VOL. CLXXII NO. 129
AM SHOWERS HIGH 57 LOW 36
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Students fight for kosher options AMP policy
aims to increase student safety By JOYCE LEE The Dartmouth
pareve meals. DDS director David Newlove, DDS associate director Don Reed and Dartmouth Hillel executive director Rabbi Edward Boraz declined to comment for the article. Mayer Schein ’16, an Orthodox Jewish student and one of the leaders of the campaign pushing for improved kosher options on campus, said he has been fighting to have his concerns addressed
Administrators involved with the development of the new Alcohol Management Procedures — to be implemented Oct. 19 — said that they hope the policy will make events safer, but they are also willing to work with students and hear any concerns that may arise. The new policy will allow for events with mixed types of alcohol, excluding hard alcohol. Events will also be classified under three tiers — tier one events, defined as those with under 40 attendees or are members-only, will be managed by the event organizers for both security and bartending, and require prior online registration. Tier two events, defined as those with 40-150 attendees, will be required to have a minimum of two Training for Intervention Procedures trained bartenders, two Safety and Security walk-throughs and the required online registration. Tier three events, defined as those with over 150 attendees, will also require prior registration and two Safety and Security walkthroughs, as well as the presence of AMP-trained bartending staff and Green Mountain Security. Third-party security required for tier three events will be subsidized half by the College and half by the organization hosting the event. The cost of security and bartending for social events should not deter organizations from hosting, associate dean of student life Eric Ramsey said. “We’re not trying to price people out of having a social event. We just recognize that some social events require more cost to make sure it’s a safe and responsible event,” Ramsey said. “If financial issues present themselves for any organiza-
SEE KOSHER PAGE 3
SEE AMP PAGE 5
MIRROR
HANOVER’S MOST INFAMOUS CRIMES PAGE DM4
GRAVE-ROBBING MEDICAL STUDENTS PAGE DM8
OPINION
VERBUM: A TRADITION OF IGNORANCE PAGE 4
SPORTS
TEEVENS TACKLES CONCUSSIONS PAGE 8
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PAULA MENDOZA/THE DARTMOUTH
Students wait in line at the Pavilion section of the Class of 1953 Commons.
B y SONIA QIN The Dartmouth
The student campaign to push the College to provide better kosher dining options has been making slow progress in recent weeks, as the working group set up to discuss the issue has yet to meet. What the College has been advertising as kosher food at the Class of 1953 Commons is not actually proper kosher according to the strict demands
of Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, Orthodox Jewish student leaders of the campaign said. The preparation of kosher food is required to be supervised by a Jew who keeps the Sabbath. The current supervisor, or Mashgiach, at Dartmouth is from Tablet-K, which is not a certified kosher organization. The Dartmouth Dining Services website states that the Pavilion, located in ’53 Commons, is a dairy-free kosher kitchen providing meat and
Benevera aims to Alum to pitch at playoffs boost health outcomes B y RACHEL FAVORS The Dartmouth Staff
B y MEGAN CLYNE The Dartmouth
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Elliot Health System and Frisbie Memorial Hospital announced on Oct. 5 that they have partnered with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care to form Benevera Health, a company devoted to improving health care in New Hampshire at reduced costs.
In the past, DHMC has partnered with various other companies and medical centers to reduce costs and improve care. The goal of this partnership is similar — to provide one-on-one support to patients with chronic and complicated conditions or emerging symptoms. This company will bring together clinical, financial and SEE BENEVERA PAGE 2
As Kyle Hendricks ’12 prepares for his likely National League Championship Series debut next week, both current and former Big Green baseball players reflected that the poise and unwavering confidence of the Chicago Cubs’ starting pitcher has contributed to his success in Major League Baseball. Regardless of whether Hendricks is striking players
out or giving up runs, his calm demeanor remains unchanged. In fact, Hendricks has earned the nickname “The Professor,” perhaps for his studied, cerebral approach to pitching. Hendricks made his entrance in the major leagues in 2014 and tied for seventh place in the National League Rookie-of-the-Year voting with a sparkling 2.46 ERA. His first postseason appearance came last Saturday, when he pitched just under
five innings as the starting pitcher in the Cubs’ 6-3 game 2 victory in the National League Division Series last Saturday. During Hendricks’ time at the College, he helped the Big Green win two Ivy League championships in 2009 and 2010. He also earned FirstTeam All-Ivy recognition and was named Dartmouth’s pitcher of the year in 2011. Dartmouth baseball head SEE BASEBALL PAGE 5
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 2
DAily debriefing Assigned seating has been proven to prevent cheating in college classrooms, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported. This study examined 242 students who took their final exam of an introductory science course at a “top American university.” The students assumed they could sit wherever they wanted, as per usual, but the professor unexpectedly gave the students a seating chart just before the exam began. The final exam went smoothly with assigned seats and three additional proctors. The combination of random pairing and an increased number of instructors eradicated all signs of cheating. To reduce cheating, colleges should still be aware of learning environments and change course design and classroom practices. Although attempting to end cheating is important, creating an atmosphere of trust is equally essential. An honor code encourages students to live with high expectations and good standards, which result in positive behavior. Contrary to popular belief, female academics may be hindered in their careers more by inflexible partners instead of the demands of children, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Survey data from about 13,000 academics across 10 countries concluded that having children sometimes mattered less to potential partners than whether or not their partner had a full-time job. Female academics without children were more likely to work internationally if they were single than if their partner worked full-time. The survey, however, includes only women on the academic track and not those who left academia because they could not solve work-family conflicts. While emphasis on maternity leave improvement has tried to make it easier for women to continue working, the research urges that universities might also help women overcome problems relocating to other countries. Female academics could be supported by financial assistance for their partner in a new country. Such a program has been practiced in businesses, but universities and funding agencies were only considering it. Male and female scholars who have academic partners were more likely to collaborate internationally, although it tends to be more common in men. The United States Education Department has announced a pilot program that will allow federal financial aid for students enrolled in nontraditional education programs to extend to educational-technology companies, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported. These companies collaborate with colleges and “third-party quality-assurance entities” to offer programs such as boot camps, massive open online courses and short-term certificates. The experiment’s two main goals are to increase the accessibility of nontraditional programs to low-income students and to test novel ways of measuring the program’s quality based on the students’ outcomes. According to Course Report, coding boot camps are expecting to increase the number of students they graduate by 240 percent in 2015. “Noninstitutional providers,” the combination of ed-tech companies and programs, are highly attractive to students as well as lawmakers, as they see them as an avenue to get students to earn credentials faster. The pilot is the most recent addition to the U.S. Education Department’s series of experiments started in 2011 to promote innovation in higher education. However, students still face obstacles in their pursuit of nontraditional programs, including the scarcity of information on program quality and the lack of access to aid. — COMPILED BY PAULA MENDOZA
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
Benevera may lower health care costs FROM BENEVERA PAGE 1
