The Dartmouth 2/2/17

VOL. CLXXIV NO.21

CLOUDY HIGH 30 LOW 14

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017

Leadership program focuses on identity

By SUNGIL AHN

The Dartmouth Staff

OPINION

HUEBNER: MARSHMALLOWS AND SELF-HATRED PAGE 7

ARTS

PAZZI LAZZI BRINGS COMEDY TO COLLIS PAGE 8

MUSIC REVIEW: MIGOS’ “CULTURE” PAGE 8

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When Nathan Busam ’17 went to Poland as part of his economics study abroad program, he did not expect people to tell him their life story when he asked them, “How are you?”

These types of cultural differences are what the Rockefeller Global Leadership Program helps students navigate.

Hosted by the Rockefeller Center every fall, winter and spring ter m, the prog ram aims to develop cross-cultural competencies that are needed for people to become leaders

despite such differences.

“Being able to communicate with people of different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs is key in interacting with the globalized world,” said Vincent Mack, a program officer for RGLP. For many, the program’s focus on being a global leader drew them in. When Busam first took the Intercultural Development Inventory, an assessment that measures cultural competency at the beginning of RGLP, he realized that he was less competent in handling

The Dartmouth Staff

Professor of microbiology and immunology at the Geisel School of Medicine Ambrose Cheung was recently granted a 2017 Harrington Scholar-Innovator Award from the Harrington Discovery Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. The award helps further the research of scientists whose work has the capacity to improve health outcomes in the United States by supplying drug research assistance.

The Harrington Discovery Institute is a branch of a $300 million endeavor called The Harrington Project for Discovery and Development, which provides researchers with resources and support in an effort to advance discovery in the medical field. To determine the recipient of the award, The Harrington Project evaluates projects with close attention to their uniqueness.

The award grants Cheung

College recognized for sustainability initiatives

SEE RGLP PAGE 3

Ambrose Cheung wins $700,000 grant

By MEGAN CLYNE

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

and his lab $700,000 in funding to move toward drug development with their research on the methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureas bacterial infection.

MRSA yields over 90,000 invasive staph infections and 20,000 related fatalities annually in the United States according to the University of Chicago MRSA Research Center.

The focus of Cheung’s research is to explore why MRSA, a disease that colonizes the nose and resides in the skin, is so invasive and what causes it to be resistant to most antibiotic treatments.

The Harrington ScholarInnovator Award is predicated on Cheung’s creation of a compound called DNAC-2, which can kill antibioticresistant staph bacteria in the presence of the antibiotic oxacillin, according to Geisel SEE CHEUNG PAGE 5

LAUREN KIM/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

The College’s sustainability task force plans to release final recommendations in March.

By ALEX FREDMAN The Dartmouth Staff

Last week, S a v e O n E n e r g y. c o m , a Texas-based energy consulting firm, ranked Dartmouth 10th in its Green Universities Report. The report listed 25 universities and colleges in the U.S. that “actively prioritize sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint through various on-campus initiatives and community partnerships,” according to a post on the company’s website.

The College received a score of 68.0012 out of 100 possible points, placing it close behind the University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which placed eight and ninth, respectively, and Brown University, the only other Ivy League school in

the top 10, which placed fourth.

The pool of universities in the report were selected from the 2017 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges list, and then scored based on several sustainabilityrelated factors, including transportation options, access to parks and sources of energy.

Ten percent of the total score came from a grade given by the 2015 United States Department of Agriculture’s Farmer’s Markets by Community List, which measures the number of farmer’s markets available per capita in the proximity of the school.

That study cited Grafton County, New Hampshire as having eight farmer’s markets in 2013.

Dartmouth ranked second among all schools in the farmer’s market per

capita score, following only the University of Vermont.

The ability to buy products from farmer’s markets is an important factor in sustainability, environmental studies professor Andrew Friedland said.

“Purchasing a greater percentage of food from a farmer’s market is preferable to a large chain supermarket, because you’re assured that the food is local,” Friedland said. “That allows you to have a greater connection to your food.”

However, Friedland said that it is unlikely that most Dartmouth students, especially undergraduates, take full advantage of the availability of farmer’s markets.

An additional 20 percent of the Green University ranking came from a score SEE GREEN PAGE 2

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

PAGE 2

DAILY DEBRIEFING On Tuesday night, during a live broadcast event, President Donald Trump named Neil Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court, according to The New York Times.

Many consider Trump’s decision a strategic one to reassure Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court’s “swing vote,” that the Supreme Court is stable enough for him to retire. Gorsuch, a federal judge on the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, has clerked for Kennedy and is not considered as controversial as some of Trump’s picks for cabinet positions. Gorsuch graduated from Columbia University before attending Harvard University and Oxford University, for his J.D. and Ph.D., respectively.

Gorsuch shares the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s legal philosophy and is an originalist, meaning he interprets the Constitution as the original founding fathers adopted it. While Gorsuch has not written much about gun control or gay rights, he has ruled in favor of religious freedom over contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act in Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius.

Still reeling from the blocked confirmation of former President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, Senate Democrats are preparing to challenge and slow the confirmation of Gorsuch, who is qualified but deeply conservative. Trump has encouraged Senate majority leader, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell to exercise the “nuclear option,” which eliminates the need for 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and substitutes a simple majority vote.

Latest in Trump’s Cabinet confirmations, Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil chief executive officer, was confirmed for Secretary of State in a 56 to 43 vote, as reported by The New York Times. Democrats were critical of his views on climate change and his Exxon connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tillerson’s confirmation has been the most contentious of the last 50 years with many votes against him and few Democrats in favor.

