg believes that the labor economists within the School
of Industrial and Labor Relations “care passionately about undergraduate teaching.” In contrast, he remarked that in the 1990’s he “knew of departments where virtually no one cared about undergraduate teaching.” Despite these concerns, Ehrenberg enumerated the many benefits that tenure-track faculty who are involved in advanced research can provide for their students. “Professors who are involved in research can excite students in a way that faculty members who are not doing research cannot,” he said. “I would not want to see that lost in the freshman curriculum.” As an example, Ehrenberg noted that Roald Hoffman, a professor at Cornell who won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, gave engaging undergraduate lectures as he was also working on ground-breaking research. Although the National Bureau of Economic Research’s study found that non-tenure track faculty appear to be better teachers, Ehrenberg said it is nevertheless crucial to expose undergraduates to tenure-track faculty who are engaged in advanced research. “Undergraduate students deserve to be exposed during their time at Cornell to the best and brightest researchers,” he said. In light of this ideal, “we should hire faculty who care passionately about teaching as well as about research.”
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 3
Reddit co-founder talks Students visit New York galleries Internet start ups,failure FROM HOOD PAGE 1
The postcard experiment is meant to demonstrate how accessible the frowning feline, garnering chuckles Internet has made learning. from the audience. Reddit, a play on words intended Though the Grumpy Cat meme to evoke the sentence “I read it may appear silly, Ohanian said on Reddit,” is a social news and it conveys the need to conquer entertainment website that was adversity. He urged them not be founded in 2005 by Ohanian and easily discouraged. Steve Huffman. Users submit and “I chose this in particular be- vote on content, which is classified cause Grumpy Cat wakes up every under “subreddits,” or various day to more competition than we categories like humor, education, will ever have in our entire lives,” he discussion and entertainment. The said. “Grumpy Cat has to be better front page displays recent submisthan every cat on the Internet.” sions and popular posts. The Internet fuels creativity, Ohanian began his career as Ohanian said. an entrepreneur He added that with Huffman, Kickstarter, a “Grumpy Cat wakes a friend, during platfor m that up every day to more his junior year uses crowdat the Univercompetition than we sourcing to sity of Virginia. fund proposals will ever have in our The two submitranging from entire lives. Grumpy ted an idea to games to charity a competition projects, pro- Cat has to be better sponsored by Y vides just one than every cat on the Combinator, a example of the company that Internet.” agency that the funds startups, Internet can offor a grant to defer individuals. velop their ven- Alexis OhanIAn, O ve r $ 9 . 6 ture. Y Combim i l l i o n h ave Reddit co-founder nator rejected been pledged their original to Kickstarter idea but found projects since the two men the website’s promising and launch in 2009. For a program hired them. as effective as Kickstarter to have Ohanian has also created other grown so quickly demonstrates the startups, such as Hipmunk, a travel Internet’s possibilities, but it is up planning site, and Breadpig, which to young people to ensure that it provides services to self-publishers reaches its full potential, Ohanian and others seeking crowd-funding. said. At the lecture, he said he received Rohin Dhar ’02 delivered the his first computer as a gift from second half of the lecture, pulling his parents, who told him, “Good from his experiences as CEO and luck — just don’t break it.” co-founder of Priceonomics, which Audience members responded gathers data about the pricing of to Ohanian’s use of technology in various consumer goods on the the presentation. Internet and sells its findings to com- Bronwyn Lloyd ’17 said she panies. Priceonomics is a startup found Ohanian’s use of memes and developed through Y Combinator, jokes fun and relatable. which also funded Reddit. Whitney Martin ’17, a self Dhar said he advises people with identified frequent Reddit user, said creative ideas to conduct low-cost she enjoyed Ohanian’s charisma, experiments to flesh out their con- adding that his personality fit with cepts without investing too much her image of Reddit’s creator. financially. This