operational information in an effort to provide analytics to clinicians working to improve health care quality, DHMC announced. “The idea is to keep people healthy,” DHMC director of external relations Rick Adams said. ElevateHealth president and Benevera Health president and chief executive officer Corbin Petro said that the company aims to make care management a more seamless process. Benevera aims to have readily available resources at patients’ disposal so that the patients may proactively reach out for support and manage their conditions before symptoms become acute and require them to go directly to clinical settings, she said. Petro said that the new company also provides a great opportunity for physicians and health-related experts to work together and learn from each other. Benevera will provide more information to health care clinicians about the best practices to guide care recommendations and offer the support of New Hampshire health care professionals to address health issues, according to the DHMC news release. The entity will also allow for a more comprehensive analysis of payer and
provider information in an effort to optimize the cost and delivery of care and enact member health monitoring systems to reduce the need for urgent care. Benevera will ultimately lower health care costs, Adams said. “The rigid costs of care just aren’t sustainable,” Adams said. According to the Benevera Health website, the company will deconstruct legacy barriers between insurers, hospitals and caregivers to level and lessen health care costs. Experts predict that patient premiums in 2016 will be approximately 4 percent lower than they would be if this partnership did not exist, the release announced. Benevera Health is not an insurance company, a fact that distinguishes it from other similar companies, Adams said. Rather, it is a population health improvement company. All partners — DHMC, Elliot Health System, Frisbie Memorial Hospital and Harvard Pilgrim Health — own Benevera, according to the release. They will share financial and clinical outcome responsibilities, and each partner will have a say in how the company is run and how its products are designed. Benevera will support all of Harvard Pilgrim’s more than 80,000
insured members. It is anticipated to support all self-insured members in the future, according to the release. Adams said that there are no concerns or drawbacks he can identify regarding the company at the moment. “There really is no other entity that includes all of the different elements of health care,” Petro said, adding that Benevera is not modeled after any existing companies. Operations will begin on Jan. 1, 2016, with the partners intending to hire approximately 40 health care professionals. There will always be a need for a high value of medical care, Adams said. Coordinated care leads to lower costs and better quality of service, which in turn promotes and creates much more auspicious health outcomes. By connecting proactive patient care and good practice analytics with health care delivery, Benevera will improve patient health, according to the DHMC release. Stanford University health research and policy professor Laurence Baker said that it is fascinating to see companies develop new products promoting health care and expressed his hope for the progressive, innovative future of medicine and health. “It’s an exciting time for health care,” Baker said.
FRIDAY, october 16, 2015
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 3
Bureaucracy stands in the way of kosher dining at the College FROM KOSHER PAGE 1
since he first arrived on campus in his freshman year. Back then, he said he was the only one in his class directly affected, and even after he approached a campus Rabbi to explain the situation, not much was done. Now, Schein has been joined by several other Jewish students who are eager to petition for proper kosher food on campus. The campaign started near the end of last fall term. “We’re still largely in the same place,” Matthew Goldstein ’18, who is also an Orthodox Jewish student and who comes from a strong kosher background, said. Goldstein said he came to Dartmouth with the expectation that there was going to be kosher food. Cameron Isen ’18, also an Orthodox Jewish student, said that he, along with the other Orthodox students, finds it impossible to eat on campus. “We just think it’s wrong on so many levels,” Isen said. “We’re just trying to push the school to get better in a lot of respects, and recognize that this is more of an issue of fairness than anything else.” Schein, Goldstein, Isen and Eliza Ezrapour ’18, also an Orthodox Jew, got together because they realized that there were many pieces of the Jewish
law of kashrut that the College was not following. They were also already familiar with one another. “There’s very few Orthodox Jewish students here, and we all know each other,” Isen said. Schein, Goldstein and Isen have been obligated to find other means of eating every term. Goldstein mainly eats the food he brings from home or that he buys from the Co-op Food store. Schein often goes to a rabbi’s house for dinner, or he eats the food sent to him by his parents. Isen also makes all his meals in his dorm room, adding that the lack of kosher options on campus has become a health issue for him. “Now it’s just really a matter of great frustration for a lot of the people involved,” Goldstein said, explaining that the College has been dragging its feet in addressing the matter for the past eight months. The students involved have given the College a list of qualified kosher organizations in the region, as well as a full report on why the situation is not up to standards and what would need to be done to improve it. The group also circulated a petition online, asking the College to provide the kosher kitchen with an Orthodox certification. As of press time, 715 people have signed the petition. There are around 400 Jewish students on campus. Isen said the Col-
lege did not respond to their concerns until the petition came out. “The petition represents the fact that there are other students at Dartmouth and people in the world...who really care about this issue,” Isen said. “It could be because they want to eat kosher food, but what I really think it’s about is the idea of fairness and equality.” Schein said from their actions so far, administrators seem more concerned with “saving face” than actually serving proper kosher food that Jewish students can eat. “[The College] is very much aware that this isn’t kosher food, and they’re still refusing to serve kosher food,” Schein said. “It’s no longer ‘Dartmouth students petition for better kosher options.’ Now it’s ‘We petitioned, and the College acknowledged the petition, and still refuses to serve kosher food.’” In the past month, the College has established a working group, headed by director of the Dickey Center for International Understanding Daniel Benjamin, to address the issue. The group has not met yet but plans to hold its first meeting on Monday. “The concept behind [the working group] is to examine issues that several students have raised regarding the provision of kosher food at Dartmouth,”
Benjamin said. Benjamin said the group will try to come up with some “thoughtful and reasonable potential solutions” to solve the issue. He said he hopes the working group will be able to wrap up the issue by the end of this term. Since the group has not met yet, Benjamin was unable to comment further on specific goals and plans. Some of the Orthodox students involved met with College administrators on Sept. 21, but did not hear back about the formation of the working group until two weeks later. “This whole process has been incredibly bureaucratic and incredibly slow,” Goldstein said. Dartmouth is the only Ivy League school that does not provide properly certified kosher dining options. At Cornell University, the main kosher dining hall, 104West!, is open for lunch and dinner every day of the week. The staff there also prepare grab-and-go options such as wraps, salads and sandwiches. At Cornell, about 60 students eat kosher food regularly, but during Shabbat dinners on Friday, 150 students can be expected to show up to the kosher dining hall, Paul Muscente, associate director of west campus Cornell dining and overseer of the Orthodox Union kosher program, said. “We have a Mashgiach right on
site who provides the supervision,” Muscente said. “I think the students are happy with the program we have.” At Harvard University, in each of the 13 undergraduate dining halls there is a kosher corner, which includes a refrigerator and a freezer with premade options that students can heat up. Crista Martin, Harvard’s director of strategic initiatives and communications, says there are breads, meats and re-heatable meal options. She added that there are even toasters and microwave ovens especially designated for the kosher corners. In addition, Harvard Hillel has a kosher dining hall that is open for dinners and for holiday meals. “It has a fuller variety and is more like a typical dining hall,” Martin said. “We’re all working exceedingly hard to meet folks’ needs at the highest level possible.” Goldstein, Schein and Isen all said the ultimate goal of their campaign is for Dartmouth to get on board with its peer institutions and start offering acceptable kosher food as soon as possible. “It’s less about the students and more about the College’s failure to uphold the values that they claim to have,” Schein said. Goldstein is a member of The Dartmouth opinion staff.