Following the firing of acting attorney general Sally Yates, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions’ nomination for attorney general. The vote fell exactly along party lines with 11 Republicans voting in favor and nine Democrats voting against. Sessions will be considered by the Republican-controlled Senate next week.

According to The New York Times, two Republican senators said they are prepared to vote against businesswoman Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee to head the Education Department, endangering her confirmation. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska would tie the votes for and against DeVos, requiring Vice President Mike Pence to issue the tie breaking vote. White House press secretary Sean Spicer expressed no concerns.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017

College ranks 10th in sustainability “I am pretty skeptical of these rankings, and they’re fairly subjective,” from WalkScore.com, which measured Friedland said. “I don’t get too excited walkability, public transportation and about the great results, nor do I get too biking options at the schools. Another worried when we don’t rank highly.”

20 percent of the total measured the Friedland currently serves as density of parks in the nearest city to co-chair of the College’s ongoing the university, receiving data from The sustainability task force, which Trust for Public Land 2015 Park Score. convened for the first time last fall.

The university’s access to eco- Its goal is to make recommendations friendly energy options also accounted on reducing Dartmouth’s carbon for 20 percent of footprint and the score, with data updating existing received from the “ These operations s u s t a i n a b i l i t y U.S. Department are typically out of i n i t i a t i v e s t o of Energy. The President view of the student College availability of Phil Hanlon before green jobs in the body, and I think Earth Day. area, measured by task force, it ’s important for The the U.S. Bureau of composing Labor Statistics, students to be aware o f f a c u l t y, provided 10 percent administrators and of the way their students, has met of the score.

The last 20 institution operates.” four times, with percent came from the most recent the university’s meeting held last Princeton Review - ELENA BIRD ’18, week, Friedland G r e e n S c o r e. MEMBER OF THE COLLIS said. Topics for Dartmouth discussion have SUSTAINABILITY TASK received a score of included energy, 85 out of 100 in the FORCE waste reduction current ranking by and food Princeton Review. procurement.

Friedland said that reports such as Elena Bird ’18, a member of the those from SaveOnEnergy.com and task force, said in an email statement Princeton Review do not necessarily that being on the task force has accurately reflect the sustainability of provided an opportunity to see the the institutions they measure. Often, “behind the scenes” aspect of how the surveyor can create a misleading the College’s operation systems. score based on a misunderstanding “It’s been exciting to be a part of or lack of data, he added. this group of people from all over FROM GREEN PAGE 1

campus who can propose a multitude of perspectives and approaches towards one common goal,” Bird wrote. “These operations are typically out of view of the student body, and I think it’s important for students to be aware of the way their institution operates.”

Fo r t h e t a s k f o r c e ’ s recommendations, April Salas, the executive director of the Revers Center for Energy at the Tuck School of Business, said that the focus will be to set goals that are realistic, consider potential monetary costs and promote accountability. Salas added that the task force has engaged in a series of community forums to inform Upper Valley residents of their work, trying to keep themselves aligned with Hanover’s sustainability goals.

“We’ve been very transparent about the areas that we’re reviewing ... so we’re in alignment with Hanover’s goals as well,” Salas said.

“I’m really excited by how open and inclusive the process has been.”

The task force is proceeding on schedule and has already begun to draft its final recommendations, Friedland said. He added that the task force aims to present its findings to Hanlon in March.

“I’m pleased with the participation we’re getting from faculty, from staff, from graduate students and undergraduates,” Friedland said.

“I think we are much stronger than just the individual components and individual people.”

Trump has drafted an executive order that will direct the government to reexamine various visa programs to certify they will prioritize and protect “the jobs, wages and well-being of United States workers,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Much of the text suggests foreigners are given an unfair advantage under the existing policy and demands the Department of Homeland Security revise regulations in order “to restore the integrity of employment-based non-immigrant worker programs and better protect U.S. and foreign workers affected by those programs.”

During his campaign, Trump criticized the H-1B program, which extends temporary work visas for high-skilled employees and technology companies.

Meanwhile, Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple Inc., said the company is considering legal action to reverse Trump’s executive order on immigration.

Hundreds of Apple employees have been affected by the recent immigration executive order. Companies in Silicon Valley, an area that has benefited from the influx of foreign workers, have been reacting similarly.

COMPILED BY AMANDA ZHOU

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

Correction Appended (Feb. 1, 2017): An article published on Jan. 31, titled “Geisel students and faculty protest ACA repeal,” has been appended to include all of the organizers of the event in addition to Dassie. In addition, a quote by Perlson was revised for factual accuracy and clarity.

LAUREN KIM/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

The College’s sustainability task force aims to reduce Dartmouth’s carbon footprint and update sustainability initiatives.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

PAGE 3

Rockefeller Global Leadership Program highlights identity students discover and shape their own identities. exchanges with people from The program involves a term different cultures than he thought of weekly meetings, during which he was. participants engage in open Billy Kosmidis ’19 said he was discussions. In addition, each drawn to the program due to its week, a different speaker presents focus on how to be a leader in a new ideas or challenges predefined global atmosphere. notions. “ I t h i n k i t ’s “ I t one of the most was one of “I was born in important skills to the few places be a leader in a Vietnam, and I where I could room where people came here when I explore identity around you might in a relaxed, come from totally was 10. I was very semi-scholarly different cultural confused about [my s e t t i n g , ” backgrounds,” he Frempong said. cultural identity], said.

