The Dartmouth 05/13/15

VOL. CLXXII NO. 80

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Hull, Smith and Will named associate deans

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By HANNAH HYE MIN CHUNG The Dartmouth Staff

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SPORTS

SENIOR SPRING: KARLEE ODLAND ’15 PAGE 8

OPINION

PETERS: A BLIND EYE TO BALTIMORE PAGE 4

ARTS

SPOTLIGHT: CARINA CONTI ’16 PAGE 7

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This past Friday, Dean of the faculty Michael Mastanduno announced the appointment of three new associate deans of the arts and sciences. English professor Barbara Will, psychology professor Jay Hull and biology professor Elizabeth Smith will become the associate deans for the arts and humanities, social science and science divisions, respectively, effective July 1.

Will explained that associate deans take on a

Dean of the faculty Michael Mastanduno announced three new associate deans to begin in July.

SEE DEAN PAGE 5

Sixteen students and alumni receive NSF grants

B y EMILIA BALDWIN and ERIN LEE The Dartmouth Staff

Last week the National Science Foundation awarded 16 alumni and students Graduate Research Fellowships for 2015 out of 2,000 recipients from a pool of 16,500 applicants nationwide. An additional 16 Dartmouth-affiliated students were awarded honorable mentions.

The fellowship provides recipients an annual stipend of $32,000, as

well as a yearly $12,000 to go toward tuition. The program is open both current graduate students and undergraduate students who are in their final year and have been accepted to graduate schools.

Dean of graduate studies Jon Kull said that the fellowship represents a monumental award for young researchers.

“The nice thing about it is by a student getting it is that it’s really the first professional recognition of them and their potential to be a

researcher,” Kull said.

Kull said that the award not only takes into account the student’s potential as a researcher, but also the student’s research institution itself. He said that it is a tremendous honor for Dartmouth students to be chosen because he said it speaks to the quality of the College’s students and research facilities alike.

He added that the number of students receiving the fellowship has remained consistent for the past couple of years, saying that he hopes

more students might apply for the GSF and other similar fellowships.

He said that the application process is arduous process of at least a month and that the College and its graduate schools hold various workshops about the application and assign advisors to applicants.

The application also requires a grant proposal, which Kull said should be written for a broad audience since it could be judged by SEE SCHOLARS PAGE 2

Harvard fellow Jütte delivers lecture about window-gazing

B y MAX GIBSON

The Dartmouth Staff

In 1950s Germany the sixth most popular pastime was looking out of windows, according to German sociological studies that Harvard University Society of Fellows junior fellow Daniel Jütte said inspired his interested in windows and windowgazing.

Jütte delivered a lecture titled “Window Gazes and World Views: A Chapter in the Cultural History of Vision” to an audience of about 15 in Carson Hall on Tuesday.

Jütte traced the cultural, theological and legal conceptualizations of windows and window-gazing from the ancient Middle East into early modern Europe. He argued that the rise of Protestantism in Europe catalyzed a shift in thought away from the Catholic belief that window-gazing was a profane act.

Present-day laws regarding windows remain consistent with those from pre-modern Europe, he said in the lecture. Ancient Roman laws guaranteed citizens the right to have a window with air, light and a view, but after the fall of Rome, other European

societies did not include this right to a view in their laws, an exclusion that still remains in Western cultures.

History professor Darrin McMahon, who invited Jütte to speak, said he thought Jütte’s work intersected well with the material in his current firstyear seminar on the Enlightenment as well as his own research on vision and light. McMahon said he wanted to invite Jütte to campus before Jütte returns to Germany this August after a three-year term with the Harvard Society of Fellows.

McMahon emphasized the academic significance of the interdisci-

plinary nature of Jütte’s work.

“Jütte is interested in material practice and material culture, and yet he still brings this incredibly synthetic erudition to those subjects,” McMahon said. “He goes from church architecture to the tech of windowmaking to the fairly detailed and arcane discussions of theology to an early modern biological understanding of how the human eye sees. He’s taking us into lots of different fields.”

McMahon said Jütte also covers a large time span in his work, spanning SEE LECTURE PAGE 3

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

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CAMPUS BLOTTER May 8, 10:56 p.m., Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity: Safety and Security officers and Dartmouth EMS responded to a Good Samaritan call at Alpha Chi. The individual was found to be intoxicated but did not require medical attention. Safety and Security turned over the individual to the care of a friend.