OFF CAMPUS WINTER TERM?
Want to apply for an Academic Off-Campus Program? November 1, 2015
Early applications are due from students not on campus winter term wishing to apply for programs that require interviews. These programs are: AMELL LSA+ – Beijing ENVS FSP AMELL LSA+ - Tokyo English FSP AMELL LSA+ Arabic, Rabat Film & Media Studies FSP AMES FSP – Fez Geography FSP Anthro/Ling FSP Government FSP, London Art History FSP History FSP Biology FSP Music FSP Classics FSP Greece Theater FSP (All other program deadlines are the same as below)
IF YOU ARE ***ON*** CAMPUS WINTER TERM, IMPORTANT DATES ARE: January 7, 2016--- ‘16 Summer Term Program Applications are due February 1, 2016 --- ‘16 Fall, ‘17 Winter and ‘17 Spring Terms and all Exchange Program Applications are due ** **Exceptions: Government DSP, D.C. and UCSD Exchange – please see the Guarini Institute website for deadlines
Apply on-line at: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ocp Please join us at the Academic Off-Campus Programs Fair on Tuesday, November 3 (4:30-7:00 pm) in Collis Common Ground
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
PAGE 4
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015
Staff Columnist NICOLE SIMINERI ’17
Verbum Ultimum The Dartmouth Editorial Board
Some Things Must Fail
A Tradition of Ignorance
We must constantly re-evaluate the “old traditions” of Dartmouth. Indigenous Peoples Day — or more commonly and inappropriately termed Columbus Day — has come yet again. Though the College has taken steps to make campus better for Native students, including abandoning the unofficial, racist “Indian” mascot more than 40 years ago and not officially recognizing Columbus Day, this year’s holiday did not pass without incident. An unnamed individual or group scattered offensive posters throughout campus celebrating “Columbus Day,” decrying “political correctness” and advertising the sale of Dartmouth “Indian” gear with the justification of defending the our immortalized “old traditions.” For any respectful community, this act of premeditated racism is disappointing — for a College that attracts some of the world’s best minds, it is appalling. The administration quickly responded with a campus-wide email on Wednesday that condemned the posters as counter to the College’s mission of “supporting and maintaining an inclusive and respectful educational community” and the perpetrators as “cowardly and disrespectful.” The administration’s quick response and blatant denunciation of the posters is reassuring. At the very least, it seems that their commitment to barring the disrespectful “Indian” mascot is firm. Still, these posters are incontrovertible evidence that there are students whose educations are so lacking that they are both contently ignorant and enthusiastic about spreading their ignorance, insensitivity and hate. Even more disturbing is that some of these students might go on to positions of power, influence and wealth. Their identities are still unknown, but anonymity is no surprise. After all, those who hesitate to attach their identities to their beliefs are often those who know their beliefs are problematic at best and hateful at worst. It is not, however, all their fault. The uncomfortable glorification of the “old traditions” that permeates this campus is partly to blame. Some traditions, such as Winter Carnival, are great fun and strengthen the Dartmouth community. Yet traditions are more than just bonfires during Homecoming — the exclusion of people of color and women from the College for most of its 246year history is also arguably an “old tradition.” It was not until 1972, for instance, that Dartmouth
first began admitting women, and the College’s traditional faction did not accept the change without resistance. Even as recently as 2007, some of the College’s male athletic teams and fraternities stubbornly continued to disregard the women who now comprise approximately 50 percent of the student body by singing the long replaced, outdated and male-exclusive alma mater “Men of Dartmouth.” Likewise, to this day, some students evidently continue to support the “Indian” mascot despite its widespread condemnation by the Native American community. Such sexist and racist practices are not traditions to be praised — they are stains on our history and artifacts from an archaic period to be viewed as warnings against the sort of patriarchy and white supremacy that spawned them in the first place. To eliminate this reliance on “old traditions” groupthink at Dartmouth, we must take individual action. Moreover, many of these “old traditions” have been used to systematically silence certain groups of individuals. This cannot continue — those being oppressed have the voices that matter when discussing issue of race, sex and gender. Students who are not a member of the minority group in question should take as fact that they do not know as much as the people who actually experience systems of oppression everyday, and should be open to learning from those who do. In the same way that when an employer or authority figure tells you something that you do not fully understand, question them politely and respectfully. Intend to listen, absorb and learn. Be curious, take initiative and use what you have learned to educate others when the boss is not present — but when they are, take a step back and let the real expert speak. You do not know everything and that is perfectly okay, but come with the intention of changing that, leave having learnt and return to learn even more. There are good traditions and there are bad traditions, and all should either adapt with the changing times or recede into the abyss of history. As for such “traditions” as the “Indian mascot,” some people would apparently respond with “lest the old traditions fail” — but, for some traditions, I say let them.
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ISSUE
NEWS EDITOR: Priya Ramaiah, TEMPLATING EDITOR: Brendan Schuetze.
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.
