The Dartmouth 10/01/15

VOL. CLXXII NO. 118

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Community remembers Summer Hammond’17

MOSTLY CLOUDY HIGH 59 LOW 39

By RACHEL FAVORS The Dartmouth

KATE HERRINGTON/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Students line-dance at the memorial service for Summer Hammond ’17, who died in July.

For her friends, Summer Hammond ’17 was the essence of positivity, especially in difficult situations. She was a person who not only preached it, but truly lived it.

Hammond diedin July following a period of treatment for cancer. On Wednesday, members of the Dartmouth community gathered in Rollins Chapel for a memorial service to honor and celebrate her life.

Shortly after her death, an intimate memorial service held at Occom Pond was organized by Hammond’s close friends Jennifer Cunnigham ’17, Aliyah Gallup ’17 and

SPORTS

MEN’S GOLF TAKES TOP SPOT PAGE 8

OPINION

SIMINERI: HANLON, HEAR US ROAR PAGE 4

ARTS

BARRIOS ’15 DISPLAYS ART IN ROTUNDA

SEE SUMMER PAGE 2

Amidst criticism,Sunde College offers humanities MOOCs explains new policy B y CARTER BRACE The Dartmouth

By HANNAH HYE MIN CHUNG The Dartmouth Staff

Following the recent announcement of the College’s elimination of its need-blind admissions policy for international students, a group of students are organizing efforts to request that the College release statistical

information to justify and explain the implementation of the policy. Interim dean of admissions and financial aid Paul Sunde wrote in an email that the policy came about because the international student population growth had SEE NEED-AWARE PAGE 5

DartmouthX, Dartmouth’s online learning initiative, will offer its first massive open online courses in the humanities this academic year with options in Italian opera and American Renaissance literature.

Starting on Oct. 13, music professor and department chair Steve Swayne will offer “Introduction to Italian

Opera,” a six-week MOOC, while English professors James Dobson and Donald Pease will co-teach a course on the American Renaissance in the winter and spring.

“MOOCs have generally been heavily sciencefocused, and we are transitioning from STEM to humanities MOOCs,” Dobson said.

Swayne already has experience teaching opera at

Dartmouth, having taught the corresponding on-campus course five times, incorporating digital elements when possible.

“I’ve made robust use of online resources,” Swayne said. “I provide links to an article, the libretto and the audio of the opera. When the call [for MOOC proposals] went out two years ago I thought, ‘Most of my SEE MOOCS PAGE 5

PAGE 7

READ US ON

DARTBEAT HOW TO NOT LOOK ALONE AT FOCO INNER MONOLGUE AT RUSH FOLLOW US ON

TWITTER @thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2015 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.

One year later, AP credit policy has mixed effect B y EMILIA BALDWIN The Dartmouth Staff

One year after the College instituted a new policy that precluded students from receiving credit for qualifying scores on Advanced Placement exams in high school, professors in departments that offer large introductory courses aimed at first-year students report few

TAKE THE LEAD

changes in enrollment patterns of these courses.

The new policy, which first applied to the Class of 2018, still allows students to place out of some introductory courses with a certain grade on a placement test or AP exam, though students receive no credit for those courses.

WEIJIA TANG/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

SEE AP CREDITS PAGE 2

Rockefeller Center’s Management and Leadership Program presents a slideshow.

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

PAGE 2

DAily debriefing Brown University: The Office of the Dean of Faculty has lowered Brown’s temporary teaching budget by $450,000, the Brown Daily Herald reported. As part of Brown’s deficit reduction action plan, this signifies the first step towards the university’s goal to reduce its budget by $1 million.

Columbia University: “INSIGHT Into Diversity” magazine awarded Columbia the 2015 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award, the Columbia Daily Spectator reported.

INSIGHT recognizes schools that commit themselves to representing the entire student population and value diversity within the student body and faculty. Of the other Ivy League universities, Cornell University also received this award, along with 90 other institutions nationwide.

Cornell University: Testimonials for the trial of former Cornell student Charles Tan will conclude on Tuesday, the Cornell Daily Sun reported. Police arrested Tan in February with a murder accusation after officials found Tan’s father dead in the family’s New York home. Set to graduate in 2017, Tan was a student in Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Harvard University: Following the release of a survey in which Harvard students reported high rates of sexual assault, Jeffrey Berg will now join Emily Miller as Harvard’s Title IX coordinator, The Harvard Crimson reported. This is part of Harvard’s initiative to inform and assist students affected by sexual assault.

Princeton University: Princeton has begun a UMatter campaign designed to encourage bystander intervention in unsafe situations and reduce threats to on-campus safety, the Daily Princetonian reported. UMatter seeks to educate Princeton students about steps of intervention and will concentrate on circumstances of mental health, interpersonal abuse and irresponsible drinking.

University of Pennsylvania: Neither students nor faculty at the university are overly concerned by Penn’s drop from eighth to ninth in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported. The rankings, released Sept. 9, rate universities on a wide range of factors. Sixty-nine percent of Penn students reported that the survey had no effect on them.

Yale University: Starting in June 2016, Yale plans to pilot a program aimed towards students and faculty interested in the food industry and current related topics. Yale has partnered with MAD, a Danish nonprofit founded by chef Rene Redzepi, to bring the program to its campus. It will include seminars, lectures and workshops and aims to bring together students, chefs, experts in the environmental studies field and faculty members.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

Students reflect on AP credit change FROM AP CREDITS PAGE 1

The Office of the Registrar declined to provide data regarding the changes in the size of introductory courses since the policy has been enacted.

Mathematics professor and department chair Dana Williams said that he has noticed very little change in the enrollment of introductory math courses, though he speculated that the policy might boost enrollment numbers, as more students might need introductory courses for credit following the policy change.