Among other Mack said the and one of my goals i n t e l l e c t u a l program also focuses about the programs b e n e f i t s, t h e on understanding discussions others b y was to learn who I cover strategies understanding the am.” to be more aware participants’ own of cultural identities. Thus, for differences, many, the program -THUYEN TRAN ’19 to adapt to was a way of finding scenarios where their identity. participants are Thuyen Tran ’19 faced with those said she wanted differences and to learn more to communicate about who she was clearly in a safe culturally. manner without “I was born in offending Vi e t n a m , a n d I others. came here when I was 10,” she In one session, a speaker said. “I was very confused about addressed how the increase in [my cultural identity], and one of globalization and immigration my goals about the program was have broken down cultural barriers to learn who I am.” and reduced “us versus them” Abena Frempong ’17 said mentalities. that the program sought to help “It challenged how you identify FROM RGLP PAGE 1

with one place or country,” Kosmidis said. “It made me look at culture not as just international boundaries.”

Tran said the discussions taught her not to shy away from discussing cultural differences that may be uncomfortable. In addition to the discussions, the participants visit a culturally diverse area as a culminating experience at the end of each term. Part of being a global leader by nature involves interacting with difference and understanding cultural context, Mack said. Accordingly, the culminating experiences encourage participants to use the lessons learned during the discussions and adapt to the situation.

Past activities have included participating in a scavenger hunt, visiting different ethnic neighborhoods and observing and interacting with locals.

For Busam, his culminating experience involved helping the homeless of New York City, New York and learning about socioeconomic differences.

Kosmidis interacted with deaf students during his visit to Montreal, Canada.

“It was really surprising because when we think about cultural backgrounds, we think about nationality, ethnicity and different languages, and I never realized we’re part of the hearing culture,” Kosmidis said.

In addition to the culminating trip, at the end of the program, students talk with refugees from

around the world that the program cultural backgrounds. invites on campus that have “There is no part of me that’s been recently resettled in New half-half,” she said.

Hampshire, Mack said.

The program has 25 spots Although the College is already and usually receives 60 to 90 committed to cultural diversity, applications per cohort.

Busam said the program gave him Mack said RGLP derives a lot of a formal framework for analyzing its effectiveness from the diversity and thinking about interacting of the cohort. The diversity allows with people them to from diverse understand “It challenged how you t h e cultures. identify with one place complexities Kosmidis said his of their or country. It made experiences identities me look at culture not with the and how program t h ey s h a p e as just international helped him the way they boundaries.” as a leader, interact with as he is more the world, he conscious added. of his and The o t h e r s ’ program - BILLY KOSMIDIS ’19 cultural ch o o s e s backgrounds students and is more from various comfortable class years, with being nationalities, different gender and from others. academic “ I interests. think, even Fr e m p o n g Dartmouth noted that the is its own program had bubble, and a “melting once we leave the bubble, people pot of students.” around you come from even “ T h i s w a y, w e h o p e t o more different places, especially have students even within the if you’re working in the city or a ‘Dartmouth bubble’ to look around big company,” he said. at the diversity that’s right here,” For Tran, the program helped Mack added. her find her identity, allowing her The applications for spring to fully embrace all parts of her term’s program are due Feb. 24.

ROCKIN’ AND ROLLIN’ IN RAUNER

MORGAN MOINIAN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Students use Rauner Special Collections Library as a quiet study space.

PAGE 4

THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS

DARTMOUTHEVENTS

SNOW SCULPTURE, SNOW PROBLEM

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017

Rachel Lincoln ’20

TODAY

8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

When Two Worlds Meet: East Asian Experiences at the West and at Dartmouth, Rauner Special Collections Library

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

Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women are Transforming the Middle East with U.N. Representative Isobel Coleman, Haldeman 41

7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Aria di Commedia: An Evening of Commedia dell’Arte and Italian Renaissance Music, Collis Common Ground

TOMORROW

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

“Toward Optically Defined Micromechanical Systems” with McGill University professor Jack Sankey, Wilder 104

4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

“Aftermath: What the 2016 Election Taught Us” with FiveThirtyEight journalist Harry Enten ’11, Filene Auditorium, Moore Building

7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Film Special: “Marathon: The Patriot’s Day Bombing,” with filmmaker Ricki Stern ’87, Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center RELEASE DATE– Thursday, February 2, 2017

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

ACROSS 1 Brewski 5 Scrubland succulent 10 Skate park protection 14 “__ something I said?”

15 Bounded 16 Settled on the tarmac 17 Headline during an African wildfire season?

19 “¿Qué __?”

20 Peach or orange 21 Snitch 22 Rental duration 24 Former NASCAR Cup sponsor 26 Pass along 27 Go over again 29 Kind of key 33 Bro 36 Tolkien villain 37 “This feels familiar” feeling 38 Corner office fig.

39 Casual parting ... and a hint to this puzzle’s four longest answers 41 Had too much 42 Satisfies, as thirst 44 Reduction 45 Attending 46 Fable teller 47 “Challenge accepted!”

49 West Coast pro 51 Possible reason for an empty seat 55 Picture of health?

58 Profession, casually 59 Hosp. area 60 __ clarinet 61 Collector of some Spanish art?

64 Tactic 65 Barn-raising sect 66 Latin I word 67 County bordering Sonoma 68 Core belief 69 Out of shape DOWN 1 Punjabi monotheists 2 Burn through 3 Eatery often named for its owner

4 Foul spot 35 Genteel 53 Where some 5 Seemingly gatherings large schools eternal burden 37 Couple’s break may be found 6 Joint ailment from the kids 54 Rathskeller fare 7 Abbr. in car ads 40 “Delish!”