It is categorically immoral to use or support the “Indian” head symbol. This past Monday, an unknown number of students posted flyers advertising Dartmouth Indian apparel in an apparent attempt to mock the movement to replace the federal Columbus Day holiday with an Indigenous Peoples Day. This editorial board joins Provost Carolyn Dever, Dean of the College Rebecca Biron and many other campus organizations in condemning this behavior. The Dartmouth Indian symbol has no place on this campus outside the College’s historical archives. Indian mascots do not honor Native peoples. There is more than ample evidence that most Native Americans find non-Native use of their cultural heritage inappropriate, even hurtful. Asking that we all stop reviving the Indian head as a decoration is a reasonable request. Some might be under the impression that the Indian head somehow symbolizes tradition and pride in the College. This is revisionist history. The College has never endorsed an official mascot, and our team name was never “Dartmouth Indians.” Evidence suggests that it is not even a home-grown tradition, but was rather a nickname conferred by Boston sports journalists in the 1920s . The Board of Trustees censured use of the Indian in 1974. In other words, when most current students were born, the symbol had already been unacceptable for two decades. Yet the Indian head itself is not the problem — the problem is why we so stubbornly refuse to let it go. We stress that all non-Native students share responsibility, even if we do not all use the symbol, because too many of us remain indifferent or unfazed by its display. Too many of us are ignorant of the lives of Native Americans. In America — their own ancestral homeland — Native Americans face hardships that many non-Natives will likely never see or think about. One fifth of Native Americans live on reservations. Native youth have the highest suicide rate of any American ethnic group, and the Native infant mortality rate is 60 percent higher than that of white Americans. They are the poorest people in the U.S., and they are disproportionately victims of police killings. At the College, Native students’ six-year graduation rate is 83 percent — seven points lower than the next lowest racial group,
and 13 percent lower than non-Hispanic white students. In our recent survey on mental health, more than 60 percent of Native respondents reported feeling depressed frequently — about 20 percent higher than the next racial group. Dartmouth students in particular should care about these disparities. Native students have a special place at this school. The College was granted its charter to educate Native students, though we must keep in mind the colonialist foundation of such a commitment. Former College President Eleazar Wheelock later reneged on his plan to educate Native Americans — misusing the funds his Native American colleague Samuel Occom had raised overseas by teaching English boys instead — but it is not by chance that the College’s shield depicts two Native students in front of Dartmouth Hall. Even as we acknowledge the paternalistic history of this mission, Native students have always been and remain integral to the College’s identity. The College has made real and commendable strides in recommitting to its mission of educating Native Americans, without the proselytizing undertones. Today, four percent of the College’s students are Native, compared to an average of a half percent at our peer institutions. Our initial introduction to the College does very little to convey the special institutional status of Native Americans. Therefore, non-Native students must recognize on their own that their time at Dartmouth is an incredible opportunity to live and learn in a community with Native Americans. The likelihood that any of us will ever live in another area with such a strong Native presence is low. Native students are very much here, and we should be listening to them. No Dartmouth student or alumnus who truly cares about this college will tolerate the use of the Dartmouth Indian, or any other crass behavior that taunts or disrespects his Native peers. We do not argue that students must be prohibited from using the Dartmouth Indian. We argue instead that any student with an upstanding moral character would never do so. Poor treatment of Native students in particular should be unconscionable, because when we fail in this regard — and this week, we have collectively failed — we make a mockery of this institution.
FRIDAY, october 16, 2015
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 5
New AMP policy falls in line with MDF goals FROM AMP PAGE 1
tion, they should really just reach out and talk to us.” Senior associate dean of student affairs Liz Agosto said that AMP would be conscious about differences in financial means for different organizations. “This is not meant to limit parties to only organizations that can afford it, and so we will be watching very curiously and figuring out ways to aid groups that might not be able to always afford the bartenders or securities,” Agosto said. The new alcohol policy will also concentrate more on the health and safety of students, rather than the actual amount or types of alcohol present at events, Ramsey said. “If it’s a tier three event with supervision making sure students are making healthy and safe decisions, they can make those decisions regardless of the alcohol type,” Ramsey said. The former co-chair of the social event and alcohol management group Taylor Watson ’16 said that students were also extensively involved in the drafting of the new policy.
“It was half staff, half student, and it was very much open debate — the committee was not dominated by one side or the other. We, obviously, as students, had more perspectives on how the alcohol policy was actually working, but it was a balanced discussion,” Watson said. From his perspective as Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity’s 2014 summer president, Watson said he foresees a reduced amount of stress for event organizers due to the new policy. Under the old policy, there had been events that were not registered with the College in hopes of avoiding worries about the amount of alcohol present or door duty operations. The main concern was being caught, Watson said. “Where before, [when I was president], I would be concerned about the amount of alcohol and whether it was in violation of the College policy, we’ve now agreed to what is a reasonable amount,” Watson said. “When Safety and Security does show up for an event, my only concern would be whether we’re doing door duties correctly, whether bartenders are sober
and doing their jobs correctly — all of which should be concerns anyway for organizations regarding the safety and health of students.” Greek-affiliated students are mostly seeing the policy as a compromise, with more scrutiny from the College on events accepted in exchange for a more liberal approach on what is considered a reasonable amount of alcohol, Watson said. Greek Leadership Council vice chair David Bassali ’16 said that he was excited for the focus on student health over regulatory distinctions. He saw the strict number cutoff for attendees of an event as a negative part of the proposal, however, as an event could be elevated from tier one to tier two with one additional attendee. “I’m perfectly fine about the College being more involved,” Bassali said. “My hope is just that when Safety and Security does do their two walkthroughs, their primary concerns are student health and safety and away from legalistic definitions of alcohol management.” Despite the number cutoff, however, Bassali said he did not see the new policy
as reason for an increase in exclusivity for certain events. “I don’t think that there’s going to be any selectivity in terms of selecting certain people to get in and not get in. I think it’s just going to be a numbers game — if you show up too late, you’ll be turned away,” Bassali said. “People are just going to have to plan ahead of time. If you don’t want more than 150 people in your house, you’re going to have to be willing to turn people away.” The emphasis on the number cutoff and the increased financial cost for security was to ultimately help students feel safe and included, Agosto said. “The goal really is that having these safety measures at an event should make more people feel safe, comfortable and welcome where they might not have felt so otherwise,” Agosto said. “In that, we think this would raise the inclusivity of events.” The administrators behind the new alcohol policy are aware of student concerns and are willing to work with students to improve procedures, Ramsey said. “We’ve see a lot of alcohol policies
come and go at Dartmouth, but this is one I want to see work. We can’t get everything right, so this will take tweaking as time goes on,” Ramsey said. “That said, a large part of this policy is transparency. So students need to come into the office and talk about issues that need to be resolved. That’s the whole basis of the policy. If students are coming in and describing a plan that’s very different from what’s playing out at their house, then that’s a problem that will have to be resolved as the policy moves forward.” Agosto said that AMP will be debriefing with organizations at the end of fall term to see the effects of the policy, and that this will be a continual conversation over the course of the year. They will also be working with students to see how the policy affects activities and events, as well as how students engage with the social scene. “So far, we’ve been seeing a positive reception from students, and a willingness to partner, and we’re hoping that this will continue on so that this works for our students and our community,” Agosto said.