Williams also said that within math courses, students have always been more concerned with accurate placement than with receiving credit for their AP exam grades. He added that his department plays a large role in the placement of students.

“The big issue has always been, what math course do you start at the College? That question hasn’t changed,” Williams said.

Williams also said that he thinks the policy change will create a positive effect in graduate school placement for the College. He said that, especially in the case of medical schools, graduate schools like to see introductory courses on students’ transcripts, rather than by way of AP exam grades. “[Graduate schools] really want to see how you did in the courses while you were in college,” he said.

Chemistry professor John Winn, who teaches “General Chemistry,” agreed with Williams that the AP change has not affected course enrollments. He said he has not noticed any change in class sizes over recent years. Currently, there are 90 students enrolled in the course.

Winn also said that pinpointing the reasoning behind enrollment fluctuation is difficult.

“Enrollments change all the time, and we’ve never been able to explain why,” he said.

He also said that the chemistry department’s current placement system, which has not changed following the new AP credit policy, is an effective way to place students in appropriate level courses. Students can either take a placement test created by the department, or they can place out with a five on the AP Chemistry test.

Justin Fowler ’18, who is taking “General Chemistry” this term, said that while he enrolled in an AP Chemistry course during his senior year of high school, he chose not to take the exam when he found out that the College would not give him credit for the course.

He said that though he would have taken the exam had he been planning to attend a college that offered credit for a high score, he has found it beneficial to take the introductory course at the College.

Loretta Summers, a consultant at Chicago-based College Bound Consulting, said that cases like Fowler’s have become more common at competitive universities.

She said that while most of her clients take the most rigorous course load possible, many students choose to opt out of the AP exam to place into entry level courses during their freshman year.

“These classes are obviously harder in college than they are in high schools, so students will opt out or not report their scores a lot of the time,” Summers said.

Williams said that, at least within the math department, only a handful of students decide to retake a course that they have placed out of with their AP or placement test scores ­— a decision that requires permission from the Registrar.

Summers postulated that AP course credit is more advantageous

at larger state schools, where it can be difficult to graduate in four years without additional credits upon matriculating, she said. She said that the advising services and small class sizes at the College provide the support necessary for students to graduate in four years.

Rachel Martin ’19 expressed frustration at the current AP credit system. She wishes that she had received credit on the exam because she wishes to complete the Thayer School of Engineer’s Master of Engineering Management degree program in four years. She said she did not consider the policy in her decision to attend the College.

Renée Dobrinsky ’18 said that the policy has impeded her pursuit of math and science at the College.

When she was accepted to the College through the early decision program, she said she stopped paying attention in her high school AP Calculus course, because she knew that the College would not give her credit for her AP score.

Had credit been offered, she would have listened more attentively in class, she said.

“I definitely think I would’ve pursued more math and science at a school that would’ve given me credit for my score,” she said.

Though Dobrinsky has not taken any introductory courses with corresponding AP courses at the College, she found her Anthropology 1 and Linguistics 1 courses to be too large and with too little emphasis on professor-student relationships.

Lydia Jabs ’18 agreed with Dobrinsky’s sentiments, noting that she avoids introductory courses because of their large size. She expressed annoyance at the fact that she had to take “Drawing 1” during her first year at the College, despite the fact that she received a high grade on the AP Studio Art exam.

—Compiled by Anna Staropoli

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

TIFFANY ZHAI/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

One year ago, the College announced that, starting with the Class of 2018, admitted students would no longer receive AP credits.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

PAGE 3

Friends and family share memories of Hammond ’17 at service would have wanted.

College President Phil Hanlon Tanya Budler ’15. followed with a reflection on Ham “Although it was mainly just mond’s life and her impact on the sophomores on campus, we did not Dartmouth community. Hanlon want to wait until the fall term to stressed that though he could not remember [Hammond],” Gallup precisely tell her friends and famsaid. At the first memorial, friends ily how to cope with Hammond’s shared stories about Hammond loss and how to understand her and walked a lap around Occom death, her brightness will continue with lighted sparklers in remem- to shine and her eternal optimism brance of her, Gallup said. in the face of struggle will be re B u d l e r, C u n n i n g h a m a n d membered.

Gallup attended the Hammond After Hanlon’s remarks, several family’s memorial service in Colo- of Hammond’s college friends rado this summer, and they were came up to share memories and inspired to organize something reflect on her life. similar for the Dartmouth com- Budler described Hammond as munity. an ideal role model, regardless of Budler said that she loved the her class year. memorial in Colorado because For Budler, the question was it was an embodiment of Ham- about what to do now that their mond’s spirit. She said that Ham- mentor is no longer physically mond was as close to a saint as present in their lives. anyone could

be and her “There is a hole legacy was one “ True courage is where [Hamthat was worth having the strength m o n d o n c e recognizing. was],” Budler For Budler, to be brave when said. the goal of the your future is Movcampus meing forward, uncertain.” morial was to Budler added represent the that the way various parts of - A M A N DA F LU G S TA Dto fill in those Hammond’s life holes is rememand to bring the C L A R K E ’15 bering Hampositive spirit mond’s legacy of the service and holding on in Colorado to to the words of campus, particularly for those who wisdom that she imparted while could not attend. alive.

“This memorial is a launching Throughout Hammond’s time point and an opportunity for us at Dartmouth, she was a member to reflect on who she was and for of Kappa and the women’s club us to start living that way,” Budler soccer team. She also traveled said. to Argentina on a foreign study Similarly, Gallup said she hoped program, raised money for the anthat the memorial would be a posi- nual Prouty fundraiser for cancer tive celebration of Hammond’s research and participated in Relay life with a respectful amount of for Life. time for mourning, solace and Hailey Carter ’17 and Rachel memories.