May 10, 2:43 a.m., North Main Street: Hanover Police requested the assistance of a Safety and Security officer for a student outside of Baker Library. The student admitted to consuming alcohol and was later transported by Safety and Security to Dick’s House.

May 10, 9:10 a.m., Goldstein Residence Hall: Safety and Security officers responded to Goldstein, where they found an individual passed out on a toilet. The individual was awakened, transported to Dick’s House and admitted for the remainder of the day.

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

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

NSF receipients express gratitude FROM SCHOLARS PAGE 1

either an expert in the field or by someone who has no knowledge of the subject.

Sarah Hammer ’15, another fellowship recipient, is pursuing an engineering modified with chemistry major at the Thayer School of Engineering as well as an environmental science minor.

She said that she initially applied for the fellowship to practice for applying next year, and that she was shocked to be selected. She noted that even applying is a good learning opportunity because one can apply more than once.

“There’s really no harm in applying as an undergraduate, even if it’s for practice, since you can always apply again,” she said.

During her time at the College, Hammer conducted research on ethanol as an alternative energy source to gasoline. Next year, Hammer will pursue a six-year Ph.D. program at Princeton University, where she will study chemical and biological engineering. She said that she will build on her undergraduate research by focusing on biology and metabolic engineering in order to develop alternative energy sources.

Rikker Dockum ’04, another fellowship recipient, is a graduate student in linguistics at Yale University, where he researches the changes in the Tai-Kadai linguistic group, which includes tonal languages like Thai. He said that he first developed his love for

“The nice thing about [the Graduate Research Fellowship] is by a student getting it is that it’s really the first professional recognition of them and their potential to be a researcher.”

-DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES JON KULL linguistics during his time at the College, where he majored in the subject.

“I took ‘Introduction to Linguistics,’ and thereafter took as many linguistics classes as I could” he said.

He explained that he took a very

unconventional route to graduate school, working for seven years after his time at the College before eventually enrolling.

Gabriel Lewis, a first-year graduate student studying geological sciences at the College, said that he was most excited about being recognized with such an important fellowship.

“It’s this really prestigious grant from such a large organization, so it’s been really cool to be chosen for it,” Lewis said. He added that having an additional stipend outside of what he receives from the College provides a sense of relief in terms of his personal finances.

Lewis is currently working with environmental science professors Erich Osterberg and Robert Hawley. He is researching how Greenland’s mainland is responding to climate change as well as tracking glaciers’ color change and rising sea levels.

Lewis said that he thinks that during the selection process the NSF is really looking for whether or not a candidate has the potential to make innovative discoveries in his or her field.

“They’re really asking, ‘What makes you qualified to answer these types of questions?’” he said.

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Movement Against Violence hosts its annual barbecue and pong paddle decoration event outside of Collis.

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

Lecture offers unusual historical insights FROM LECTURE PAGE 1

nearly 2,000 years of history in his lecture.

Jütte said in an interview that this lecture presented the beginning stages of research for a project that he hopes will turn into a book. He said he was happy to have a chance to “road test” this project in front of the College’s history faculty, on a subject he never expected to study.

“This is the exciting thing about history,” he said. “In a way you know that sometimes these small observations, these random findings that you make spark a much larger project.”

Jütte said he likes to approach history by looking at the less common trajectories, and that the main practical lesson historians and students should take away from his lecture is to see that a study of history can start with “very inconspicuous, very small things.”

Art history professor Ada Cohen said she was drawn to the lecture because of its unusual topic and its

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NO BRAIN NO GAIN

interdisciplinary potential. She said she enjoyed the lecture and generally enjoys lectures hosted by other departments because they suggest possibilities for connections across disciplines.

McMahon said he thinks it is important to bring outside scholars to campus to show students the people behind the types of books that they might read for their coursework.

“I think it’s important for undergraduates to see that the people who write the books are people who think and breathe just like them and were once undergraduates at places like Dartmouth,” he said.

McMahon also said he thinks that exposure to intellectual, accomplished lecturers can remind students of how much they have left to learn.

“When you witness that kind of mind, you’re impressed with the fact that you know very little,” he said. “It’s good to be reminded that there’s lots, lots, lots to learn and to get excited about that.”