lecture is one in a five While creating a startup can month-long tour of the U.S. and be discouraging at times, the slow Canada to promote his new book, process becomes worthwhile once “Without Their Permission: How you begin to gauge your progress, the 21st Century Will Be Made, Dhar said. Not Managed.” The book, a Wall During Ohanian’s closing re- Street Journal best-seller, discusses marks, audience members received Ohanian’s ideas about using the postcards and were asked to write a Internet and pursuing entrepreshort letter to themselves, pinpoint- neurship. Ohanian held a half-hour ing one skill they would like to learn. book signing directly after his talk. After a period of several months, The lecture was sponsored by Ohanian said he will mail the post- Mitosis, Women in Computer Scicards to their writers in hopes that by ence and Rockefeller Business and that time the skill has been acquired. Entrepreneurial Leaders. FROM REDDIT PAGE 1
Tim Hetherington, Paul Fusco and Thierry Cohen. Bradshaw is a member of The Dartmouth staff. “Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965” shows three young marchers striding instep along a grassy ridge, followed by a line of people stretching into the distance. Dark clouds seem to swirl as they gather above the scene. Karales, who worked as a photojournalist for Look magazine in the 1960s, is best known for documenting the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. Several students said that seeing the images in person altered their opinions of certain works of art, which they had learned about during the preparatory meetings. Over the weekend, students visited the Yossi Milo Gallery, the Howard Greenberg Gallery, the Danziger Gallery and the private residence of Frank and Mary Ann Arisman, which houses their personal art collection. International Center for Photography trustee Andrew Lewin ’81, who sponsored the trip, invited the group to visit an exhibition at the center titled “What is a Photograph?” Participants also attended a dinner with Lewin and the Arismans. Iris Yu ’14 said she especially enjoyed visiting the private collection, which contained collector items alongside photographs that
had been purchased for $50 at a flea market. “He taught us that appreciating art is all about the personal connection to the piece, not the market value,” she said. Juliana Park ’14 said that hearing about the images from gallery employees and seeing them in-person was a unique experience. “What struck me was how the image size, composition and type of paper affected the overall feel —
“What struck me was how the image size, composition and type of paper affected the overall feel — something we couldn’t see through the website.” - Juliana Park ’14, Museum collecting 101 participant something we couldn’t see through the website,” she said. At the Danziger Gallery, students observed photographs by Cohen, whose nighttime cityscapes highlight the ecological contamination and pollution that humans emit in their environment. David Cordero ’16, a group participant, said Cohen’s work was
humbling, causing him to think about human effects on nature. “New York is considered the city that never sleeps, but there is so much light pollution that you can’t even see the stars,” Cordero said. The class, called Museum Collecting 101, introduced students to the world of art collecting and curation through several introductory sessions in January. During the weekly sessions, students met with Kahl and Hart to study photographers from the 20th and 21st centuries. The students also learned about the criteria that curators use when purchasing art on behalf of a museum, like preservation, lighting and budgeting. Yu said the program made her feel more confident in her ability to speak intelligently about art. Cordero said he believes that though experiences like the Museum Collecting 101 program are frequently advertised to students, they are often under-appreciated. The program, first offered in 2002, has a different theme each time it is offered. This year, the class studied modern and contemporary photographers. “The class at the Hood is a perfect example of what makes Dartmouth unique,” Lewin said. “Empowering students to buy the art on behalf of their college is like nothing I’ve ever heard for any other university.” The program was open to all students regardless of major and covered all transportation and hotel costs.
ALLISON CHOU/THE DARTMOUTH
Students participants in the Museum Collecting 101 program met on Monday to make their final decision.