McKee ’17 spoke on behalf of “I really hope that everyone Kappa and shared Hammond’s can come together and completely impact on their respective lives. forget about all of our busy lives “[Hammond] valued her words and recognize how important this and never engaged in empty is for [Hammond],” Gallup said. conversation,” McKee said. “She She deserves so much respect and spoke with purpose. [Hammond] honor for what she did in this was bold and wasn’t afraid to say life.” that you could be better.”

At the memorial, Hammond’s Hammond’s club soccer teamfellow members of Kappa Kappa mate Amanda Flugstad-Clarke Gamma sorority wore blue ribbons ’15 remembered her as the most in their hair in honor of Ham- dedicated, positive and passionate mond. Photos of her were mounted member of the team. Regardless along the chapel’s interior. of whether Hammond had chemo Hammond’s freshman trip therapy treatments, she attended leader Anoush Arakelian ’14 every practice she could, Flugstadopened the service by welcoming Clarke said. the Dartmouth community and “Even when she was at her Hammond’s family. Arakelian weakest, [Hammond] was still the encouraged everyone to incorpo- strongest person I ever met,” Flugrate Hammond’s excitement and stad-Clarke said. “True courage positivity into their lives, which is is having the strength to be brave something she said that Hammond when your future is uncertain.”

FROM SUMMER PAGE 1

Dick’s House director of clinical medical services and assistant professor at the Geisel School of Medicine Ann Bracken and assistant dean of undergraduate students Larissa Hopkins both said that the Dartmouth community will now ask themselves “what would [Hammond] do” when making hard choices.

Bracken added that one of the reasons why Hammond was able to accomplish everything that she did was because of the support of her “amazing” parents. Hammond’s parents did not make her feel limited in what she could accomplish, Bracken said.

Following Bracken and Hopkin’s reflection, Ben Colello ’18 and Lloyd May ’18 performed Passenger’s “Let Her Go” (2012).

Gallup and Cunningham were the last students to speak at the service.

“I am eternally grateful for the two years I had to get to know this special girl,” Gallup said. “There was something about her that made you feel so special when you were with her.”

Cunningham recited Maya Angelou’s poem “When Great Trees Fall,” and called for a moment of silence to honor Hammond. She encouraged everyone to use the silence to appreciate their lives and their friends.

Hammond’s mother Sharon Hammond offered concluding words for the memorial service and thanked the Dartmouth community on behalf of her daughter. “[Hammond] would be grateful

for your friendship and treasured times,” Sharon Hammond said.

She added that Hammond would also remind everyone that there should not be any crying in a celebration of life.

Immediately after the service, a reception was held in Collis Common Ground that included a slideshow, light refreshments and memory letter writing. The culminating part of the reception was line dancing to music from The Shana Stack Band — inspired by Hammond’s love for country music and pulling her friends onto the dance floor at parties.

At the reception bracelets were distributed by Kappa members, which were printed with the words, “Forever Positive — Summer’s Way.”

FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR DARTMOUTH STUDENT PROJECTS IN THE ARTS Complete Guidelines & Applications online: hop.dartmouth.edu (hover over Students link)

The Robert Dance ’77 Arts Initiative Fund The Robert Dance ’77 Fund enables talented Dartmouth undergraduates to undertake special projects in the arts. Preference is given to performing or visual arts projects that are “site-specific works,” created for venues other than traditional galleries, theaters or auditoriums. Outdoor venues, residential spaces and dining halls are among the sites that might be appropriate. The fund makes a total of up to $4,200 available to sponsor major student projects in the performing and visual arts. Undergraduate students and organizations are eligible to apply.

The Peter D. Smith Initiative Fund The Peter D. Smith Student Initiative Fund was established for the support of student enterprises in the arts. It was established by the former Friends of the Hopkins Center and Hood Museum of Art and continues today with the support of the Membership Programs of the Hop and the Hood. It is intended to enable talented Dartmouth undergraduates to complete special projects. The fund makes a total of up to $3,000 available to sponsor major original projects. Application is open to individuals or groups.

The Lazarus Family Musical Theater Fund The Lazarus Family Musical Theater Fund supports student-initiated projects in musical theater, with a priority given to original work. Although projects need not be curricular to be considered, senior projects that bring together work in theater and music are particularly appropriate. In the absence of proposals featuring original music, lyrics and/or text by students, productions that are to be directed, choreographed and designed by students may also be considered. The fund provides a total of up to $1,800 to support student-initiated projects.

The Class of 1961 Arts Initiative Fund Undergraduates are invited to apply for support of student enterprises in the arts. This award is funded by members of the Class of 1961 in order to enable talented Dartmouth undergraduates to undertake special projects in the arts. Particular interest will be given to those projects that “stand alone”—that is, projects that are not undertaken as senior fellowships or honors projects nor are affiliated with student organizations. The fund makes up to $1,500 available to sponsor student-initiated projects in the performing and visual arts. Application is open to single or group projects.

Applications & Guidelines Applications and complete guidelines for each fund are available online (hop.dartmouth.edu) or check with the offices of the Directors of Hopkins Center and Hood Museum of Art, the Chairs of the Departments of Theater, Music, Studio Art, Film & Media Studies, and Art History, the Hop Ensembles Office and the Hop Student Workshops.

DEADLINE: Thursday, November 12, 2015 ALL APPLICATIONS and recommendations must be submitted to the Hopkins Center Director’s Office, Lower Level Wilson Hall, by 12 pm, Thursday, November 12, 2015 or via email to Sherry.L.Fiore@dartmouth.edu.

HOPKINS CENTER FOR THE ARTS

hop.dartmouth.edu | 603.646.2422 Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

PAGE 4

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

Staff Columnist Sarah PErez ’17

Staff Columnist Nicole Simineri ’17

A Kid and His Clock

Hanlon, Hear Us Roar

The Ahmed Mohamed story reflects worrying bias in the American news media.

Administrators should be more transparent and accessible to students.