Alum moves from College rookie to World Series playoffs FROM BASEBALL PAGE 1
coach Bob Whalen said Hendricks came to the College because he wanted to pursue excellence in both baseball and academics at an Ivy League institution. Whalen admired the way in which Hendricks strove for success in all avenues, particularly his desire to be a great student, player and teammate. Whalen also noted Hendricks’ impressive athletic abilities. “His stuff was advanced, even at a young age,” Whalen remarked. “He’s a very athletic kid with a pitcher’s body. His fastball command is exceptional and his ability to throw strikes was noticeable very early on.” As a teammate, Hendricks exuded confidence and led by example, Chad Piersma ’13, who used to catch for Hendricks at Dartmouth, said. His poise and confidence inspired those on the field with him, Piersma said. Although Hendricks was drafted in 2011 to the Texas Rangers during his junior year in college, Hendricks returned to Dartmouth for his senior fall and winter before spring training and then subsequently finished his Dartmouth career in fall 2013. Piersma said that Hendricks remained the same approachable person despite his talent and professional status. Big Green players who had never played with Hendricks expressed similar sentiments about his friendly and congenial manner. “During his time back at school,
you would have never been able to guess that [Hendricks] was a professional athlete,” former Big Green second basemen Thomas Roulis ’15 said. “He was always very down to earth and easy to get along with.” Big Green pitcher Duncan Robinson ’16 said that he admired Hendricks’ subtle confidence and the high expectations that he has set for other Dartmouth baseball players. “His success has brought a great name to the program,” Robinson said. “It allows current players and recruits to gain more recognition, and it allows greater progress for the program. He has set the bar and we want to get to where he is.” During his time at the College, Hendricks’ talent enabled him to perform well in the Ivy League Conference. When Hendricks got to the major leagues, however, he had to adjust his game to better adapt to this higher level of competition and skill, Whalen said. Because Hendricks is no longer a rookie, other teams have had the opportunity to study Hendricks, and he has done the same for them, Whalen said. Whalen added that Hendricks’ ability to utilize videos and advanced scouting information in a smart way has allowed him to adjust his game and become more competitive. Further, both Piersma and Whalen said that Hendricks’ experience at Dartmouth helped prepare him for a career in the major leagues. “He had to take a Dartmouth
approach to baseball,” Piersma said. “[Hendricks’] talent took him over the top in the Ivy League, but when he came to the major leagues he had to reinvent himself because of all the faster pitchers that were out there. He had to study and scout pitchers in an intelligent manner in order to relearn the game as a finesse pitcher.” Since Hendricks’ debut in the MLB on the Chicago Cubs in 2014, Hendricks has amassed a 15-9 record and 3.49 ERA. As a rookie, advanced metrics suggested his ERA was about 54 percent better than the average National League pitcher, adjusting for park effects, although he regressed in his sophomore season. According to Chicago Tribune sports columnist Steve Rosenbloom, Hendricks opened eyes last year when he went 7-2 with a 2.46 ERA, which helped to earn him a spot in the starting rotation this season. In his transition from an upstart rookie to a starting pitcher, Hendricks must rely on his command, rather than sheer power, because he cannot blow past hitters, Rosenbloom said. Similarly, the Chicago Tribune’s baseball writer Mark Gonzales also said that Hendricks’ pitching in his rookie season earned him a spot on the rotation. “He struggled during parts of the 2015 season, but his spot in the rotation never was in jeopardy,” Gonzales said. “He has a knack for changing speeds and frustrating
batters. [Hendricks’] best asset is that his delivery remains the same, whether he’s throwing an 89 miles per hour fastball or a 79 miles per hour change-up. His deception frustrates batters.” Looking forward to the start of the Championship Series this weekend, Whalen and the Big Green players are hoping to see Hendricks play and excel in the series. “I would love to see [Hendricks] just go out there and pitch well — win or lose,” Robinson said. “When he’s out there on the mound, I want
everyone to see that he is a great pitcher. He deserves recognition because of the all the hard work he has put in.” On Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs secured a position in the National League Championship series by clinching a historic postseason victory at Wrigley Field against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4 of the series. The Cubs will play the New York Mets this Saturday. The Cubs’ media relations team did not return requests for access to Hendricks for comment.
DON’T STOP HIP HOP
PAULA MENDOZA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Sheba dance troupe performed at Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity on Thursday.
PAGE 6
DARTMOUTH EVENTS TODAY 1:00 p.m. “Catalyzing Community: A Humanities Symposium on Digital Learning and Engagement,” Dartmouth Hall 105
3:00 p.m. “Categorical Moral Reasons” with Russ Shafer-Landau of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Thornton Hall 103
3:30 p.m. Charles C. Jones Seminar with Dr. Michael Sangid from Purdue University, Cummings Hall, Spanos Auditorium
TOMORROW 1:00 p.m. “Met Live in HD: Otello” (2015), theater telecast, Black Family Visual Arts Center, Loew Auditorium
7:00 p.m. “Mistress America” (2015), film screening, Black Family Visual Arts Center, Loew Auditorium
9:00 p.m. “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind,” Displaced Theater Company production, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Bentley Theater
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
2015‐2016 Sustainability Solutions Café Series Big Problem, Bold Solutions: Leading Us Out of the Climate Crisis
“Who is Responsible for Climate Change?