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
PAGE 4
Staff Columnist Katie Wheeler ’15
Guest Columnist Julia Pomerantz ’16
Dealing with Doubt
Reforming Rush
Society too often sides with the accused rather than the victim. A couple weeks ago, Woody Allen received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes for his “outstanding” contributions to the world of entertainment. Yet a darker story has emerged. On Feb. 1, Dylan Farrow, Allen’s adopted daughter, published her first public account of the sexual assault that defined her childhood. In the piece, she asks her readers to imagine growing up in a world that celebrates her tormentor and “a lifetime stricken with nausea at the mention of his name.” She explains that she was finally able to write about her sexual assault after receiving support from other survivors who shared “their fears of coming forward, of being called a liar, of being told their memories aren’t their memories.” Indeed, writing this piece was incredibly brave. Yet rather than laud Farrow for her courage or offer her support, many have been quick to point out that Allen is innocent until proven guilty, despite Farrow’s “allegation” — a remarkably pejorative way to describe a survivor’s experience, even if it has not been demonstrated to the extent that the law demands, which is an incredibly difficult feat — and that we should not cease to celebrate his work. Many have even posted celebratory photos of Allen and frames from his films on Facebook. Such responses to a survivor’s speaking out against her rapist reflect our society’s blatant disregard for the grave issue of sexual assault. The response to Farrow’s piece serve as an example of the sexist attitude that pervades Dartmouth’s own culture surrounding sexual assault. In my last column, I referred to my disillusionment with the “sheer number of sexual assaults” at this school. Indeed, too many people here have shared their experiences of sexual violence with me. When I say “too many,” I do not mean that I begrudge helping my friends in need — I am always willing to listen and provide confidential support — but that I am frightened by the ever-increasing volume of survivors I know. What upsets me even more is their fear of coming forward about their assaults and fear of the cynicism of their peers, both of which are not unfounded. Whenever news breaks about a sexual assault
on this campus, students, first and foremost, cast doubt on the survivor’s claim. Some will immediately defend the accused’s character and say that they cannot believe that he — and while I fully acknowledge that perpetrators are not always male nor victims always female, I am choosing the use the most common scenario — would do that. The woman (or victim), they conclude, must be confused or lying. Some will immediately attack her character and call her a slut, as if alleged “sluttiness” could justify, or even explain, the violence to which she was subjected. Others will stick to the “innocent until proven guilty” theory and not only view the survivor with immense suspicion but also continue to glorify her “supposed” assailant in the name of justice. Imagine, as Farrow asks us to, that you are a survivor who has chosen to come forward against a member of our community. You know he will hate you. You know that his friends will hate you. You know that even those whom you trust — your sorority sisters, your friends — may reject you. You know that other students will gossip about your sexual assault incessantly, and you will risk being defined by it. You know that you will constantly have to convince others of the reality of your experience while your perpetrator complacently walks around this campus, free to assault another person (after all, 90 percent of rapists are repeat offenders) until he is proven guilty. Only then will he have to deal with significant repercussions, but even this is unlikely, since in most classic “he-said, she-said” scenarios suspicion and contempt for “accusers” colors the outcome of the hearing. Yes, speaking out will be hard, to say the least. “Innocent until proven guilty” is too black and white a way to understand sexual assault. Of course, we want to avoid wrongfully condemning someone for such a heinous crime. However, dismissing the validity of a painful experience and condemning a survivor, who — as I should not have to point out — is not the one on trial, retains little semblance of justice. We must, therefore, support survivors and stop perpetuating a culture that is hostile to them. And survivors, find strength in those like Dylan Farrow. Refuse to let the doubters silence you.
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ISSUE
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
NEWS EDITOR: Min Kyung Jeon, LAYOUT EDITOR: Jin Shin, TEMPLATING EDITOR: Katherine Healy, COPY EDITORS: Maieda Janjua and Mac Tan.