55 Aye-catcher?

8 Unloaded a 43 Amazing, in 56 Trattoria’s “in the burden dudespeak style of” 9 Old lemon 47 Biological map 57 Firebird roof 10 Artist Jasper subject option during his tropical 48 Slime 58 Military center period?

50 Pester 62 Half a cosmic 11 Cumming of “The 52 Card table whole Good Wife” request 63 Check 12 CD part 13 Sit tight ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 18 “Rule, Britannia” composer 23 License info 25 Farmer’s possible reply to “What beans are you planting this year?”?

26 Pit visitor 28 Before, poetically 30 Green gem 31 Wrapped up 32 Deserving a slap, maybe 33 Badlands landform 34 Shaft with bushings 02/02/17 xwordeditor@aol.com

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02/02/17

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017

Geisel professor wins research grant FROM CHEUNG PAGE 1

News Center.

Staff scientist in Cheung’s lab Niles Donegan said that the Cheung lab started its study of this human pathogen bacteria by identifying the external sources that trigger genes, as well as the specific regulatory genes that generate staph infections. The lab then shifted its focus to searching for drugs that have the capacity to inhibit the processes that result in MRSA, Donegan said. Their studies resulted in DNAC-2, a compound that is activated in the presence of oxacillin, an antibiotic which nor mally does not kill MRSA, Cheung said.

Donegan, who has been working with Cheung for almost 18 years, said that it has been fascinating for him to observe the evolution and transformation of the field of

microbiology. Due to technical advancements, the levels of analysis at which scientists can explore genes has grown substantially, he said.

At the end of February, the Harrington Discovery Institute’s Innovation Support Center will send a team to Cheung’s lab to identify all materials he needs and help develop Cheung’s compound into something that can be used for clinical trials. Cheung’s goal is to find DNAC-2’s target region and to create microscopic series that will improve results. His next step is to demonstrate that the compound is nontoxic, soluble and efficacious in order to create effective drugs and then move on to the clinical trial phase, Cheung said. The ultimate goal is to create a drug that will combat the MRSA disease, according to Geisel News Center.

PAGE 5

YEAR OF THE ROOSTER

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST SOFIA STANESCU-BELLU ’20

GUEST COLUMNIST KARNA ADAM ’16

What it Means to be an American

Our Insidious Secret Societies

Have the values and ideas that people associate with America eroded over time?

For the first time in my life, I’ve started to question what it means to be an American. Given the events of the past year or so, I’m probably not the only one. As an immigrant, my life in the United States hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. There have been times when a heavy looming cloud of dysphoria shrouded me in darkness. It can be hard to feel at home when your place of birth, most of your family and large parts of your identity are 5,000 miles away.

Yet, while Romania will always be my home, America has become a surrogate for the home I left behind and holds a special place in my heart.

The life I lead, the experiences and opportunities I’ve had and the people I have met have only been possible because of the U.S. and the millions of Americans who call this country home. It’s because of people like my preschool teacher who taught me English when I was a scared 4-year-old in an unfamiliar country and the manager of the construction firm who gave my dad his first job here — allowing him to provide for me, my mom and later my brother — that I am here today, at Dartmouth, writing this column.

Some might chalk up my immigrant experience to luck, privilege or both. Maybe they’re right, but there is a reason that hundreds of thousands of immigrants have come to this country in search of a better future. It’s the American Dream, the freedom, the democracy, the kindness of strangers, the old-fashioned gallantry, the fierce pride and devotion to your country. It’s an experience, life and identity that was coveted around the world.

Has the recent election changed all this? Have our divisions destroyed the unity of a nation?

The American label doesn’t carry the weight it once did. The anger, distrust and fear that have been running rampant among the public certainly haven’t helped the appeal of the “I’m American!” sticker. A record high 77 percent of Americans believe that the country is divided. One nation united no more it seems, with partisanship seeming to tear open seams that have withstood nearly 240 years of war and peace.

People might be tempted to point a finger at a segment of the population and accuse them for tarnishing America, muddying its core beliefs and distorting them into something perverse. It has been said that America lost the glory that brings

millions of immigrants to her shores and causes countries around the world to epitomize her as the definition of success and a happy life. After much reflection, I disagree.

Our values, who we are as Americans, encompass much more than who is in power and what a few voices fervently proclaim. Our kindness, resilience and love for this country shouldn’t diminish because of one election — in its 240 years of existence, America has withstood worse and persevered. This time should be no different. If there’s anything the recent protests have shown, it’s that even when forces try to tear America apart, America will not be divided.

America will grit its teeth and stand up for what is good, right and true and come out swinging.

Historically, national and global perception of the U.S. undergoes a cyclical shift. In some eras, such as after World War II, America was in a euphoric state in which it embraced its identity.

In eras of war or distress, such as after Vietnam, the demonym “American” adopted a sour taste in many mouths and disillusionment arose, similar to what we are experiencing today. The 2016 election is another unfortunate trough in the wave of history.

I am not saying we should forget everything that has been said and done within the past year and what undoubtedly will transpire within the next four to eight. I am saying instead that America, no matter how dark parts of its history are and how bleak the present may seem, shouldn’t abandon the values that have made it a beacon of hope. As former First Lady Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, we go high.”