ALICE HARRISON/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Psychological and brain sciences professor Thalia Wheatley gives a lecture as part of the Last Lecture series.

HONORS THESIS PRESENTATIONS Hopkins Center Faculty Lounge

MATHEMATICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Monday, May 18, Sean Stouffer, 3:30pm Decoding the IPO Prospectus: Comparative Text and Metric-based Analysis of Implied SaaS Company Growth

SOCIOLOGY Tuesday, May 19 Meghan Hassett, 4:30pm Race, Class, and Perceptions of Rape: A Study of How Dartmouth College Women Respond to Situations of Rape with Respect to Intersectionality Crandalynn Jackson, 5:30pm Rock the Vote: A Comparative Case Study on the Impact of Voter Suppression Laws on Black Voter Turnout

Wednesday, May 20

Morgan Matthews, 3:30pm A State House Divided: Gender and Work-Family Conflict in a Citizen Legislature Emmanuel Blankson, 4:30pm Black, African American, or None of the Above: The Racial and Ethnic Identities of 1.5 and 2nd Generation Black Immigrants at Dartmouth College Taylor Enoch-Stevens, 5:30pm What Brother Am I Keeping? Black Student Interactions and Community Building at Predominately White Institutions

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

Staff Columnist William PETERS ’15

Staff Columnist ISAAC GREEN ’17

A Blind Eye to Baltimore

What Is Derby?

We must all work to seek out the truth with civil unrest.

On April 28, I began to realize something terrible — so many of us are completely out of touch with some of the horrors in our own country.

The pivotal moment came in part because of my 10A, “The Wire,” an English course that examines the Baltimore-based television crime drama of the same name. Because of this class, I’ve been thinking a lot about the unrest in Baltimore. I asked a professor their thoughts on the remarks David Simon (the show’s creator) made about the prior’s day unrest in Baltimore, in which he criticized anger of demonstrators, saying, “If you can’t seek redress and demand reform without a brick in your hand, you risk losing this moment for all of us in Baltimore. Turn around. Go home.

Please.” To my surprise, the professor responded by asking what was happening. That was when I began thinking about how much of the situation has been ignored, distorted and misinterpreted — particularly by the mainstream media.

Rather than scrolling past Facebook posts about the riots and protests, I started reading them closely. One of the most notable featured a video of Fox News correspondent and talk show host Geraldo Rivera surrounded by protestors, seemingly harassing him and disrupting an interview with a city official. Thanks to trending feeds on social media, I was found a version of the incident posted by Dailykos.com. The video, which appears in higher resolution with better sound quality, allows viewers to actually hear what one protester was saying — “Because I want you and Fox News to get out of Baltimore City. Because you are not here reporting about the boarded up homes and the homeless people on the MLK. You’re not reporting about the poverty levels up and down North Avenue. Two years ago, when the 300-man march and we marched... you weren’t here. You’re here for the black riots!

You’re not here for the death of Freddie Gray.”

I have always thought that Fox News made their money by producing toxic and inaccurate reporting, but seeing such a blatant attempt at distorting the truth was nothing short of appalling.

Much like in Ferguson, Missouri, the issues that led to the Baltimore unrest are decades old and not unique to that city. Across the nation, racial

profiling, police brutality and poor infrastructure have plagued cities for years. While there likely are not many Dartmouth students who come from areas like inner-city Baltimore, the reality of what is happening in Baltimore and what events have led to it should disturb everyone.

Watching “The Wire” (2002), I hoped the abusive tactics used by the show’s police officers were fictional or outdated. A September 2014 Baltimore Sun article, though, reported that the city paid almost $5.7 million to victims of police brutality between 2011 and 2014. These cases have ranged from the assault of an 87-year-old grandmother who was attempting to get medical help for her wounded grandson to a murdersuicide that involved a police officer killing a firefighter, his girlfriend and then himself. There is also the 2013 case of an off-duty officer who chased down and killed a 17-year-old boy after he allegedly threw a rock at the man’s front door.

The officer was acquitted. When interviewed by Leland Vittert of Fox News, City Councilman Nick Mosby explained the reasons for protests and riots further saying, “This is about the social economics of poor urban America ... these young guys are frustrated,” echoing the protestor who challenged Rivera.