On Sept. 14, Ahmed Mohamed’s school day took a turn for the unexpected when he ended up in handcuffs. He had arrived at school that morning with an unusual looking device that he claimed was a homemade clock. According to a Sept. 16 report in the New York Times, the clock was composed of “a metal briefcase-style box, a digital display, wires and a circuit board.”

Mohamed’s arrest sparked a firestorm on social media. He was either hailed as a budding engineer or pegged as a potential terrorist.

Unfortunately, both sides severely miss the mark. Mohamed’s story casts light on the true colors of the American media. Charged with the great responsibility of disseminating reliable information, news outlets have essentially done the opposite. In their perpetual horse race to politicize events, they advance erroneous narratives and ultimately disservice the American people.

When all is said and done, all we have to go on is fact. We should not allow the American media to be the final arbiter of truth, for fact mixed with political spin quickly devolves into fiction.

Although the facts of the Ahmed Mohamed case remain murky, we know a few things for certain.

First, we know that Mohamed arrived at school that morning with something out of the ordinary in his possession. Second, we know that his engineering teacher had asked the teenager to refrain from showing the invention to others. Later in the day, the clock’s alarm went off in Mohamed’s English class. After the teacher informed school officials of the device, police were called to the scene. Third, we know that Mohamed was suspended and taken into custody on the afternoon of Sept. 14.

Taking the above into consideration, coverage of Mohamed’s story has left much to be desired.

In a display of haste and naivete, some news outlets rushed to victimize Mohamed and arouse sympathy for his plight. CNN was one of many to provide their assessment soon after the story broke.

A Sept. 16 report from the outlet characterized Mohamed as “a teenager with dreams of becoming an engineer.” Similarly, the New York Times described the 14-year-old as “partial to tinkering, technology and NASA T-shirts.” Before the full

In the last year or so, administrators have implemented many changes, ranging from the momentous “Moving Dartmouth Forward” policy initiative to the recent shift from a need-blind policy to a need-aware financial aid policy for international student admissions. Many of these decisions have been criticized within the pages this paper, and social media are likewise littered with student complaints about the College’s decisions, lack of transparency and unresponsiveness.

Instead of continuing to strong-arm the student body, administrators should take student criticisms into serious consideration, provide transparent responses and offer more opportunities for students to get involved and have their voices heard.

The President’s Office currently presents no way for students to contribute meaningful thoughts and opinions on decisions prior to their development. According to its website, the President’s Office has exactly two opportunities for students to involve themselves in “Moving Dartmouth Forward” — joining either the house student advisory committee or one of the three ad hoc working groups. These options have only been offered after the fact, however, and thus give no opportunity for students to be seriously engaged in the decision-making process itself — chalking outside Class of 1953 Commons and Improve Dartmouth were not the most meaningful of communicative channels. And while they did meet with various, specific student groups, that is not the same as transparent accessibility for the student body at large.

Furthermore, while the house student advisory committee and ad hoc working groups will recommend various actions, they must be “consistent with the framework that [College] President [Phil] Hanlon has established.” Because of this limitation, these opportunities will likely only attract students who agree with said framework, thereby severely limiting the diversity of opinions and viewpoints. Moreover, these opportunities are rarely advertised, putting the impetus on students to hunt for these channels.

When administrators have offered opportunities for students to be involved in the decisionmaking process, the number of students selected has been negligible and the selection process opaque at best. When formulating “Moving Dartmouth Forward,” for example, Hanlon “convened” a steering committee to “solicit input from the Dartmouth community.” The presidential steering committee was comprised of a mere 10 members, and of these only three were current students — there was four, at one point, but that member left the committee. Considering

facts of the case had come to light, these outlets presumed Mohamed’s innocence, as shown through these favorable and humanizing details.

Many outlets were also quick to decry the incident as evidence of Islamophobia and racism in the United States. While these narratives should not be discredited entirely, there is room for debate.

By immediately injecting their own political narratives, news outlets squelch all possibility of conversation and prevent meaningful, organic dialogue. Reverting to canned narratives for the sake of readership compromises legitimacy and robs audiences of the opportunity to independently decipher information.

In the same way that some outlets immediately exonerated Mohamed of all blame, others jumped to the opposite conclusion. Some did not waste time in portraying Mohamed as a national security threat in the making, ignoring the fact that his teacher deemed the device safe enough to not call the authorities at first — or that the device was, in fact, a clock. The bottom line is clear — both sides seriously erred in their coverage of the story.

They relied on emotion instead of evidence and replaced objective fact with passion. As such, they are both guilty of advancing politically expedient narratives to appeal to their respective audiences.

Prior experience can provide us with additional, rational insight. We know that the Mohamed case is not the first time that school officials have overreacted. In 2013, Maryland school officials suspended first-grader Josh Welch for gnawing his Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun, pointing it at a fellow student, and saying “bang, bang.”

Before alleging systemic racism or Islamophobia, cases like these must be taken into account. Yet, to deny that race can play a role in administrative actions is likewise biased — take the story of Jalyn Broussard, an African-American 6-year-old kicked out of kindergarten for his unremarkable haircut. Sometimes discrimination is present, and sometimes it is not. In forming our opinions of such overreactions, we should primarily remember one fact — the duty of school officials is to protect. Ultimately, it is far better to be safe than sorry, even if it means sacrificing some political correctness along the way.

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ISSUE

NEWS EDITOR: Annie Ma, TEMPLATING EDITOR: Elyse Kuo.

SUBMISSIONS: We welcome letters and guest columns. All submissions must include the author’s name and affiliation with Dartmouth College, and should not exceed 250 words for letters or 700 words for columns. The Dartmouth reserves the right to edit all material before publication. All material submitted becomes property of The Dartmouth. Please email submissions to editor@thedartmouth.com.

that no formal application was made available to students, it remains a mystery how these students were chosen for this position, leaving those who would like to contribute unable to do so for lack of transparency.