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Various options exist to reform sorority recruitment. “Looks like I messed rush up.” This was the text message I had sent my now-friend and former Rho Chi about how winter rush went. It had started well enough for me. I thought I knew what I was doing this time around, and I had a more informed and levelheaded approach heading into the week. My round two callbacks included four houses in which I could absolutely see myself and one where I did not feel as comfortable. I was optimistic about my prospects and excited to finally join a house after seeing so many of my friends do so in the fall. It never crossed my mind that the house where I would ultimately receive a bid would be the fifth house. Yet after spending many hours at rush parties, mulling over which places had made me feel at ease, and getting my hopes up, that is what happened. Rumors about the computer system abound. Some say that the computer system allocates certain houses more potential new members, regardless of how they ranked these places, which causes quite a few women to be in the situation where they will receive a bid at either their top or bottom choice. Many agree that the computer seems arbitrary in its placements. However, no one has yet endeavored to clearly explain how the “magical computer algorithm” actually works. On top of not understanding the computer system, women become anxious about knowing enough people and making good impressions on strangers. The inherent randomness of rush also forces some rushees to believe they must act disrespectfully in order to influence the outcome. Women hide in the bathrooms, act aloof and shove food in their mouth to avoid engaging in conversation at houses they do not like. They agonize over every word exchanged in the houses they like. And after days of nervous anticipation, this can all frustratingly be in vain. Clearly, changes must be made. First, the computer algorithm must be better understood by all parties – including (the remaining) Panhell executives, who continue to espouse their ignorance of how it works, and Rho Chis who guide rushees through this process despite their own uncertainty. Second, any houses that have difficulties filling their pledge class should try remaining
small and intimate and employ a fraternity-style shake-out process in lieu of the traditional one. Then, interested women could express their interest, sisters would not have to struggle with rushees trying to “escape” callbacks, and rushees would not find themselves pushed into a place where they do not feel comfortable. Furthermore, rushees should be given the opportunity to indicate their top choice house before proceeding with round two parties at their other options, rather than waiting until preference night to decide whether or not to single intention, an allegedly risky move. It may also be worth considering allowing rushees to state one house to which they do not wish to be called back after round one — regardless of the what that house wants or the outcome of the computer algorithm. Currently, rushees transition from round one to round two by ranking their bottom three choices, but these preferences rarely guarantee that a rushee will not be called back to her bottom choice or choices. Ideally the rushees’ preferences would actually determine their round two invites. While these minor suggestions would already go a long way toward making rush more equitable, there are more radical possibilities outside of the traditional rush process. Perhaps Dartmouth could open a ninth house to accommodate increased demand. Or, perhaps, we could employ an informal rush process for all houses and abolish this current system altogether. At the very least, there should be more events for freshmen to meet upperclassman women. These changes will not perfect rush, but they will actively seek to improve the system, rather than accepting the current system in all of its arbitrariness and unfairness. I was told during rush that my preferences would be taken into account. I do not feel that they were. However, I also know that I am not the only woman who is not content with rush. Rush profoundly colors many women’s Dartmouth experience. Though rush will not resume until the fall, it would be in our best interest to continue this conversation. I hope that students and administrators will unite to create a system that better incorporates the needs and desires of the women who choose to rush.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 5
First Moving Dartmouth Forward meeting tackles D-Plan cial seminars or classes during less popular terms. Other suggestions Unlike the quarter system, the included expanding off-campus D-Plan refers to a system in which program offerings during the fall students must take three leave terms or moving popular foreign study during their academic career, said programs to the fall term. Institute of Writing and Rhetoric To increase residential contidirector Christiane Donahue, a nuity, audience members recommember of the study group. The mended requiring students to stay original version of the D-Plan re- on campus throughout fall, winter quired students stay on campus for and spring terms during their one summer term, while the current sophomore year. Others pointed to system requires students to study in instituting a school-wide academic Hanover during the summer after experience to establish continuity, sophomore year. like a required thesis. Committee Audience memchair and ecobers also said the “Nothing at Dartmouth nomics proCollege could fessor Bruce in my opinion disrupts introduce resiSacerdote said the cohesiveness of dential commuthat the study nities modeled group sought the academic and after those at Yale to address how social life of students University and Dartmouth and faculty more than allow students to could foster return the same greater con- the D-Plan.” residence halls tinuity in stuafter spending dent housing terms away from and more ef- - CAREY HECKMAN ’76, campus. ficiently iden- PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR Donahue and tify ways to use Sacerdote said buildings and that the commitfacilities on campus. tee is currently examining many of Philosophy professor Carey these ideas. Heckman ’76, a member of the first Other members of the study class at Dartmouth to experience group include dean of admissions the D-Plan said he has disliked the and financial aid Maria Laskaris, plan since its inception. senior associate dean of the college “Nothing at Dartmouth, in my Inge-Lise Ameer, engineering proopinion, disrupts the cohesiveness fessor Eric Hansen and presidential of the academic and social life of fellow Holly Ceplikas ’13, who students and faculty more than the works in the Office of the President. D-Plan,” Heckman said. “It puts a Several students and recent burden on the buildings, compli- graduates said that they believe cates course sequences, requires sophomore summer played a crucial faculty to teach in the summer and part in forming their identity at disrupts student relationships.” the College. The term, they said, Heckman said the plan’s sole promoted class bonding. purpose is to fit over 4,000 students It also allows sophomores to on a campus built for around 3,000. explore leadership positions before Jocelyn Powelson ’14 said that their final years in college, Steven the D-Plan offers flexibility, en- Tebbe ’14 said. couraging students to demonstrate Laskaris said that the D-Plan initiative and independence in is the College’s most distinctive planning their academic experi- feature, but she noted that many ence. She also said that it allows schools now offer more opportustudents to find internships during nities for internships and study less competitive times of the year. abroad programs within a semester Audience members suggested in- or trimester calendar. centives to even out enrollment over Powelson said she thought stuthe four terms, including lowering dents were underrepresented in the tuition rates and organizing spe- discussion, as most people present FROM FORWARD PAGE 1
MARK WIDERSCHEIN /THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Professors, staff, students and recent graduates met on Monday to discuss possible changes to the D-Plan.