Clearly, Fox News and other media outlets that sensationalize their coverage try to shift the focus of the story from structural reasons for social unrest to the destruction and looting performed by black men. Thus, the sad reality about tragic situations like the one in Baltimore is that if we are going to ever improve anything, we must take it upon ourselves as individuals to consider from which source our coverage is coming and how they may distort the truth. We need to investigate the truth ourselves. Some media outlets have distorted the situation to the point where much of the reporting on the protests and riots is not credible. While I firmly agree that violence and destruction are never acceptable, I also understand that the people of Baltimore were left with no other choice. Their politicians have failed them, their police have brutalized them and their nation has neglected them. We need to start doing better, and we need to start now.

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Sometimes engaging with protests requires their effectiveness.

The Dartmouth editorial board wrote in last Friday’s Verbum Ultimum, “Reacting with Respect,” that we would do much better as a campus to consider the issues raised by protesters, rather than to criticize the means of protest — and in general I agree. But in attempting to take my editor’s advice I’m confronted by a problem: with last Saturday’s protests, the issues raised only make sense in the context of the protests themselves.

“What is Derby in the face of police brutality?” demonstrators asked the hundreds of sunhatted students last Saturday during a protest of the event. If I had to think of something that is as far from police brutality as possible it might very well be this annual party thrown at Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority. Perhaps that’s the point — without context, it’s hard to tell exactly which issue last Saturday’s protest sought to raise.

The purpose of the weekend’s demonstrations was ostensibly to show solidarity with and support for the protests in Baltimore, and that’s exactly what happened in the streets of Hanover on Friday when people marched across campus on this issue. Yet the goal on Saturday, in the context of the protests themselves, was clearly different. If the aim was merely a show of solidarity, then why did the protestors decline the offer from Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity to share their message from the stage? Why did they opt instead to chant from the parking lot?

Rather than including a large swath of the Dartmouth community in a show of support, these protesters elected to remain separate and highlight the difference between themselves and what they perceived as the flippant comfort of their fellow students.

Protesters then moved on to Derby where they asked questions like, “What is Derby in the face of a genocide?” Insignificant and comfortable seemed to be the implication. More cynical members of our community might suggest that the protest was designed to catalyze a reaction that would prove the protestor’s point — like the infamous incident with incoming Student Assembly president Frank Cunningham ’16. I

won’t go that far. I think that the 20 or so students participating intended to protest Dartmouth students’ ignorance of the problems that plague lives of minorities. The protest was designed to disrupt their day and show them the experience minorities have on a daily basis — to disrupt white comfort and perhaps to create a charged situation that would capture the attention of as many people as possible.

They certainly captured attention. The incident with Cunningham is being used to maintain that attention, to prolong the discussion sparked at Derby. But what exactly is that discussion? Is it a problem with gender dynamics? Black men not supporting the cause? The Student Assembly President? White comfort?

Affluent comfort? Comfort in general? Genocide? Should we put a hold on all parties on campus until real racial equality exists in the United States?

Far more than other protests I have seen at Dartmouth, last Saturday’s became a divisive display. Whether it was designed to be so or not, the reality is the protest highlighted the difference between the protesters and those they protested. It seems that no allies were gained, no progress made. My writing this column does not prove that the protest did its job. While I am committed to supporting every example of students being passionate and courageous enough to speak out about an issue that is important to them, I am equally committed to criticizing speech that is ineffective, divisive, counterproductive and alienating.

Embracing and actively considering the free speech exhibited last weekend has led me here.

Protests should not be held to a standard of perfection and ignored if they do not achieve it, but they must be evaluated on some standard.

Looking directly at the issues, this protest did not succeed — at least, not on any metric that I can support. Dartmouth students are far too ignorant regarding the issues facing minorities outside — and even inside — of our little bubble, but this protest did not increase awareness or partnership. Protesting your peers is not the way to correct their ignorance.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