Though Hanlon holds weekly office hours, these are insufficient considering the volume of complaints and the limited time he dedicates to hearing them. Office hours are only once a week and last from 4 to 5 p.m. There are understandably many disgruntled students, so expect a long line and a disheartening sign-in sheet even if you arrive an hour early, as I once did. Even this small fraction of time is not guaranteed — when I went to office hours last spring, Hanlon was about 20 minutes late, taking a significant chunk of time away from the office “hour.” This leaves students who want to communicate with Parkhurst two options — sending emails that can easily be ignored, or waiting for office hours that will likely offer more frustrations than answers.

Even Student Assembly is an insufficient venue for student involvement. The stated goal of Student Assembly is to “strengthen student participation in the College’s decision-making process” — a noble mission. Yet the Assembly’s membership is limited — some might even say exclusive. Moreover, as its recent struggle against weekend classes clearly demonstrates, even the Assembly can often only fight administrators’ decisions once they have been made as opposed to being an active part of the decision-making process.

As a private institution, the College is not obligated to offer venues for student input on administrative decisions. Yet by failing — or refusing — to provide such opportunities for student participation, administrators are contradicting everything that the College supposedly represents.

The College’s mission statement emphasizes the importance of “independence of thought” and the “open debate of ideas.” Even in his “Moving Dartmouth Forward” speech, Hanlon expressed his desire to make the College a site of “innovation, a place of big ideas [and] bold efforts” — but these words are empty as long as students do not have access to platforms to express the ideas and to make the efforts Dartmouth apparently encourages.

If administrators truly values innovators, then they should provide students with opportunities to participate in the decision-making process and giving feedback on College policies. Both administrators and students want what is best for the College and have access to unique and helpful experiences and skills, so let’s end the uphill battle and begin the upward climb toward a safer, happier, better Dartmouth together.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

PAGE 5

College hopes to increase MOOC to teach about Italian opera overall financial aid FROM MOOCS PAGE 1

statistics and how the change will be implemented, though the group’s efbeen vastly outpacing the growth forts are still mostly in the planning of the overall student body and the stages as it gathers more information corresponding growth in financial regarding the policy shift. aid for international students was “If the argument is about the dire not sustainable. needs of extra funds, why doesn’t The admissions office will now the administration come out and be consider international applicants’ honest about it?” Kiana said. “Once financial need “as one of many fac- we identify the problem, we can go tors” in the admissions process, Col- ahead and address it as well.” lege spokesperson Diana Lawrence Another member of the effort, wrote in an email to The Dartmouth Orfeas Zormpalas ’16, said some last week. of the involved students are drafting The College began using a two petitions — one for the student need-blind policy for international body, another for faculty — to exstudents with the Class of 2012. Fi- press concerns regarding the change. nancial aid for current international Andrew Nalani ’16, another students will not be affected by this group member, said the fact that change. the administration did not release Hassan Kiani ’16, one of the an official statement to campus group’s organizers, said he created a regarding the change in policy and sign-up spreadsheet online to divide statistical reasoning behind this up the task of requesting more infor- change concerned him. mation from the College and reach- “This information was not coming out to media outlets to inform a municated in a way that it is clear wider audience and in a way that — i n c l u d i n g “The information was is accessible to alumni — of the people it’s not communicated in a going to affect,” this change.

As of press way that is clear and in he added. time, more than

Zorma way that is accessible palas 25 students have said he signed up to par- to the people it’s going thinks that take in the vari- to affect.” administraous actions. tors have not Sunde wrote adequately exin an email that - Andrew Nalani ’16 plained how this the number of change will beti n t e r n at i o n a l ter foster diversistudents at the College has increased ty among the student body when the by two-thirds, while the overall policy way discourage international student population has only seen a students from low socioeconomic five-percent increase. backgrounds from applying to the During the same time, overall aid College. has grown by 100 percent, while in Echoing Zormpalas’ sentiment, ternational student aid has increased Kiani said another purpose of these at double that rate. The shift to a concerted actions is to express the need-aware policy constitutes an disapproval that students have reattempt to “address this imbalance,” garding the change.

Sunde wrote.

“The fact that you can have a Sunde added that the College diverse international student body, hopes to enroll a greater number which is diverse economically as well international students, but can only — that made Dartmouth special,” do so by recruiting and admitting he said. “And Dartmouth is going these students “in a strategic way.” to lose that.”

He wrote that the College expects Jeonghoon Lee ’16, who has an increase in its overall scholarship signed up to participate in the budget, with relatively less aid going group’s efforts, said that the needtoward international students than aware policy undermines the misto domestic ones. sions and values that the Dartmouth Director of international student community had been striving to programs Stephen Silver declined uphold. comment, deferring comment to Lee said that he believes this Lawrence. change will negatively impact the A few students from the group met College’s publicity and its national with College President Phil Hanlon ranking as well. For these reasons, he during his office hours last week, but said that the entire campus should did not find his answers satisfactory, engage with this policy change.

Kiani said.

“How can Dartmouth say it After the conversation with supports diverse community when Hanlon, Kiani said now the group it makes the international students has formulated more questions re- play on an unequal ground?” he garding the details of the relevant said.

FROM NEED-AWARE PAGE 1

course is already online, including the exams.’”

While Swayne’s on-campus version of the course offers an introduction to all opera, the MOOC’s six-week timeline and slower pace means it must be limited to Italian opera only.

The American Renaissance course will be presented in two forms — one open to alumni with a Dartmouth-specific focus and the other open to the public with a broader scope.

In the winter, Dobson and Pease will teach an on-campus course titled “The American Renaissance at Dartmouth.” The course will cover 19th century American authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Emily Dickinson, and a MOOC covering roughly the same content will be offered simultaneously for Dartmouth alumni.