were professors. Sacerdote said in an email that he was pleased by the turnout at the meeting but hopes to see more students and recent graduates at future forums. Students can also contribute ideas on the Improve Dartmouth website, he said.
Improve Dartmouth, a recently launched website, allows users to suggest and vote on ideas that could benefit campus. The D-Plan Study Group will post suggestions on the website. Moving Dartmouth Forward is a series of community conversa-
tions sponsored by the Office of the President for the purpose of discussing Hanlon’s initiatives. The next Moving Dartmouth Forward talks will address housing and new learning technologies, and are scheduled for Feb. 17 and March 3, respectively.
Charlotte Johnson Dean of the College
Tuesday, February 4th, 2014
3:00 PM to 4:00 PM PA R K H U R S T 1 1 1
PAGE 6
DARTMOUTH EVENTS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
THE DARTMOUTH COMICS
The Hanover Hustle
By Michael Riordan ’15
TODAY 4:30 p.m. Annual William Jewett Tucker lecture, “Becoming Global Citizens: Civil Discourse Across Difference,” Hanover Inn Grand Ballroom
4:30 p.m. “Women in War: The Case of El Salvador,” with Jocelyn Viterna of Harvard University, Haldeman 041
7:00 p.m. Dartmouth Idol Semifinals, Spaulding Auditorium
TOMORROW 4:15 p.m. “Exhibiting the Sexual Modern in Mexico City,” with Jennifer Tyburczy of the University of South Carolina, Carpenter 013
4:15 p.m.
Princess Ocean Seahorse
By Stephanie McFeeters ’15
Computer science colloquium, “Bringing Virtual Characters to the Real World,” with Dr. Stelian Coros of Disney Research Zurich, Steele 006
4:30 p.m. “From the Front Line to the Home Front,” Filene Auditorium
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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Elizabeth Niehaus ’14
Courtesy of Richard Termine
Something photo worthy happening.
JULIETTA GERVASE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
START intern Elizabeth Niehaus ’14 organizes student volunteers.