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Associate deans will promote collaboration, engagement it’s important to articulate what is valuable in each of these divisions variety of roles, including manag- of the administrations.” ing promotions, appointing faculty Hull said that one of his main members and developing strategies goals as associate dean will be listo attract high-quality human and tening to the various suggestions, material resources to the College. comments and complaints of his All three deans said that they colleagues and to respond to them are excited to with a great deal start in their of attention. new positions “We are at a moment “What and that they now, as an institution, I feel is that my look forward to allegiance to the representing the where it’s important division more needs of their to articulate what is broadly will individual divirequire me to valuable in each of sions. listen carefully Will said that these divisions of the to what their she is excited administration.” needs are and to promote the concer ns are achievements that might be of the arts and -ENGLISH PROFESSOR different from humanities facthe ones that ulty and plans BARBARA WILL I have become to engage in accustomed to conversations within the psyw i t h va r i o u s chological and members within her division to do brain science department,” he said. so. She stressed that the arts and Smith said that she recognizes the humanities has much to offer and importance of maintaining a steady that it is important to communicate supply of “cutting-edge” resources that point at an organizational level. and infrastructure for faculty and “There’s all of these things you students, and as dean, she said she learn through the study of arts and would like to work on obtaining humanities that are intangible but those items within the available has incredibly important effects on budget. In doing so, she said she society,” she said. “We are at a mo- plans to coordinate research and ment now, as an institution, where development not only within the FROM DEAN PAGE 1

College but also with the Geisel School of Medicine and the Thayer School of Engineering.

“It’s not just about supporting faculty research — that research is also what the undergraduates are involved in,” she said. “They are not separable — the scholarship and educational mission.”

Smith added that her new position has similar responsibilities to her previous role as the chair of the biology department in that both positions require her to oversee issues such as the creation of curricula and the appointment and promotion of faculty. She said that she is excited to execute these functions at a higher level that will involve more people and a larger agenda.

Hull also served as the chair of his department, and he said that this previous administrative experience has familiarized him with some of the responsibilities that he will manage in his new role. In addition, Hull took courses on budget management to further develop his skills.

Will has served in various administrative positions, most recently as the chair of the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” presidential steering committee, and she said that these previous experiences will guide her through the new role and inform her.

In addition, Hull, Smith and Will each said that their scholarly

I WASH WITH MY LITTLE EYE

backgrounds will contribute to their which she said familiarized her with performance in their new roles. cross-departmental cooperation.

Will said that her academic work She said her involvement in variwill enable her to assess other faculty ous graduate programs, including members’ work. those at Geisel, has enabled her to Specializing in social psychol- understand the interdisciplinary ogy, Hull said and cross-disthat he has stud- “What I feel is that ciplinary reied the science lationships in my allegiance to the behind human academia and interaction and division more broadly that she looks communication, will require me to forward to inwhich he said volving herself will be a criti- listen carefully to more in those cal component what their needs are dynamics. in his manageill and concerns are that said thatW perment responsib i l i t i e s , p a r - might be different s o n a l l y, s h e ticularly when from the ones that looks forward dealing with to actively enfrustrations or I have become gaging with queries. accustomed to within other faculty “Behind those members. the psychological requests or com“I’ve plaints are valid and brain science written books concer ns,” he departments.” and I’ve writsaid. “So I want ten articles but to listen to them I tend to do and help them -PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR that work sort work through the of alone or in JAY HULL problems that solitary kind of they might have way, and I’ve or to get at the noticed from nub of what their request is.” my administrative experience that I Smith said that her own recent definitely enjoy the more collaboraacademic work entailed collaborat- tive kind of work so that’s something, ing with some of the faculty mem- I have to say, I’m looking forward bers from the physics department, to,” she said.

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The film and media studies department hosted Eyewash, which brought experimental artist Nicolas Collins to speak on his work.

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THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

DARTMOUTH EVENTS TODAY 3:00 p.m.

“What Is Wrong With Saying Slavery ‘Dehumanized’ Black People,” lecture with Walter Johnson of Harvard University, Carson L01

4:30 p.m.

“A New Voice In Indian Fiction,” public reading with author Saskya Jain, Rockefeller Center, Room 003

6:30 p.m.

“Learning to Look at European Art,” adult workshop, Hood Museum of Art

TOMORROW 4:00 p.m.

“Creative Writing Awards Ceremony,” hosted by author Meg Kearney, Sanborn House, Sanborn Library

4:00 p.m.

“Specters of Revolution, Past and Present” with professor Alexander Aviña of Florida State University, Moore Building, B03

7:00 p.m.