Pease and Dobson will teach the same MOOC in the spring, but with open enrollment and a less Dartmouth-specific focus.

DartmouthX is part of EdX, a broader consortium of dozens of universities that offer free MOOCs, though the College offers fewer MOOCs than some other institutions. Whereas DartmouthX currently has three courses listed, Harvard University’s HarvardX has 37.

Joshua Kim, director of digital learning initiatives for the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning, made it clear that the College’s goal with DartmouthX is not to compete directly with other, larger universities.

“Dartmouth is not like Harvard or [the Massachusetts Institute of Technology],” he said. “Our goal is not to educate the world, we’re

laser-like focused on improving a liberal-arts model of learning.”

In addition, he added that the College is implementing DartmouthX at “a very slow and deliberate pace,” with about one additional course each term.

DartmouthX has previously offered introductory classes in environmental science and engineering.

The courses saw relatively high completion — approximately 1,400 out of 10,000 students enrolled in the environmental science MOOC completed the course, which was double the seven percent national rate of completion for the average MOOC. Environmental studies professor Andrew Friedland, who taught the MOOC, said he found it to be a useful tool to improve his on-campus teaching.

“It was extremely valuable and I got additional experience in teaching without immediate feedback from students, which taught me how to speak and how to convey information better,” Friedland said.

Friedland now uses video clips in his undergraduate classes and made two additional videos over the summer with members of his creative team from the MOOC. The College has put out a request for a second round of DartmouthX course proposals, for which there will likely be two course slots, Friedland said.

For this second round, the College will be looking for subjects with relatively few pre-existing MOOCs and which can “show off the range of the liberal arts at Dartmouth,” Kim said.

DartmouthX is “a place where we can experiment and try new things,” Kim said. He added that the results of this experimentation are particularly useful for Dartmouth’s Gateway Initiative,

the College’s effort to improve so-called “gateway” courses — generally prerequisites with larger enrollments — by having faculty work with instructional designers, librarians and media specialists.

Professors interviewed emphasized that DartmouthX courses are not equivalent to those offered to undergraduates. While completion of a DartmouthX course allows for the student to receive a verified certificate, it does not count for course credit. Moreover, the shorter timeframe of six to seven weeks for DartmouthX courses and the nature of the part-time students who might take the courses means that significant amounts of content must be omitted from the MOOCs. Dobson said that there are other reasons for potential online students to be interested in the course offerings. The alumni MOOC on the American Renaissance could draw in students who want to “reconnect with professor Pease and reconnect with Dartmouth,” Dobson said.

Dobson added that the course will incorporate new learning methods, adding that he has a particular interest in “distant reading,” or using crowdsourcing and datamining to analyze large quantities of text. He said he also hopes to utilize technologies like a tool developed at Harvard that allows thousands of people to annotate certain poems for literary devices.

Users can also see the annotations of other students, so that patterns in contributions can be studied.

The Italian opera MOOC will also incorporate technology in the form of animations by Sawyer Broadley ’08 of the College’s Media Production Group, and additional animators at the Cartoon Studies Institute of White River Junction will supplement videos as well.

P-P-POKER FACE

GABRIELLE KIRLEW/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

The Dartmouth Poker Society meets in the basement of Robinson Hall for its weekly free buy-in meeting.

PAGE 6

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS

DARTMOUTH EVENTS TODAY 12:00 p.m.

“Beats By Dr. Dre: Beating the Ecosystem with Hard and Software,” lecture with Elizabeth Hartley T’05, Raether Hall, Frantz II Classroom

4:30 p.m.

“Legacy of Social Class in the Transition to Adulthood,” lecture with Annette Lareau of the University of Pennsylvania, Silsby Hall 28

5:00 p.m.

“Caribe Global,” lecture with Jacqueline Herranz-Brooks, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Faculty Lounge

TOMORROW 12:00 p.m.

“Beats by Dr. Dre: Beating the Ecosystem with Hard and Software,” Raether Hall, Frantz II Classroom

4:30 p.m.

“Legacy of Social Class in the Transition to Adulthood” with Annette Lareau of the University of Pennsylvania, Silsby 28

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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

PAGE 7

Gabriel Barrios ’15 explores nostalgia, being alone in new piece

B y joyce lee

The Dartmouth

On a rainy night, the middle of the Green is devoid of noise or activity save for some stragglers headed to their residence halls and the sound of rain on gravel. And then — a light flicks on in the distance. The previously empty rotunda at the Hopkins Center glows under a warm lamp. In the space where during the day there was only a blank wall, is a painting.

The piece, titled “When We Go Home,” is part of Gabriel Barrios’ ’15 art exhibition. As one of the four interns for the studio art department who display their work in the rotunda at different parts of the year, Barrios is the first to have his art on exhibit for the public.

The exhibit will change depending on the time of day, Barrios said.

“During the day, we have this empty wall, although there are nails attached to indicate that there should be something,” he said. “Come night time, around 11 p.m., I’ll come [to the rotunda] with the painting from my studio as I’m heading out for the night and hang it up, and I’ll come back at seven in the morning to take it down and take it back to my studio.”

Gerald Auten, the department’s director of exhibitions, said that he found Barrios’ decision intriguing.

“It’s hard to see the rotunda from far away in the daytime, so to see it glowing at night is like seeing a lantern lit up from the Green,” he said.

“The way the art is displayed reminds me of a section of an art museum I visited in Boston. Where the painting used to be is empty but the label’s still there — the painting is absent, just as it is in [Barrios’ exhibition]. It’s one example of how the art we display isn’t in a gallery, so it’s always interesting to see what the artist decides to do with the space.”

Studio art intern Lindsey Lam ’15 said that she enjoys the sense of wistfullness the piece brings up and the way its positioning emphasizes its themes.