Perspectives from Science, Ethics, Law, and Policy”
Peter Frumhoff Director of Science and Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists Friday, October 16 at 4:30 PM Dartmouth College Filene Auditorium, Moore Hall Dr. Frumhoff will trace anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to major industrial carbon producers. Moderated by Anne Kapuscinski followed by a panel discussion with Aine Donovan, Gus Speth, and Richard Howarth. visit http://envs.dartmouth.edu/community/sustainability-solutions-cafe or call 603-646-2838 for more info Sponsored by the Porter Fund for the Sustainability Minor, the Environmental Studies Program, the Center for Business & Society at the Tuck School of Business and the Sustainability Office at Dartmouth College
Free and Open to the Public
ADVERTISING For advertising information, please call (603) 646-2600 or email info@thedartmouth. com. The advertising deadline is noon, two days before publication. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Opinions expressed in advertisements do not necessarily reflect those of The Dartmouth, Inc. or its officers, employees and agents. The Dartmouth, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation chartered in the state of New Hampshire. USPS 148-540 ISSN 01999931
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015
PAGE 7
Women’s hockey prepares to open season against McGill
B y SAM STOCKTON The Dartmouth
On Friday afternoon, the women’s hockey team will open its 2015-2016 season with an exhibition game against McGill University at Thompson Arena. The Big Green, led by head coach Mark Hudak, seeks to rebound after failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for four consecutive seasons. Hudak, who took over as head coach for the 2003-2004 season, guided his team to an NCAA Tournament berth in six of his first eight seasons, punctuated by a Frozen Four appearance in 2005. The Big Green, however, has failed to advance past the first round of the ECAC tournament since 2011. While last season did not end the way anyone affiliated with the team had hoped, Hudak still appreciated the tremendous growth displayed by his team over the course of the year. “As you’re reflecting on the year, you start to think about all of the growth that we had. We scored 30 more goals last year than we had the year before,” Hudak said. “Our power play was one of the top three in the country. So you start thinking, ‘How do we build this year off what we built last year?’”
For Hudak, the answer to that question can be found in the team’s senior leadership. “We’ve really focused on our six seniors leading as a class versus one particular person. They all bring some different strengths that lend themselves to leadership,” Hudak said. He recalls a particular power play two years ago in the ECAC Tournament against Clarkson University, a team that went on to win the national championship, when the Big Green attack was composed entirely of freshmen and sophomores. This year, Hudak knows that his six seniors will be able to contribute to a team “that gets stronger throughout the season.” “In the past, our senior class has been three or four people, and it’s a little bit different to have six, especially six people that have gotten really close as a group and worked really well together,” Catherine Berghuis ’16 said, emphasizing that a large leadership group can make this year a special one. The team’s motivation has also been stoked by difficult endings to the last few seasons, forward Laura Stacey ’16 said. “Losing in the first round all three years has really sparked our
excitement,” Stacey said. “We want to succeed that much more because we don’t want to be in that position again for our last year.” In between the pipes, Hudak will likely turn to Robyn Chemago ’17. Last season, Chemago registered a 2.66 goals against average while playing almost every minute of every game. She registered two shutouts, both in conference play. In the seasonending defeat in the second game of the ECAC Quarterfinal, she tallied a career-high 51 saves. In an earlyseason match-up with the University of New Hampshire, she became the first Big Green goalie to record an assist since 2008-2009. At the end of the year, she was recognized as the team’s Unsung Hero. Despite Chemago’s impressive campaign, Hudak looks forward to adding first-years Shannon Ropp ’19 and Christine Honor ’19 to the goaltender rotation. By adding two talented goalies to his team, Hudak believes the team and its starting netminder will enjoy a level of confidence they lacked in years past. “I think [the presence of capable back-ups] gives the goalie and the team the freedom to just go out and play and not have to worry,” Hudak said.
One particular focus for the team is on performing well enough in the regular season to avoid matching up with preseason ECAC favorites like Harvard University or Clarkson in the first round of the conference tournament. Hudak cites earning a top-four seed in that tournament and the home-ice advantage that comes along with that feat as crucial to returning to the NCAA Tournament. “Last season, we put ourselves in a tough spot playing against the first place team in the ECAC [Clarkson] in the first round,” Stacey said. This year, the Big Green hope to perform at a high enough level in the regular season to generate a more favorable first-round matchup. The Big Green has been picked to finish seventh this year in the ECAC Coaches’ Poll, a prediction that bears little weight in the Dartmouth locker room. “On paper, yeah, we’re probably a middle-of-the-pack team. That’s what it looks like on paper, but that’s paper,” Hudak said. While acknowledging that teams like Harvard, Clarkson and Cornell University are clearly at the top of the ECAC food chain, Hudak emphasizes that, beyond those three, there are a lot of highly competitive teams,
none of which is clearly ahead of its rivals. Despite not being the obvious candidate to assume the fourth seed in the ECAC tournament, the Big Green believe that the roster they have assembled is more than capable of achieving that objective. “Our goals are to win a National Championship, an ECAC Championship and an Ivy League Championship. Those are our goals, but we expect to get there. We want to go into each game and prove that we are a lot better than our ranking or what other people are saying,” Stacey said. To overcome that seventh preseason ranking, the Big Green will have to rely not on individual stars but on strong team play. “Our game has to be a team game. We don’t have enough talent to work at one or two players at a time. It has to be all five skaters all the time,” Hudak said. Hudak and the rest of the team believe that if they pursue that team game, 2015-2016 will be the season that puts Dartmouth women’s hockey back in the national spotlight. “In this league, you can’t have one person do the job of five — there’s too just too much parity. If we work together, we’re going to pull off a lot of big wins,” Berghuis said.
Shoot for It: With Alex Lee ’16 and John Beneville ’16
B y ALEX LEE AND JOHN BENEVILLE The Dartmouth
What’s up Dartmouth! Shoot for It boys back again for week 5, and this week we’re going to talk about the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs lost a game 7 thriller against the Los Angeles Clippers last season in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. They bounced back this offseason with the acquisition of marquee free agent power forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge. The 30-year-old Aldridge has been the franchise player of the Portland Trailblazers over the last several years, and he turned down more money from the Blazers and more starpower from the Lakers to sign with the Spurs. This week we’ll discuss what we expect for the San Antonio Spurs this upcoming season. Alex’s Take: Let me start off by saying that the San Antonio Spurs franchise is the best organization in the National Basketball Association, and every other NBA team should strive toward this gold standard. I was amazed during the 2012-2013 finals when immediately after losing a game 7 thriller to my Miami Heat, Gregg Popovich shook hands, hugged and smiled with LeBron James. It was a great display of sportsmanship and sincere love of the game (that almost made the 2013-2014 Miami Heat loss in the finals palatable).