Embrace our freedoms, because other countries have less than we do. Embrace our right to protest, because other countries live in silence. Embrace our democracy, because other countries are ruled with an iron fist. Embrace the American kindness, because there is no other country on Earth that could have taken and been as welcoming to so many as the United States has been. Unite under these values and let them drive America into the light instead of the darkness.

Unite as a nation, as a people, as human beings.

Battered and bruised, values intact, we, the Americans, will endure. So to whoever thinks America will crumble and fall, think again.

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SUBMISSIONS: The Dartmouth welcomes 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.

Secret societies must become more open and inclusive.

In the new Trumpian era, opinion writers everywhere — whether in The New York Times or on our Facebook news feeds — warn us not to allow the kind of rhetoric both our new president and the groups he emboldens to be normalized. To this end, millions marched on Jan. 21 to show they would not stand for attacks against women, LGBTQIA individuals and minority communities.

The trouble at Dartmouth is that it is easier to march against the overt policies of President Donald Trump than it is to resist the implicit biases that exist on campus. If Trump’s Twitter tirades are likened to large axe swings aimed at Muslim Americans — dangerous, certainly, but already occuring — then Dartmouth’s insidious institutions seek to weaken minority groups on campus with a thousand small, swift and silent cuts.

The tragedy is that these institutions of Dartmouth’s underbelly are not just kept alive by the College’s administration. There is much to be said about the vagueness of sexual assault policies on campus and the fact that we admit more students from the top 1 percent than the bottom 60 percent. But during my four years in Hanover, the deepest cuts came from fellow students. They came from fraternities that did not do more when their brothers were accused of sexual assault and sororities who refused to detach themselves from national organizations stuck in the past.

They came from white student leaders who did not engage with the Dartmouth Black Lives Matter movement until they had reason to criticize it.

Granted, all of these issues are more complex and nuanced when you dig beneath the surface. It’s hard not to give friends the benefit of the doubt — and sorority localization is costly, complicated and long. But we cannot claim to fight against homophobia, racism and sexism if we only do so when it is convenient.

Now, sure, are any of the cuts from these institutions lethal? No. In fact, examining how furious people become over “microaggressions” can seem comical — the word itself is oxymoronic — until you see students breaking mentally and emotionally after they’ve sustained one too many cuts from our toxic institutions.

After that point, they can never go back, never return to being just students who are at Dartmouth to learn and explore their passions. And that is the great tragedy of our college.

So what is to be done? I vote to always begin with the low hanging fruit: in the coming weeks, juniors at Dartmouth will begin to be inducted into secret societies. These societies make up the most insidious student-run institution at Dartmouth. This is not because the people in them are ill-willed, but because the institution itself serves to put up barriers among students and remind marginalized students of their outsider status.

In having not just their membership but even their selection process hidden in shadows, secret societies create a level of social exclusion that even Greek organizations

cannot rival. While all Dartmouth students have the ability to try to join a Greek house, by only “tapping” certain students based on a hidden set of criteria, these secret societies are not accessible to everyone. Furthermore, in revealing their secret associations during Commencement, these organizations remind the unaffiliated students that while every student is graduating on that day, some students belonged more than others.

We worry about Trump using our hallowed democratic institutions to turn America into a country welcoming only to some, but on campus our peers continue to run societies that create an inner Dartmouth community only open to the select few.

Now, maybe some of these organizations do consider everyone and select on legitimate criteria. Maybe others are just a group of friends simply getting together every week to hang out. But then, why is there a need to cultify the association? Why be secret? Why carry canes at graduation? Certainly these elements might serve to strengthen both the fun and camaraderie of the societies, but at whose expense? In deriving their value from exclusivity, these societies serve to put down the peers they do not accept.

The harm caused by traditions like the graduation canes is probably not immense.

On graduation day, it may be that most non-society students see the canes, grimace briefly and try to move on. Perhaps only a few spend the first half of the ceremony wondering why their friends hadn’t asked them to join or struggle to explain after why they don’t have one to their mom or younger sibling. But no outsider can view the symbols of their exclusion well. At best, they can try to be apathetic about them.

Even this, though, can be hard. Imagine an admissions letter explaining that you are admitted to 98 percent of Dartmouth. When you get to campus, however, you find that some students were given access to 100 percent.

Even if you never, in your four years, would have taken advantage of that 2 percent, would it not bother you that only you, or students like you, were not given access to it?

So to the rising classes of Dartmouth — to those of you who have or will have the privilege of being tapped — I ask that you refuse to join such organizations until they come out of the shadows. To those currently in secret societies, I ask that you take the bold and uncomfortable step of requesting your organization become more open and transparent. All I can offer is the voice of a distant outsider who didn’t speak up when he had the chance and ask others to be better.

You do have the power. And the voice of an insider can be many times louder if you choose to use it.

The Dartmouth welcomes guest columns. We request that guest columns be the original work of the submitter.

Submissions and questions may be sent to both opinion@thedartmouth.com and editor@ thedartmouth.com. Submissions will receive a response within three business days.

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017

PAGE 7

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST JULIA HUEBNER ’20

GUEST COLUMNIST DAVID SHEDD ’84

Marshmallows and Self-Hatred

Admissions Fails Refugees

“So I wiped my eyes and rinsed out my mouth and went outside and laughed...”

I met an exceptionally brave Dartmouth woman. Her friends describe her as wicked smart, amicable, bubbly and generous. She knows herself as a woman of color who struggles with eating disorders and negative body image.

Despite national body positivity campaigns, an expansive grey area exists between normal body image and diagnosed eating and body image disorders. I followed up with this woman — who will remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the topic — after speaking with her for hours over lunch about her personal struggles. Her words were raw, uncensored and vulnerable.