“Man and Superman” (2015), play starring Ralph Fiennes, National Theatre Live in HD, Black Family Visual Arts Center, Loew Auditorium

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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

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Student spotlight: Carina Conti ’16

B y haley gordon The Dartmouth Staff

Carina Conti ’16 took her first dance lessons at age three at the suggestion of her mother, a former professional dancer. Conti said that she began with ballet, and her first distinct memory of dance involves a frog suit and a recital.

“It was a onesie,” Conti said. “I was adorable.”

Conti danced all throughout her childhood and high school years, the way other kids joined recreational sports teams and specialized in a particular sport as they aged.

“It’s my creative outlet, and I’m emotionally attached to it and that’s like I think all of it — everything I need is embodied in dance, so like physical expression and emotional expression, too,” Conti said.

Conti’s passion for dance extends to all forms of performing arts, including acting. Conti participated in a student-directed production of “Cabaret” her freshman year and has acted within the film department, including the role of Penny in a recreation of an episode of “The Big Bang Theory” (2007).

While Conti said that she has a desire to participate more in acting, her dedication to Sheba, the dance group which she co-directs, has required her full attention and commitment.

When Conti attended Dimensions of Dartmouth her senior year of high school, she was drawn to the student performance groups.

“My favorite movies — like ‘Chicago’ (2002) for example — are musicals, and I think that also is related to the fact that I love theater as much as I love dance and to me acting and dancing have always been connected in physical expression,” she said. “And singing is in there too. I absolutely love ‘Chicago’ and the way dancing is incorporated to tell stories.”

Conti said she decided to join Sheba due to the opportunities it gave her to grow as a dancer.

“I loved Sugarplum, and I also loved Sheba and I didn’t make my full, final decision until auditions,” Conti said. “I decided that because I had done contemporary and ballet and jazz my whole life, I wanted to try something that I knew I was not very good at. I wanted to start over and take on the challenge of assuming a new persona essentially.”

Conti admitted that adapting to the hip-hop style for which Sheba is known did not come naturally to her.

“I still make fun of myself all the time because I don’t really have natural swagger, and that’s something I kind of have to study and observe a lot and practice,” Conti said. “That’s still something I’m working on, but it’s almost like an acting exercise because it’s a whole different persona.”

Sheba practices seven hours a week, not including fundraisers, tech time or performances.

The group typically does about three shows in Greek houses and

KATE HERRINGTON/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Carina Conti ’16 said that Sheba has given her a new sense of swagger.

DRAWN TO ART

KIMBERLEE JOHN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Work by senior studio art majors is currently on display in the Hopkins Center and Black Family Visual Arts Center.

one staged showcase in any given term, as well as intermittent charity performances. Conti said that her group members influence her “enormously.”

“I think something that is true for probably all dancers is that you notice people’s bodies very specifically, and I think that comes from ballet… because you pay attention to feet and legs and the way that bodies are shaped and the way that they move,” Conti said. “Because of that it’s very clear to me that everybody on the team has a very unique style.”

Conti described the diversity of people, styles and movements that all characterize hip-hop dance as part of what drew her to the genre.

“Anyone can fall in love with hip-hop,” Conti said. “It’s an indulgence.”

Conti said that she has stayed involved in Sheba for three years because of its family-like atmosphere.

“I’m not affiliated but to me Sheba is my sorority and my fraternity and my extracurricular team all rolled into one, and it’s wonderful because they’re the people that help my grow in dance but they’re also the people that I go out and love to dance with on the weekends… and the people I love to talk to,” Conti said.

Lauren Fox ’17, a member of Sheba, said that Conti is a strong director because of her “phenomenal” dancing skills and positive attitude.

“She definitely brings light to the room,” Fox said. “Even if you

come in to rehearsal and maybe feel down or don’t want to be there or just had a long day, she always finds a way to brighten up the mood and bring everyone together.”

Sheba member Desmond Fambrini ’16 also emphasized Conti’s positivity and previous training as key things she brings to Sheba.

“She basically brings just the most positive demeanor and overall enhances the environment more than I’ve seen anyone do anywhere,” he said. “It’s like a breath of fresh air...when she walks in the door.”

While Conti said that the commitment that Sheba requires can put strain on group relationships, the personal growth achieved within the group ultimately makes all the sacrifices worth it for her.