The backbone of this team has been their strong pass-first system and positional depth, which has rendered nearly every player on their roster into a valued contributor. In addition to their veteran core of power forward Tim Duncan, shooting guard Manu Ginobili and point guard Tony Parker, the emergence of small forward Kawhi Leonard and shooting guard Danny Green coupled with the solid play of their role players like Tiago Splitter, Marco Belinelli, Boris Diaw and Corey Joseph. Heck, even freaking Matt Bonner contributed — major props to Greg Popovich for orchestrating this amazing system. John’s comparison of Boris Diaw to King Dedede is unbelievable (in all the wrong ways), but I have to admit, I’ve always liked Diaw’s play-style and basketball IQ. This is a very different Diaw than the one we saw in the beginning of his career. The Spurs also have the best player development program in the league, from which players like Danny Green and Tiago Splitter have also benefitted. Thus came my surprise when I learned that the Spurs signed the biggest free agent available in the pool this past summer, LaMarcus Aldridge. This move essentially contrasted with everything they stood for, especially the fact that they had to give up three critical role players Marco Belinelli, Tiago Splitter and Corey Joseph to even make
the max contract possible. Furthermore, I think it’s going to take a long time for LaMarcus Aldridge to adjust to the Spurs style of play. In Portland, he was used to a lot of post-up one-on-one style of play. This simply won’t cut it with the Spurs system. As individuals, none of the Spurs are major playmakers. As a unit, they form a well-oiled machine. This mindset adjustment alone will take some time for Aldridge. Also, where are the floor spacers on the team? A significant factor to the Spurs successful runs of the past depended on floor spacing, which gave Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker more room to operate as playmakers. Losing Joseph and Belinelli will be huge on this front. Lastly, I think that playing Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge together, though seems like a true dream team front court in 2K, will not be so effective in practice. Neither of them are particularly athletic and contending with the quicker centers and power forwards in the league like DeAndre Jordan will prove to be challenging, especially in a league where small ball is proving to be the most effective form of play (think Golden State Warriors). Ultimately, I expect the Spurs to have a solid season but not a long playoff run. John’s Take: When Alex suggested talking about the San Antonio Spurs, I couldn’t have been more excited. True,
I’m a Lakers fan, but the Spurs are the bane of LeBron’s existence, and for that they will forever have a special place in my heart. The Spurs are the epitome of class and elegance, a fine bottle of rosé in a case of $10 reds and whites. They spread the ball around like a communist country and dish out more dimes than Bernie Sanders. And just this once, I’m fine with that. For years the Spurs have played beautiful ball with Gregg “The Artist” Popovich at the helm. Coach Pop has built a team full of unselfish Europeans and other team-oriented players and has consistently guided his squad to the promised land. Of course, no discussion of the Spurs would be complete without mentioning Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Kawhi “Strong Hands” Leonard. But most of us already know these guys are great, and I don’t want to bore the reader with another ode to this trio. Rather, I’d like to talk about one of my favorite players in the NBA: Boris “Okie-Doke” Diaw. Diaw has been on the Spurs for several years and always comes up in the biggest of moments. He’s 250 pounds, smooth as cocoa butter and masterful with the ball. He’s the King Dedede of basketball, an unselfish patriarch with one mission: conquer. He’ll do whatever he needs to do to help the team win. Whether that’s setting screens, getting rebounds or camping out in the corner and eating a Snickers bar, Boris is your
man. Boris may be the ring master, but his opening act is a point guard who hails from Australia: Patty Mills. As an Australian 6-foot point guard, Patty continues to live in a land down under. And yet, despite his short stature, Patty is one of the most impactful bench players in the game today. His ability to get open and knock down threes on the big stage surpasses that of many superstars, and he was a huge part of the Spurs championship run two years ago. That’s Patty. Now on to the Spurs’ most recent addition, LaMarcus Aldridge, and a quick note about my expectations for next year. I completely disagree with Alex and his blasphemous prediction that the Spurs “won’t make a playoff run.” Are you serious? LaMarcus Aldridge is in his prime and has already said that he loves the Spurs and their system. Aldridge went to San Antonio because he wants to win a championship, and that means that he will do whatever is necessary to accomplish that goal. He and Tim Duncan may not be a natural pair, but they don’t have to be. Pop will probably play them separately, for the most part, and allow the two to occupy different spaces when they’re on the floor. Remember, LaMarcus has a deadly mid-range shot and will happily roam the free throw line if Duncan is doing the dirty work inside the paint. The Spurs will win the championship this year.