JH: Can you start by listing instances of body negativity when you later thought, “that was dumb” or “that was unhealthy” or “that wasn’t good” … but you still did it.

A: I have an unhealthy relationship with food … At home, I was an emotional eater — especially when I was stressed … I would eat ice cream and sometimes I would hate myself for it but would never really do anything about it: just be like, “Next time, I won’t eat it.” It was in high school when I put myself on my “super diet.” It was 500 calories per day. I thought that was a great amount; I thought it was just the right amount to make myself not fat. I thought it was a healthy amount to eat. I insisted on walking or running three miles a day — on 500 calories a day.

JH: What was your experience like during that time?

A: Awful … I have a notebook where I logged what I ate. And it was things like, “three peanuts: 10 calories” … and I would also do this awful thing where I would round up a lot.

I’m pretty sure a bagel is like 300 calories but I would be like, “half a bagel: 350 calories.”

So I would eat even less than my expected goal, because I wanted weight loss. We don’t have a good scale in my house, but I would surreptitiously weigh myself without telling my parents. I would take off my clothes and weigh myself to see if I weighed less or if it were just my clothes that were heavy. Or I would be like, “Oh, it’s my hair that’s weighing that five pounds that I wanted to lose,” which always isn’t true.

There was one day that I remember distinctly. After eating ice cream, I was like, “I hate myself. I’m disgusting. I’m always going to be fat. I’m never going to be tall or beautiful. Or skinny.” And being skinny was beautiful — or at least that’s what I thought.

So I basically tried to make myself throw up. I tried really, really hard. I did the whole “sticking your hand down your throat.” And I couldn’t make it come up. It was awful. And I tried so hard. Obviously, because my body was like, “[Stop] that, that’s disgusting.” But I kept trying.

And I remember one time at a party when I ate this giant marshmallow. And it tasted bad, so for some reason I was like, “I ate something that tasted bad and I got calories from it. It wasn’t even good.” So I threw it up … I came out, and my eyes were watering because I was throwing up. So I wiped my eyes

and rinsed out my mouth and went outside and laughed and talked with my friends.

I’ve gotten a lot better since then. I’m at a weight now where I’m not skinny. And I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be skinny. I look at myself in the mirror and am like, “I hate how fat my face is. I hate how fat my legs are. I hate how fat my arms are …”

JH: You do realize that you’re at a regular, healthy weight?

A: I objectively am — kind of. I have flabby arms and I hate my face so I do this horrible thing where I suck in my cheeks and then I imagine if I got plastic surgery that would cut off the inside of my cheeks so that my cheeks lay flat. You know?

JH: You told me last time about your nose.

A: That was more of a race thing. When I was little I used to put clips [clothespins] on my nose to try to make it pointy, because I always saw white people on television. I’m an Asian woman. I never saw Asian people on TV, so I was like, “Oh, it’s because white people are better. White people are more attractive. Asian people aren’t worth looking at. Asian people aren’t as valuable.” So I tried to make my nose pointy so I would look more like a white person.

And now I’ve realized that, basically, [screw] society if they think that white people are better or more beautiful than any other race. I’m a woman of color and that’s nothing to be ashamed about. I don’t need to change the way my nose looks just because it’s not nice and pointy. I can have a nose that lies flat and live with myself and know that the media might be the one that’s [screwed] up and not me.

Oh! At home, what I did: took the mirrors down … and lightbulbs out so I wouldn’t have to see myself. Because I hated seeing myself. I still do this thing that when I go into bathrooms, I don’t look at myself in the mirror — because I’m afraid.

JH: Afraid of what?

A: Of seeing what I look like. And being disappointed … My entire life, I’ve wanted to be pretty. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. And all my life I’ve been the smart girl … I never had a guy notice me because I was smart. I had a guy in high school who noticed me because it was annoying to have a girl show them up.

That’s what I remember being seen as: the girl who couldn’t know her place.

JH: How do you think your life would be different if you were seen as the pretty girl and not the smart girl who would one-up the guys?

A: I don’t know. I just think I’d feel a lot happier. I look at people who are tall and beautiful and skinny and white and think, “You seem like you are so much happier.”

JH: Would you trade how smart you are for being gorgeous?

A: See, part of the problem is that you meet people who are gorgeous who are also much smarter than you.

JH: So you want it all?

A: I guess so. Don’t we all?

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Dartmouth admissions must reach out to underserved groups.

If it hadn’t been for an alumni interviewer, I never would have gone to Dartmouth. As a student at a rural Vermont high school with no history of Ivy League success, I simply wouldn’t have stood out among the other qualified applicants.

Thanks to the efforts of my interviewer, Bill Schillhammer ’76, my application made it to the top of the pile. I never forgot what he did for me, and after graduation I wanted to do the same for other applicants who might not seem like obvious choices.

There’s no better place to do that than Portland, Maine, where there is a lot recent immigrants or refugees. As an alumni interviewer, I met students who came to this country without the ability to speak English and lived in homes where English was not spoken. However, these individuals were so amazingly talented that they, in a matter of a few years, were able to produce standardized test scores in Dartmouth’s admissions range and excel in Advanced Placement courses. One even became the poet laureate of his highly regarded private school; this, without having spoken a word of English for the first part of his life. It was a truly humbling experience to interview these kids. In many ways, they were more accomplished at 18 than I was at 48.