B y Dongjun Suh One summer day during high school, Elizabeth Niehaus ’14 discovered her passion for art while in a British museum, after staring at a painting for 30 minutes. “In that moment, I realized how much meaning there is if you truly dedicate the time,” she said. “It may sound boring, but new ideas, new connections and new meanings just keep coming up to you.” As an art history major and education minor, Niehaus said she joined Students Teaching in the Arts, or START, in her junior year to serve the community and work with students in the classroom. The START program sends Dartmouth students into local elementary and middle schools to assist with original art projects. Niehaus, START’s senior intern, organizes the volunteers into groups, manages training sessions for the volunteers and oversees the application process. “I just thought that educating through the arts was the perfect combination of my interests,” she said. “I jumped on the opportunity to be an intern this year to positively affect others’ experiences.” Niehaus pursues art because she loves it, said Virginia Ratliff ’14, Niehaus’s roommate during the art history foreign study program in Rome. “She’s also trying to complement it with everything else she does that is really different,” she said. “She’s clearly multi-talented and
very intelligent.” Niehaus said she takes pleasure in the “spark” that art can create in a student’s day. START is a venue outside of academic work that still provides students with a dynamic form of learning, she said. Hopkins Center outreach coordinator Mary Gaetz said that Niehaus has improved the program over time by encouraging others to become better artists. She gives constructive feedback to her students in a kind but firm way, Gaetz said. This year may mark the end of Niehaus’ time as a START intern, but her experiences with the program have shaped her career ambitions. After spending over a year working with students, Niehaus plans to continue her teaching after graduation by teaching and incorporating art into her work in the classroom. “I know every time I’m planning a lesson, I’ll be thinking about START,” she said. “There’s more ways for kids to learn than with a worksheet. So even though I’m not going to be an art teacher but a general classroom teacher, I know the arts will be prevalent in the classroom.”
the final word with Elizabeth Niehaus ’14 Favorite food on campus: chicken noodle soup at Collis. Favorite dance song: “Timber” by Pitbull.
PAGE 7
Idol Semifinals see 30 student singers
B y Aimee Sung
Tonight, 30 of the College’s best singers will compete in the semifinals of Dartmouth’s seventh annual Dartmouth Idol contest. The competition, first brought to the College by Gospel Choir director Walt Cunningham, has grown in scale over recent years, with 25 semifinalists performing in 2013 and 23 in 2012. Cunningham, who has remained Dartmouth Idol’s director and producer, said that the show builds community on campus. “As one of Dartmouth’s goals is to be an all-inclusive community, I felt Dartmouth Idol was another great way for us to embrace and celebrate diversity by engaging students across campus, both in and out of the arts world,” he said. Since the original auditions, Cunningham has edited about 60 songs to prepare for the semifinals. Two tracks are edited for each contestant — a guide track just for the performer and the background track played during the performance. Cunningham is assisted by last year’s winner Nate Graves ’13 and former semifinalist Jelisa Grant ’13. The production team also includes the Hopkins Center’s director of student performance programs Joshua Kol ’93, Sean Gao ’13 and Kaitlyn Ramirez ’09. This year, Dartmouth Idol saw 61 students try out, Grant said. After the semifinals, six of the 30 will advance to the finals, which are scheduled to take place on March 7. Cunningham said he looked forward to this year’s semifinals because the 30 participants are some of Dartmouth’s finest vocalists. “If you were to ask me who would advance to finals, I really could not tell you,” he said. “And that’s exciting for a producer and director.” All four class years are represented in the semifinalists, and many of the contestants are involved in Dartmouth’s music scene, from orchestra to a capella groups. Some have sung in previous Dartmouth Idol competitions, while others have little musical experience. Sarah Wang ’14, a semifinalist, who participated in the semifinals during her freshman and sophomore years, said she wanted to take advantage of her last opportunity to perform in Dartmouth Idol. “In the past I had such a great time working with the Dartmouth Idol production team, and I felt that my senior year I should take advantage of all of the resources that the team offers,” she said. David Clossey ’16, a semifinalist who sings in the Dartmouth Aires, said that he is excited to hear from students who he has never heard sing
before, especially performers “who may only have sung in the shower.” While Dartmouth Idol showcases
“One of the hardest things is to make the song your own.” - DAVID CLOSSEY ’16, DARTMOUTH IDOL SEMIFINALIST campus talent, it can be a challenge for singers to bring out their best
performance while singing wellknown songs. “One of the hardest things is to make the song your own,” Clossey said. “All the songs being performed in the semifinals are familiar to the audience in some way, and you don’t want to mimic the original artist.” The judges from tonight’s competition, handpicked by Cunningham, include opera singer Elizabeth Roberts ’00, choreographer Richard Stephenson ’12 and Robbie Rodriguez ’14. The semifinals round, hosted by Jake Gaba ’16, Yesuto Shaw ’15 and Katelyn Walker ’14, will take place in Spaulding Auditorium at 7 p.m. tonight.