“The greatest joy that I’ve had this term has been Sheba,” Conti said. “The reason for that is the unity I have found and the way the relationships have just become really healthy and really wonderful.

People… have come back and I think that’s a testament to the fact that the atmosphere is becoming really healthy and very encouraging and that matters so much to me.”

As a co-director, Conti said that she has had a personal goal for this spring term.

“We’re trying to organize a spring arts showcase on the Green,” Conti said. “This is one of the first years we’re not doing a traditional spring show.”

This idea involves collaboration with members of Street Soul and Sugarplum as well as graduate stu-

dents and would require significant fundraising.

It would ideally be Sheba’s last performance of the term, Conti said.

Despite the amount of time she has committed to dance, Conti said that she does not feel “called” to open a studio or teach dance after college.

“I love to dance and I haven’t had the heart to imagine my life without dance,” Conti said. “But I don’t think that I will ever have the chance to be as involved as I am now, and I think that’s also what has kept me so attached to Sheba during my college experience.”

Conti said that while opening a studio is out of the picture for her, she does envision herself working within the performing arts after college.

“I would love to go into the performing arts, so whether that’s from an administrative standpoint [or] if I’m lucky enough to be a performer than that’s what I want to do,” she said. “The performing arts are always going to be a part of my life, and whatever role that is that’s the place that I will fill. But I can only be lucky enough to be able to dance after college.”

The Last Word with Carina Conti ’16: Currently choreographing: Bottlez

by T-pain Dream stage: Broadway Dance class with any teacher in the world: Luam at the Broadway Dance Center​

THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS

PAGE 8

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

WEDNESDAY LINEUP

No athletic events scheduled

Senior Spring: Karlee Odland ’15 from Vauxhall to Hanover B y RAY LU

The Dartmouth Staff

Women’s hockey captain Karlee Odland ’15 had a unique childhood. She was born and raised on a farm in southern Alberta, Canada, where she said there is a strong agricultural community of around 7,000 people in the region.

In the 2011 census, her hometown, Vauxhall, had a population of 1,288. Growing up, Karlee and her brothers had chores just like anyone else, although they were not the usual folding of laundry or taking out the trash.

“My job as a kid was to go check cattle,” Odland said. “It was just a lot different than normal kids, especially at Dartmouth. I don’t think I’ve really met a lot of people that have grown up on a farm [here], so when I tell my stories of when I was a kid, they’re so intrigued.”

Farming was not the only thing to do in Vauxhall, though, and Odland said she comes from a very athletic household. Her father competed in baseball and hockey, while her mother played basketball and volleyball in high school and was named female athlete of the year during her playing career. Odland said that while her parents did not push her to play sports, they definitely fostered an active household.

Her first activity, however, was not hockey.

“My mom and dad, they started me in dance,” Odland said. “And they realized I wasn’t as graceful

[enough] to be there.”

Instead of pursuing her shortlived dance career, Odland followed in the footsteps of her two older brothers and started playing hockey at age five.

“My mom said the moment I stepped on the ice, she knew that I would was going to pursue it for a long time,” Odland said.

In high school, Odland began to attract attention for her abilities on the ice. She competed for the Medicine Hat Hounds of the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League and was the team’s leading scorer and most valuable player in 2010. Serving as an alternate team captain, she also won a gold medal with Team Alberta U-18 Female in the 2011 Canadian Winter Games.

Her connection to Dartmouth came through former Big Green women’s hockey associate head coach Rob Morgan. Odland first met Morgan, who used to coach the Medicine Hat Hounds, in ninth grade at a summer camp for upand-coming female hockey players.

Morgan left Dartmouth to become the inaugural head coach for St. Norbert College’s women’s hockey team before Odland got to campus. At that point, however, she was already well acquainted with the school, taking an unofficial visit in 11th grade and an official visit a year later.

“It was kind of nice, because I came from a small community and that’s what I was looking for,” Odland said. “I just felt like Dartmouth

— it doesn’t exactly resemble my community, but it’s very small in the sense that [everyone] knows each other. That’s just really what I was looking for, and it just clicked right away.”

While a weekend trip to Montreal is just a three-hour drive from New Hampshire, Vauxhall is about 38 hours from campus. Despite the distance, her biggest adjustment to Hanover was more about environment than culture.