And, over something like a decade of interviewing prospective students, how many of these amazing talents were accepted? Not. A. Single. One. Now, I recognize that Dartmouth is incredibly competitive to get into, and wouldn’t expect all that much success. But when the only acceptances you get are for students of privilege — admittedly well-qualified and deserving ones — you start to wonder: what’s the goal of the admissions committee, and of the College?

Last year, I decided I simply could not continue with the process of getting up the hopes of these exceptional students (and human beings) and then dashing them. I quit interviewing. Now, it’s easy to take this as an anecdotal situation; among other things, I may be lousy at conveying how

wonderful a candidate is. But as I talked to my classmates who had been interviewing as well, I found a disturbing pattern. They all had similar experiences, and they all had quit as interviewers.

Again, it’s still a small sample size — only four of us. So, I decided to look a little deeper: were we the problem?

The results were even more disturbing than I’d thought. Dartmouth, which has the reputation for need-blind admissions, has the lowest percentage of students on financial aid of any of the Ivies.

The College also has the highest percentage of students from the top one percent of Americans and third lowest percentage of students from the bottom 60 percent of the country in the Ivy League. The trend also seems to be accelerating, with the disparity between those two growing.

On a positive note, ethnic diversity at Dartmouth has somewhat grown since my day, and that’s something to be proud of. But in a world of globalization, the differences between the wealthy of different countries is shrinking so that ostensible diversity may be masking a similarity of attitude. Persons of privilege, in my experience, tend to have more views in common than might be expected based on their ethnic backgrounds. So maybe we shouldn’t be patting ourselves on the back about diversity quite yet.

This is difficult for me to write. I loved Dartmouth before I went, I loved my time there and I’ve loved and supported it ever since.

However, I can’t blind myself to the question of what Dartmouth really is — what direction is it headed and was I just too numb to understand what the real status quo was way back when? It’s a haunting question, but I do know this: what Dartmouth is today — and what the College’s mix of students is — is not what I want it to be. I want to be able to know that students from utterly disadvantaged backgrounds who have amazing talents can have the chance I had and bring that background and newfound knowledge to bear for the good of the world. That is the Dartmouth that I want to see, and interview for, in the future.

LUCY LI/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

PAGE 8

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017

Pazzi Lazzi bringing age-old Italian comedy to Collis tonight

By ARUNAV JAIN The Dartmouth

Collis Common Ground will be bustling with activity tonight at 7 p.m. when the Pazzi Lazzi theatre troupe take the stage to perform “Aria di Commedia — An Evening of Commedia dell’Arte and Italian Renaissance Music.” Sponsored by the French and Italian department, the show is free and open to all.

The show is primarily in English but includes some Italian as well.

“Aria di Commedia” is the main theatrical production of Pazzi Lazzi, a Boston-based Commedia d e l l ’ A r t e g ro u p. C o m m e d i a dell’Arte, or simply Commedia, is widely considered by historians to be the first form of professional theatre.

Originating in Italy in the 16th century, Commedia is a traditional style of street theatre that features characters derived from easily recognizable archetypes, such as the nimble and clever servant Harlequin and the greedy old man Pantalone. It primarily uses masks, gestures and movements to capture its audience in a fast-paced, wildly

humorous story.

Unlike the heavily scripted and rehearsed theatre productions that most of us are familiar with, however, the Commedia is improvised by the actors, who are only roughly guided by basic scenarios. French and Italian professor Nancy Canepa, who organized the show and invited Pazzi Lazzi to Dartmouth, stressed the importance of improvisation in Commedia.

“There would be a set of stage directions that were tacked to the side of the stage,” Canepa said.

“All of the gags and formulaic language that went with each ‘type’ — that was stuff all the actors pretty much knew by heart. It wasn’t pure improvisation, though.

When you’ve been acting a type for 30 years, you have a lot in [your head]. You don’t necessarily have to improvise.”

The incorporation of improvisation in the Commedia and its replacement of verbal communication with masks and gestures were indeed highlights for Jerrel Catlett ’18. Catlett, a student in Canepa’s class, Italian 23,

“Marvelous Worlds: The Literature and Culture of Seventeenth Century Italy,” attended a teaching workshop in which Pazzi Lazzi helped acquaint students with Commedia. Both Catlett and Canepa said that the workshop emphasized the art of physical comedy and how one can rely on one’s body rather than words to convey emotions.

“What I found really interesting was the lack of focus on a script,” Catlett said. “A lot of the actual perfor mance is incredibly dependent on gestures, very evocative movements, facial expressions and these masks, which really communicate the story much better in a way that words can’t.”

Having never ventured into the realm of acting whatsoever prior to the workshop, Catlett said he gained a newfound admiration for thespians after the workshop.

“There was a lot I had not really appreciated about how much goes into making a television show or play performance,” Catlett said. “How athletic you need to be in order to perform these different dances and movements — the bar for that is

incredibly high.”

A second workshop was held at Occom Commons yesterday and was open to the larger Italophile audience at Dartmouth. Canepa said that the workshop highlighted the history and features of Commedia dell’Arte and explored some of the famous stock characters and masks.

According to Canepa, watching a Commedia can be an enriching experience due to its lasting impact on the comedies we are familiar with today. She spoke about how the style of humour known as “slapstick” is rooted in a device used in Commedia shows.

“The word ‘slapstick’ actually derives from a stick that one of the main Commedia characters, the Harlequin, carries with him and uses to clobber other characters with,” Canepa said. “That gives you an idea of the influence of the Commedia on comedic acts like the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.

They all incorporate elements of this very physical humor.”