JULIETTA GERVASE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Director Walt Cunningham prepares for the 7th annual Dartmouth Idol.
HOpkINs CeNTer FOr THe arTs
Dartmouth
Idol 2014
$5
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semI FINals
TONIGHT | 7 pm
CalIN aCkermaN ‘17 NIkHIl arOra ‘16 pHOebe bODurTHa ‘15 maCkeNzIe bOHaNNON ‘14 ausTIN bOral ‘16 VerONICa burT ‘16 GraCe CarNey ‘17 JaNe CaValIer ‘14 DaVID ClOssey ‘16 XaVIer Curry ‘14 auDrey-elODIe DJIya ‘17 NIa FONÉy ‘15 CHarlI FOOl bear ‘15 TyNÉ FreemaN ‘17 alyssa GONzalez ‘17
paTrICk GOulD ‘14 FreD kIm ‘17 marGauX leblaNC ‘16 CareNe mekerTICHyaN ‘16 JamIlaH meNa ‘14 JamIe merCaDO ‘15 kaTelyN ONuFrey ‘15 DaNIelle pIaCeNTIle ‘17 DaNNy rOGers ‘15 laTIka srIDHar ‘16 sOpHIa Vazquez ‘14 saraH WaNG ‘14 Jeremy WHITaker ‘15 CHrIs yIH ‘17 mICHael zHu ‘14
hop.dartmouth.edu | 603.646.2422 | Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS
PAGE 8
SPORTS
Squash teams see mixed road results
B y jake bayer
The Dartmouth Staff
New York games against Columbia University and Cornell University brought mixed results for the men’s and women’s squash teams. The No. 8 women (3-6, 1-4 Ivy) split the weekend’s slate with a win over the No. 9 Lions (6-4, 1-4 Ivy) and a loss to the No. 6 Big
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Red (7-3, 3-2 Ivy) while the No. 11 men (2-8, 0-5 Ivy) lost to both No. 8 Cornell (6-5, 3-2 Ivy) and No. 12 Columbia (6-4, 2-3 Ivy). Despite subpar records so far this season, the teams continue to seek a high seed at Nationals. “We are getting in the right mindset for Nationals,” Nick Harrington ’17 said. “We have had a decent amount of close matches, and we look forward to seeing these teams again at Nationals – Nationals are everything.” The women’s first match of the weekend pitted them against the Lions, who came into the contest on the heels of a five-game winning streak. The Big Green women defeated Columbia 5-4 on the strength of a 2-1 record in the bottom three matchups. Kate Nimmo ’14 had a big win for the women, coming from behind to defeat the Columbia number four. Tori Dewey ’16 and Oona Morris ’15 picked up victories in the number eight and number nine positions, respectively. “Our women played really well on Saturday” head coach Hansi Wiens said. “Kate Nimmo was 7-5 down in the fifth and pulled it out for the whole match, which was important to stay in the top eight to be in the A-Draw for Nationals.” On Sunday, the women lost 7-2 to the Big Red. The two wins
came from Nina Scott ’16 in the third spot and Helena Darling ’15 in the sixth match. Darling played a marathon match against Cornell junior Rachel Au that lasted 51 minutes. The 3-2 match in the ninth spot went the other way for the Big Green, as Sarah Caughey ’15 fell in a heartbreaking final game 12-10 in a 35-minute match. The men came into their match against the Lions battling for seeding at nationals — if they remain in the nation’s top 12, they could get a good draw at Nationals. Columbia entered the match having gone 4-1 in its last five matches, and continued their hot streak, defeating the Big Green 8-1. The match was a disappointment for the Big Green men, who defeated Columbia at the Ivy Scrimmages earlier this season. Only Michael Mistras ’15 won his match. The men were swept in the top six matches. “We came in with good expectations, and we had a subpar performance from nine to one,” Harrington said. The men next played Cornell. Though the Big Red came in having lost four out of its last five
games, the team defeated the Big Green 7-2. Five of the top six players for the Big Green were swept 3-0 in the match, and the team only managed to win seven sets. Glen Brickman ’17 earned a win in the ninth position, and cocaptain Fletcher Pease ’14 defeated his opponent 3-0. None of the Big Green’s top three players won a single game over the weekend. Harrington said the better performance on Sunday is a good sign. “I felt both teams played well, but they are just too strong and both teams lost,” Wiens said. This week, the teams travel to Williamstown, Mass., to face off against the Williams College Ephs in a Wednesday showdown. The teams then travel to Providence to face the Brown University Bears before returning home on Sunday to host Yale University. “Both teams need to beat Williams to stay in their group,” Wiens said. “We play Brown on Friday, and it is probably between Brown and us for the top-eight draw, and for the men it is important to stay in the top 16.”