“It’s not just about the technological aspect, that it glows at night,” she said.

“When you walk home, that is what you see, and it becomes a companion to your thoughts and ultimately accompanies you home.”

Barrios said that the decision to display his art late at night rather than during the day indicated both the creative context of his piece and his own reflection of the interaction between art and an audience. He said that he feels it is too easy for art to become impersonal.

“I think something about the way people interact with an [exhibit] that’s just in the middle of a typical place where people pass and come through reflects on what I don’t like about how paintings are interacted with normally, such as when you go to a museum and you stand for five seconds in front of a

painting, if at all, and then you move onto the next one,” he said.

Barrios said that he wanted his audience to have the chance to interact with his work alone to focus on one of its major themes — the act of being alone. He also said that he liked the way his piece looked in the darkness.

“I personally have always loved interacting with artwork alone,” he said. “In fact, a lot of my artwork tends to deal with how other people deal with being alone. So for me, it’s very important that if people do decide to interact with [my art], they do it in a setting where they are alone, such as walking back home alone at night, after studying [at Hopkins Center] or at Homecoming, after running around the bonfire. I think it also looks better at night, with the light shining on it and nothing much else going on outside.”

Barrios’s piece shows a figure of a boy upon a mostly empty background.

He said that he was inspired by feelings of loneliness and isolation. He said that the figure itself was supposed to evoke those feelings.

“It’s meant to read more like a silhouette, when I had it in mind, of a small child in his early tens or so,”

Barrios said. “When I was putting the paint down on the canvas, it built up so that there’s more of a layer on top of the background than within the figure itself. It should read kind of as if I’ve carved this figure into a white, yellow-ish space.”

He said that he was inspired by the idea of being not fully present at what was originally his home after his graduation.

“So with the painting, I wanted to make something that at least to me, reflected a similar kind of experience, that you’re constantly looking to [understand] this image that’s not necessarily always there, and doesn’t exactly give you a lot of information,” he said. “It’s just this hollowed out kind of image, and you’re aware that there should be this boy there, but the thing that’s defined is the space that’s creating the boy, rather than the boy creating the space.”

Barrios said that both the figure and the painting’s title represented his experience as a college student visiting home after being away for certain amounts of time.

“I recently graduated, and over the years, it’s felt so strange to go

home and see how much I’ve changed while going through college,” he said.

“You’re aware of this fact that you are changing, and it’s never made as certain as it is when you go back home and everyone treats you the same, and everyone just forgets that you’re not the same person you were when you left.

Barrios said that the change he faced during his time at the College came from a growing interest in the studio arts.

Originally planning to study chemistry and biology and pursue the pre-med track, Barrios’ interest in the arts grew during a project he completed on an off-term where he and a co-partner decided to paint a school library with characters from books.

“I’d never painted before, but when I was painting Spider-Man, I thought, ‘This is pretty cool! Wouldn’t it be great if I could do more?’” he said. “And it became a free-time thing, taking that ‘Drawing 1’ course, and it just happened to work out with a lot of things that happened my sophomore fall, when I needed to do a lot of thinking with my hands. I just fell into it. It made sense to me.”

In his time spent in the studio art department, Barrios particularly credits professors Brenda Garand and Esmé Thompson for their encouragement and influence during his studies. He said that they both helped shape the work that he is currently doing.

As an intern, Barrios now works with the studio art department as a teaching assistant and in maintaining artwork and supplies.

“It’s just great to be on the other side of things, in a way, but still be close enough to be near the learning process and contribute my views to someone who hasn’t yet been able to approach a certain level of artistic development,” he said.

Lam said that Barrios began interning during the summer term, making him the most experienced of the interns. She described working with him as “amazing”.

“He makes our work fun, but he transitions to seriousness when we need to get things done,” she said. “He’s so full of warmth and support. He truly wants people to enjoy themselves.”

Barrios’ piece went on display on Sept. 18 and will remain up until Oct. 18.

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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS

PAGE 8

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

SPORTS

THURSDAY LINEUP

No athletic events scheduled

One-on-One: Victor Williams ’16 Men’s golf takes first at weekend tournament

B y SAM STOCKTON The Dartmouth

Victor Williams ’16 is a starting wide receiver for the football team. In the Big Green’s home-opener against Sacred Heart University at Memorial Field, Williams set career highs with 11 catches and 178 receiving yards to go along with a 60-yard touchdown grab.

The Dartmouth sat down with Williams to discuss the life of an Ivy League wide receiver.

When did you start playing football?

VW: I started playing football officially in fifth grade. My dad was a coach of second- and third-grade teams when I was in pre-school, so I used to put pads on and participate in that. Fifth grade was the first time I formally played football.

Is your approach to this season different given that you are a senior?

VW: No, it’s not really any different, but it means a lot more because it potentially could be your last time playing football. While the approach is somewhat the same, you are a veteran, and it’s your team, and you have to lead the guys. You’re no longer following the senior class. You are the senior class, so you have to make sure you take care of business and get the guys under you to take care of business.

What do you like to do when you’re not playing football?

VW: I have a passion for music. This is all when school isn’t as demanding, so when we’re not in school. I play guitar, and I sing. I like to get away by singing a lot or learning a new song.— anything that just sounds pleasing to my ear. I like a lot of R&B and I like John Mayer — he’s a great guitarist. I really like the way he plays, so I sometimes try to replicate that.

Against Sacred Heart, you faced a lot of Cover 0 and press-man coverage — is that something you enjoy as a receiver?

VW: Oh yeah, I love that. Every receiver loves it when you play man because it’s mano a mano. It’s you against him, and it’s who’s the better guy. That’s the most exciting thing you can play against it, and I know definitely that’s my favorite thing to

go against and that’s where I have an advantage.

What gives you an advantage in that one-on-one situation?