Certain audiences may dismiss the Commedia as a flippant form of humor. However, Canepa believes

that the Commedia’s use of physical humor should not be confused for frivolity, as the comedy employs more serious subtexts as well.

“The Commedia dell’Arte, in its heyday, was often caustic in its social satire … characters who represent traditional values, livelihoods and institutions are consistently made fun of and humiliated,” Canepa said. “Women and men regularly transcend their gender roles, and servants, the masterminds of the Commedia, generally get the best of their masters.”

The revival of traditional art forms like the Commedia also serves a larger purpose of helping people reconnect with these influential genres. Canepa feels that audiences are often not able to identify the source of the influences found in various contemporary performances, and shows such as “Aria di Commedia” help deliver necessary knowledge of how art progresses.

“Art forms just don’t pop up like mushrooms overnight,” Canepa said. “There is value in knowing how anything develops, like a political system or art form.”

Review: Migos: the modern, mainstream kings of ‘Culture’

By JACOB MEISTER The Dartmouth

Migos, a hip-hop group based in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, was formed in 2009 by Quavious Marshall, Kirshnik Ball and Kiari Cephus, who are respectively called Quavo, Takeoff and Offset on stage. With hits like “Versace” and “Hannah Montana,” the group’s third mixtape, “Y.R.N.” (2013) secured its place on top music charts. Migos is, perhaps, most famous for popularizing “the dab,” a dance move that originated on the Atlanta hip-hop scene, in 2015.

“Culture,” which was released on Jan. 27, is only Migos’ second studio album, arriving on the tail of years of mainstream media coverage and success for its mixtapes, hit singles and legal troubles. The album represents a return to the mainstream spotlight for the group after a tenuous year. The first shot fired off this unapologetic trap album came in November 2016, with the massively popular “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert. The track included Migos’ signature triplet

flow, placed over a sharp snare and electronic beat typical of the song’s producer, Metro Boomin.

Common themes throughout the album’s tracks include drug dealing, beautiful women, firearms, making money and beating the competition.

These topics, while obviously problematic for their possible role in promoting sexism, violence and drug use, are nothing new to the genre of rap, or, indeed, to the music industry. Anyone who argues that Migos promotes a culture of criminality in a new, ‘more explicit’ way than before clearly never listened to Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G. or even earlier rock legends like Johnny Cash who referenced gun and drug use.

Though following established tropes within the genre does not justify sexist or dangerous behavior, I would argue that the lifestyle promoted by Migos often makes extreme compromises between extravagance and mediocrity in a manner that approaches satire. The women may be “bad and boujee,” terms that in this instance mean attractive with expensive tastes, but, to make enough money to subsidize his womanizing,

Offset must continue “cookin’ up [crack cocaine] in a crockpot,” an act that is inherently unglamorous.

For even more ridiculous content from Migos, one need look no further than the group’s music video for the song “T-Shirt.” Directed by DAPS and Quavo, the video places the trio on a snow-covered mountaintop. The first 30 seconds of the video evoke a scene from “The Revenant,” in which Leonardo DiCaprio is replaced by three young black men with gold chains and sunglasses. Clad in wolf and bear pelts, the three travelers enter an igloo where an old, white frontiersman is huddling around a fire. “Welcome,” he says.

Takeoff responds “Seventeen five, same color t-shirt,” in reference to the price and color of the cocaine they have been buying. Takeoff then proceeds to drop a pelt bag stuffed with stacks of $100 bills at the man’s feet. At this point, the electric blare of the beat begins, kicking off a classic trap music video, complete with guns, scantily fur-clad models and moving snowmobile sequences. The video makes little sense, but if one stops attempting to look for meaning

and instead embraces the grandioso, unrelenting melodic fun of Migos, it becomes easy to see why the group is such a success.

With “Culture,” Migos successfully created the perfect intersection of trap and pop music that earlier rappers have often struggled with. The rappers are young, cool and not worried about their futures. Their swaggering, serpentine bars flow around bouncing snare beats and sad piano melodies; any silences during verses are quickly filled by enthusiastic echoes or “skrrt” adlibs. Their lyrics are often superficial, but they are spoken with emotion, occasionally offering great insight into the young men’s minds. In the album’s closing song, “Out Yo Way,” Quavo raps, “Now that this fame came, I can see the hate on you / Mama told me stay strong, grandma told me stay on / Now she looking down, throwin’ blessings.” Here, Quavo espouses the importance of integrity and family, a bond that is particularly important to Migos, whose members are all related.

Even in blindly enjoyable pop-trap anthems, deep, heartfelt messages can

be found for those who care to look.

Donald Glover recently gave Migos a shoutout during his speech at the 2017 Golden Globes.

“I really want to thank Atlanta and all the black folks in Atlanta,” said Glover, while accepting the Golden Globe for Best TV series for his FX hit, “Atlanta.” “Just for being alive and for doing amazing and for being amazing people … And I really want to thank the Migos. Not for being on the show, but for making ‘Bad and Boujee.’ Like that’s the best song ever.” Glover is also a rapper, comedian, singer, songwriter, and writer. His unique brand of crossmedium success makes him a strong authority on popular culture, and his public recognition of Migos’ recent hit only reaffirms what many Migos fans already knew: “Culture” refers to trap culture. But, as its somewhat enigmatic name suggests, this culture, like the band itself, has become an integral part of mainstream American culture.

Rating: 7.4/10 Highlights: “Bad and Boujee,” “Brown Paper Bag,” “What the Price,” “T-Shirt”