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS
PAGE 8
SPORTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015
FRIDAY LINEUP
VOLLEYBALL at CORNELL 7 PM
WOMEN’S HOCKEY VS. MCGILL 4 PM
Head coach Buddy Teevens leads fight against concussions
B y ALEXANDER AGADJANIAN The Dartmouth Staff
“If we don’t change the way we teach the game, we won’t have a game to teach.” That is the mantra that has motivated football head coach Buddy Teevens, and it is one that he has embodied over the last five years. As the sport faces a looming existential crisis due to a tremendous rise in concern over concussive head injuries, Teevens has distinguished himself simply by choosing to take action. For decades, studies on concussions pointed to a link between repetitive brain trauma and long-term damage in a player’s life. But it was not until recently that public concern and media scrutiny around the issue increased. Greater information on the postretirement conditions of former NFL players emerged, demonstrating the result of a career’s worth of repetitive concussions in the form of depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as increased incidence of suicide. The focus naturally moved to current players as well — lasting symptoms of concussions no longer meant the wear-and-tear of football ended at retirement. As a result, players are now considering retiring increasingly earlier in their careers for the sake of their lifelong health. Notably, the most powerful organization in the sport — the National Football League — has consistently whitewashed and downplayed the severity of this concussion crisis throughout the last decades, conceding only in 2009 that concussions could have lasting consequences. Around the time of this concession, Teevens began to hear a broader conversation about this issue at the national level. One key discussion came after going to an offseason practice to see one of his former players, Nick Schwieger ’12, who had signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Rams. There he had the opportunity to speak with Rams head Jeff Fisher, and Teevens said he asked about concussions. “His response was, ‘We never tackle. We can’t in season by union rules, but in preseason, we opt not to,’” Teevens said. “As he put it, ‘Guys at this level, they know how to hit and they know how to take a hit.’ And that kind of resonated with me.” Perhaps the most significant decision by Teevens in regards to addressing the issue of concussions and improving
player safety occurred shortly thereafter. Two weeks before the team’s first spring practice, Teevens said he kept wondering to himself why the team continued to tackle when practicing. He said he started studying the team’s tapes and watching how the tackles were made and thought the team would be able to replicate some of the tackling done in games through drills. “So that’s what I did, and I announced to my staff that Monday that we were not going to tackle in our spring practices — and it was comical,” Teevens said. “They’re like, yeah right, they’re waiting for the punchline. And I said, ‘I’m serious, we’re not going to tackle,’ and guys got upset. But I was convinced it was workable, and it would benefit the health of my players. The biggest thing was concussions. We don’t hit, we’ll have fewer.” During the season following the spring practices in which Teevens banned player-on-player tackling, missed tackles by the team dropped 50 percent, Teevens said. Now a few years later, on top of this reduction in missed tackles, a Dartmouth player has finished in the top three for tackles in the Ivy League in each of the last two seasons. Teevens considers the feat further evidence that his non-tackling practices do not hurt the team but rather help it. Moreover, the reformed practice mentality provided another plus. “The other side benefit is, when you’re hitting each other, guys are going to get sore, get hurt,” he said. “Your front-line guys quite often miss a lot of practice time. So the opportunity to improve your units is kind of limited. What we found unexpectedly, more of the front-line guys were able to practice for more time during the course of the season.” By embracing such an unorthodox style, the non-tackling practice approach soon brought attention from outside of Hanover. Terry O’Neil, a multiple Emmy Award winner, TV producer and former NFL executive, wanted to learn more and contacted Teevens. Near that same time, O’Neil had founded “Practice Like Pros,” an initiative which — citing that 60 to 75 percent of head trauma in high school football occurs in practice, compared with 3 percent for the NFL — advocates a reduction in contact in high school football Teevens received an invitation to speak with the group, which included notable NFL names such as Mike Ditka,
Tony Dorsett, Anthony Munoz and Leonard Marshall. At a presentation in which he explained his non-contact methods, Teevens encountered some of the same harsh initial reaction he had seem before. At a broader level, it marked one of the first key steps in his effort to improve the sport’s safety — and a positive one. Interestingly, Dartmouth practices in the same manner professionals in the NFL do. Because of NFLPA union rules, NFL players do not tackle during in-season practices, Teevens said. The motivation behind the Practice Like Pros initiative also stems from this fact. “Last year, I think there were four concussions [in NFL practices],” Teevens said. “So how does that happen? It’s intentional that you don’t jeopardize each other. There’s a respect at the NFL level that you don’t want to jam a guy’s career up, but I’ve found that same mindset permeates our squad. You rarely see a head-to-head contact. Has it hurt us in terms of performance? No.” After coaching football at different schools, levels and positions for the last 36 years, Teevens points to a combination of prior coaching experiences that laid the philosophical groundwork for his ban on player tackling in practice, and for his impetus to address player safety. “[Former University of Florida head coach] Steve Spurrier was very influential, and he would always say, ‘get your players to Saturday, get them to gameday,’ — that was kind of our little mantra,” Teevens said. “The message was essentially be smart about what you do with them. We had contact, but his advice [for] a position coach was to limit that.” Teevens also mentioned working with Bill Walsh, the former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and Stanford University’s football team, after Walsh had returned to Stanford as an administrator. They would have meals together, Teevens said, where they would talk about their players and how to keep them safe. Players’ safety, Teevens said of Walsh, was “one of his things.” “[Walsh said] to really take care of your players as best you can, minimize contact,” Teevens said. “So a lot of it evolved through a collective experience, mine as a player, and as a coach.” It’s instructive to note that much of the thought and motivation behind Teevens’s approach to practices resulted from conversations with prominent
WEIJIA TANG/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Football coach Buddy Teevens utilizes tackle-free practices to keep players safe.
figures in the football world. For all of the insufficient responses to the concussion crisis by the football establishment, the people closest to the players still hold their safety and health with great concern. But it was Teevens who could piece it all together and form a constructive response. Throughout the years of noncontact practices under Teevens’s helm, players did not always understand or fully accept the approach. The experience of current Big Green linebacker Will McNamara ’16 exemplifies this well. “When I first came here, I wasn’t totally bought in on it,” he said. “I grew up on the south side of Chicago where football was something you proved you were good at by being the hardest hitter and the toughest guy,” McNamara said. While barring contact in practice reduced injuries and strengthened the team as a whole, Teevens still felt he could improve his approach. Wanting to reproduce tackling with a moving object on the practice field, Teevens approached fellow Class of 1979 member and current Thayer School of Engineering researcher John Currier with an idea. During 2013, Teevens funded the expenses of a capstone engineering project for Thayer students with the aim of creating a mobile tackling dummy. Elliot Kastner ’13 — who played for Teevens from 2009 to 2013 and worked on the project — noted that after developing the device two years ago, he and his team resumed working on it this summer. Shortly after its completion and rollout, the Mobile Virtual Player — a remote-controlled tackling dummy that is able to effectively replicate tackling without player-on-player contact — gained widespread attention
from multiple national media outlets, culminating last week with a television appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Kastner credits the interest in the MVP to where the sport of football is with confronting the concussion crisis and focusing on player safety, as well as to the advancements in practice technology. “Right now we’re in the perfect storm of where the NFL is at with concussive head injuries, as far as how they’re dealing with them. They’ve really been challenged in the last year or so to address the issue,” Kastner said. “We’re [also] bringing out a product at a point when the football world has seen no improvement in sports equipment in the last 60 years. A tackling dummy has been a tackling dummy since the 1930s.” Additionally, Kastner said that upward of five or six NFL teams have inquired about his device, along with other collegiate and high school teams. News about the technological invention has also reached beyond the United States, as international rugby teams have approached Kastner and his team about the possibility of acquiring the MVP. Despite only being in use since August, the MVP — through the eyes of coaches, players and its developers — has already produced wide-ranging benefits. “This year,” Kastner said, “with implementing the MVP for having contact at practice with something that is substantially safer to tackle than an actual player, while simulating that player effectively, has dramatically improved the tackling performance of players on gameday.”