JOSH RENAUD/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
The men’s squash team was swept this weekend on its New York road trip.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
TUESDAY LINEUP
No athletic events scheduled
MORE THAN A GAME B y maddie garcia and abby cohen The Dartmouth Staff
People bet on all sorts of things when the Super Bowl comes around — the halftime score, the coin toss, the MVP and, of course, the victor — but probably only a handful of people predicted the outcome we saw on Sunday night at Super Bowl XLVIII. The Seattle Seahawks earned their first Super Bowl win. They had only appeared in the Super Bowl once before, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005. Though the 43-8 blowout wasn’t that exciting for fans to watch, it was still a historic victory for Seattle. Hype always surrounds football’s biggest event, but this year’s game was especially notable because it took place in New Jersey, the first Super Bowl to be played outdoors in a “cold weather” city. Fans and commentators never failed to mention the fact that the game could possibly be played under a foot of snow. This game was a true challenge because the weather factor raised the stakes for this season’s two most competitive teams. In the end, New Jersey had a mild weekend, saving its snow for Monday morning. Don’t blame it on the sunshine, though, Denver. As the saying goes, “offense wins games, but defense wins championships.” You have undoubtedly heard some coach say this and brushed it off with a shrug. Last night’s game was a pretty clear example of this wisdom. The Denver Broncos came in with the league’s best offense, yet the team only posted eight points against the league’s best defense. It will be pretty hard to write off the quote after Sunday night’s contest. No one on the Seahawks roster, except for maybe the humble linebacker Malcolm Smith, would deny that the defense earned the Seahawks this trophy. Smith is the first defensive player to win the MVP honor in over 10 years. The fact that we were on Wikipedia looking for the last time there was a shutout at the Super Bowl, and found that it had never happened before, reflects the unrelenting dominance of the Seattle defense. Smith might have even earned himself
a portrait on a Wheaties box! For many people, the allure of the Super Bowl was Bruno Mars, EBAs wings and Budweiser commercials with cute Labrador puppies. For those spectators, the game did not disappoint. In most years, they would miss the action when they return to their reading after a commercial break. They might, however, be the ones that did Super Bowl Sunday right this year. For the Denver Broncos, the game was a downward spiral from the very first snap. It was pretty much over before the first commercial break. There was never a glimmer of it being a good game. Even the Broncos’ one touchdown was anticlimactic. We try to stay away from analyzing statistics, as we really have no business interpreting numbers, but we can’t help but see the irony in the fact that statistics couldn’t even explain what happened on Sunday night. For example, Peyton Manning set a record for the most completions in a Super Bowl game. And simultaneously, his offense fell behind by the biggest margin in Super Bowl history before finally getting on the scoreboard. Some say numbers don’t lie, but there’s a difference between lying and not telling the whole truth. The entire first half, the Broncos couldn’t even kick a field goal, so clearly completions can only get you so far. Neither of us had strong allegiances to either team (they were playing in Maddie’s home stadium, but our attachment ends there). We were looking to be entertained, and not only by the commercials. It got to be hard to watch, as passes were intercepted, catches dropped and quarterbacks sacked. We scheduled our weekend to get our work done so we could watch the game without distractions, but we found ourselves looking for other things to do by the time the 30-minute halftime finished. Maybe it should have snowed — at least that would have made one aspect of the game a little more exciting. No one likes to be disappointed, but our lack of entertainment is nothing compared to the nightmares that Manning will have until next season begins.