VW: I’m a smaller guy, so sometimes it’s a little harder to get hands on me.

I’m also quick, and that combination is hard to press, so I get a free release.

At that point, I’m good to go.

What would you like to do next year?

VW: If I don’t get a chance with the NFL or CFL, then I’m going to carry on my career here. I’m in the five-year program for engineering, so I’d like to get my Bachelor’s of Engineering and pursue a career from there. I don’t really know exactly what I want to do, but I have a little more time.

I’m running out of time, but I have a little more left.

Has the increased awareness of concussions and head trauma in football change the way you play? Do you think about that?

VW: No, not really. There’s always been that danger ever since you’ve been a kid. Yeah, there’s more awareness now, but just because there’s more awareness doesn’t mean there’s more of a chance you’re going to get a concussion. The way you avoid that is you play proper football — you don’t duck your head when you go in for a tackle or when you run over a defender. You just have to be smart, and you have to protect yourself.

Some people say that safety concerns, like head trauma,

will eventually push football out of the American sports landscape. Why do you think it should stay there?

VW: Football, to me, is the greatest sport in America. It’s the greatest team sport, and it kind of replicates life. The ball’s not round, so it can bounce in any direction. You’re going to get twists and turns throughout the game, and success depends on how you bounce back. I know a lot of sports are somewhat similar, but you also have to learn how to work in teams, which is how it’s going to be in the workspace. I’m a very biased person, but I think, while it is dangerous, it has its pluses. I think people want to see football, and while people want to see it and want to pay for tickets, football will create revenue. Whatever creates revenue is not going to die out.

In your four years here, can you think of a time when the ball has not bounced your way, either on or off the field, and you had to bounce back?

VW: I was one of the guys who was involved in the Religion 65 incident, and so the whole “Clickergate” deal kind of threw me off, but it was my fault. That’s definitely a perfect example of the ball bouncing in the wrong direction, but you have to bounce back. You can’t allow that stuff to distract you or affect you — you have to move forward. You just need to make sure you learn from your mistakes and don’t repeat them.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

TIFFANY ZHAI/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Victor Williams ’16 had 178 receiving yards in the win over Sacred Heart University.

B y MARK CUI The Dartmouth

Propelled by an excellent secondplace performance from John Lazor ‘19, the men’s golf team won the two-day Quechee Club Collegiate Challenge in Vermont over 11 other competing teams. After a last-place finish at twelfth in the Fighting Irish Golf Classic a week earlier, the team regrouped to score a collective twoover par (578), successfully holding off second-place University of Rhode Island by four strokes and third-place Harvard University by five strokes.

“In my 11 years, it was probably the second biggest tournament we’ve won,” head coach Rich Parker said. “We hung tough, and it was definitely a nail-biter.

It was a great experience for our kids, and they played well down the stretch.

Over the weekend, I think we learned a lot of lessons.”

Parker said that this is the secondlargest tournament the team has won in his 11 years as coach.

On the first day of the competition, Lazor sat atop the leaderboard of 77 competitors with a five-under 67, while Scott Jaster ’17 shot a one-under 71 and tied for sixth. Ian Kelsey ’18 shot a one-over 73 and Charles Cai ’16 shot a two-over 74 to add to the team’s total score of 285. This placed the Big Green in first place with a comfortable lead over the University of Rhode Island by 13 strokes and over Harvard by five strokes.

The second day of the tournament was about maintaining the lead and persevering through pressure, Parker said.

“In my mind, it was going to be us or Harvard,” Parker said. “I told my kids to hang in tough out there, play through it and play smart. It was intense out there. It was great watching the kids handle the pressure.”

Despite an unexpected day-two surge by the Rams led by Mackenzie Denver’s five-under 67, the Big Green held on to win the competition.

Parker reminded Lazor, the last golfer on the course, to finish consistently and try to par out, Lazor said.

“I ended up making a birdie on 17 and then parred 18, which I think really put the dagger in the heart,” Lazor said.

Cai commended Lazor for his performance closing out the tournament.

“With the lead, it’s not easy,” Cai

said. “He showed a lot of poise and composure out there. He’s been very impressive.”

Lazor was one of four golfers over the weekend to finish under par with a four-under 140, finishing in second place behind Rhode Island’s Billy Walthouse. Kelsey finished in a tie for fifth with an even par of 144, Jaster tied for eighth with a 1435 and Cai finished with a 149 to tie for 14th.

Lazor described the victory as a “huge win for the team coming home after finishing in last place at Notre Dame [University].”

The Big Green’s B-team also had a strong showing in the tournament, finishing in a solid tie for sixth place with Fordham University. The team impressed by finishing higher than last year’s Ivy League Golf Championship winner, the University of Pennsylvania.

Dylan Rusk ‘16 led the charge, tying Jaster in eighth place with a 145.

“That really is another confidence booster for us going into the rest of the season, knowing that we have 10, 11 guys who can play really solid golf,” Lazor said.

Despite the difficulties of the rugged course, the golfers took advantage of the sunny conditions during the weekend competition.

The team looks to continue building off their strong start to the season.

One potential area of improvement pinpointed by both Parker and Lazor is the team’s short iron play, specifically from 100 yards and in.

Already in the young season, the Big Green has shown marked improvement, Parker said.

“The golf team has really come along nicely this year as a group,” Parker said. “We have a core of kids that is really a great start to what we want to do here at Dartmouth. We just gotta keep working hard and pushing forward.”

The team will travel to New Haven for Yale University’s Macdonald Cup over the next weekend. The tournament will feature many Ivy League teams and other strong teams, providing an indicator of where the men’s golf team currently stands. Despite the challenge looming ahead, the team is excited for the opportunity.

“The win at Quechee gave us confidence,” Cai said. “We know that if we play well, we can compete with anybody.”