“That’s the biggest thing — not being on the farm anymore, being in a town and living in dorms,” she said.

Odland had an incredibly successful rookie season and won the team’s Rookie of the Year award, which was all the more impressive considering she missed the first 12 games of the season for recovery from a meniscus tear that she suffered the year before. That injury happened in January after the knee was already surgically repaired once, and Odland had the meniscus removed the following summer.

“It was kind of hard getting back. As a freshman coming in, I was already behind six months, and I just went [to] video every week with my coaches to try and catch up,” Odland said. “[I] did everything to try and catch up. I ended up actually getting a decent amount of time as a freshman, and so I was pretty happy. Just got to put the work in.”

Over the next few years, Odland developed into one of the team’s

Courtesy of Karlee Odland

Karlee Odland ’15 grew up on a farm in a small town in Canada. The appeal of small-town living drew her to Hanover.

leaders. After leading all first-years in points her freshman year, she tallied 13 points on five goals and eight assists the next season, good for seventh on the team in scoring.

She matched that point total her junior year season as well, despite playing in seven fewer games.

Odland attributed a lot of her growth to picking up the team system. She said that once she felt comfortable in the system that Dartmouth had, she was able to be more creative with her style of play. Her improvement earned her team captain honors this past season. While she said being a leader was overwhelming at times, Odland realized that as long as she led by example and worked with the coaches, everything else would follow.

“My team made it pretty easy for me, not going to lie. Didn’t really have any challenges all year,” Odland said. “Everyone [was] on the same page, so I was pretty happy with our team.”

Reflecting on her first-year experiences, Odland took special care as a captain to make sure that the underclassmen felt welcome.

“I remember when I was a freshman, I was terrified of our seniors.

Everything about them was terrifying, so as a senior this year I tried to be less intimidating, if that was possible,” Odland said. “Make a fun environment so the freshmen come in a little bit more comfortable.”

Odland remembers playing sharing the ice her first year with then-captain Reagan Fischer ’12, who grew up in Irma, Alberta, about four hours north of Vauxhall.

“She was the kind of player I wanted to be, so I just remember watching everything that she did, hoping that one day I could become the player she did,” Odland said. “I don’t know if I did, but I definitely learned a lot from her.”

Odland’s most unforgettable moment of her playing career also happened during her freshman season. “[Frozen Fenway 2012 is] probably my most memorable moment because my brothers flew in to surprise me, so they ended up seeing my first goal,” Odland said. “I think that’s definitely my highlight of my Dartmouth career.”

Frozen Fenway is a joint effort by the Boston Red Sox, the City of

Boston and Fenway Sports Management to open up the baseball park for skating events during the winter. In 2012, the Big Green defeated Providence College in a 3-2 contest in which Odland scored the team’s second goal of the game and notched the first point and goal of her career.

Odland finished her career this past season with 99 games played and 54 total points.

“It has been, obviously, a huge part of my life, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” Odland said.

“Coming to Dartmouth, I don’t know, it was a dream.”

Off the ice, Odland is pursuing a psychology major. After graduation, she plans to take a gap year and study for the LSAT, with plans to go to law school in the near future.

Odland will take the skills she has developed as a student-athlete and bring them into her career path.

“I think that the biggest thing I’ve gotten out of being a studentathlete here is time management,” Odland said. “I’ve actually found that in my offseason, I’m actually a little worse as a student, which doesn’t make sense but in season you can’t procrastinate. When you have a 30-minute time slot, you do homework. But when you’re out of season, you have a little bit more time and you push things a little bit more.”

In terms of hockey, Odland plans to take a step back.

“I’m just going to play hockey for fun, enjoy it, play with my friends back home, but definitely move on to the next chapter of my life,” Odland said.

Her life goals are simple: a successful career, a happy family and great friendships. She will apply the lessons she learned from being a student-athlete to her everyday life.

“It’s kind of funny, but there’s this saying that my coach always said...‘Every day is a holiday, every meal is a feast,’ and he always said that when we were in the midseason, in a little bit of a dreg, [and] getting killed by midterms,” Odland said. “He’s just like, ‘Just enjoy the day.’ I think that’s just going to stick with me for the rest of my life, when I’m feeling down or feeling a little sore for myself, and I’ll just realize that every day is a blessing.”