VOL. CLXXIV NO.19
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2017
Adam Wright ’17 reported missing from campus
SNOW HIGH 28 LOW 19
By THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF The Dartmouth
PETER CHARALAMBOUS/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
ARTS
FILM REVIEW: “MOONLIGHT” PAGE 8
DANISH STRING QUARTET COMES TO HANOVER PAGE 8
OPINION
GOLDSTEIN: DO NOT “HAIL TO THE CHIEF” PAGE 4
FISHBEIN: RECLAIMING ALTERNATIVE FACTS PAGE 4 READ US ON
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Students and staff at Geisel School of Medicine protest the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
In a campus-wide email sent Monday evening, the College announced that Adam Wright ’17 is missing from campus. He has not been seen since shortly after midnight Monday morning. It is currently unclear where Wright’s last-known whereabouts are. The email described Wright, who is 21, as 6’4”, with brown hair, blue eyes and a medium build. He was last seen wearing a “bulky black coat” according to the Hanover Police Department. Individuals with information about Wright’s location are encouraged to contact HPD, who is available at any time of day, at (603) 643-2222. This story will be updated online as more information is reported.
Students protest Program grant expires ACA repeal By SUNPREET SINGH The Dartmouth
By ALEXA GREEN
The Dartmouth Staff
On Monday, students and staff attended the “Dartmouth Protect Our Patients Vigil” at the Geisel Medical School’s Ke l l o g g A u d i t o r i u m . The gathering was one of several organized by
Protect Our Patients, an online group of about 2,000 medical school and masters of public health students that advocates fo r h e a l t h c a re a c c e s s for all Americans . The event focused on patientcentered advocacy efforts SEE CARE PAGE 3
Dartmouth’s Program in Politics and Law recently saw its 10-year grant from the Milton and Miriam Handler Foundation expire, meaning the program is now solely reliant on alumni donations and College funding. The program provides research opportunities and funding for students interested in policy and lawmaking.
Fence near Collis Center curbs jaywalking By MIKA JEHOON LEE The Dartmouth Staff
The fence that was erected in front of the Collis Center over the 2015 winter interim has curbed jaywalking in the area, but many pedestrian safety issues still remain on campus, said chairman of the Hanover Bike and Pedestrian Committee Bill Young.
Program director and government professor Dean Lacy founded the program in 2007. The program funds fellowships for students to engage in collaborative research with a Dartmouth faculty member, usually offering each student $1,200 per year. The funding can be used for costs such as student and faculty research expenses, money for travel, survey expenditures and data purchases, Lacy said.
In addition, the program hosts talks open to the public, often in conjunction with other programs, led by faculty members from other institutions and alumni of the program to speak on their work and experiences after Dartmouth. Some of the past panelists sponsored by the program include Aharon Barak, the for mer president of the SEE POLITICS PAGE 2
SKIING ON THE SLOPES
Young surveyed the road between Collis and the Green on May 15, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to gather Hanover bicycle and pedestrian data and counted 107 jaywalkers, although the observations were not done according to national highway standards. On Oct. 7, 2016, Young perfor med another survey and SEE FENCE PAGE 2
PAULA KUTSCHERA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Members of the Dartmouth community enjoy skiing during winter term.
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017
Politics and law program Fence reduces jaywalking incidents out of grant funding the corner of Collis and the Green on Wheelock Street. Pedestrians counted zero jaywalkers. He crossing between the two locations attributed the change to the fence. receive the “walk” signal upon “[The fence] has been extremely pressing the crosswalk button, successful,” Hanover town manager whereas before they had to wait for Julia Griffin said. “It is very rare to a full traffic cycle. Despite the new see anyone jaywalking there, and traffic signal, Young said that there we heard all exclusively positives continues to be a high number of from drivers who appreciated jaywalkers crossing between Collis not having to and the Green worry about during red lights. “[The fence] has been pedestrians D a r t m o u t h ’s d a r t i n g extremely successful. campus ranks b e t w e e n It is very rare to see among the worst cars in that locations for s e c t i o n o f anyone jaywalking pedestrian safety North Main there, and we heard i n H a n o v e r, Street.” Griffin said. all exlusively positives The town “ T h e r e ’s n o of Hanover from drivers who other area of a l s o t o o k appreciated not town that we other safety have this level m e a s u r e s having to worry about of pedestrians l a s t y e a r pedestrians darting p o s i n g to improve challenges for p e d e s t r i a n between cars in that drivers,” Griffin safety in the section of North Main said. “Sometimes intersection Street.” [students] don’t of Main p ay at t e n t i o n S t re e t a n d to vehicles, and W h e e l o c k - JULIA GRIFFIN, HANOVER they are often Street, Young walking so slowly TOWN MANAGER said. that drivers are The town about to tear out put up a “do their hair.” not turn on red” sign for drivers at Griffin identified the east side of the corner of Collis, because many the Green near the Hood Museum pedestrians would cross to other for the Arts, the road between corners of the intersection during the Alumni gymnasium and East red lights. According to Young, Wheelock and North Park Street as the corner of Collis has become a few problematic areas in regards a much safer corner after the sign to pedestrians. was posted. Hanover police lieutenant In addition to the sign, the town Scott Rathburn said that the also changed the traffic signals at use of electronic devices is an FROM FENCE PAGE 1
FROM POLITICS PAGE 1
Supreme Court of Israel who visited campus in 2015, and Colin Harris ’13, who visited campus in the spring of both 2014 and 2015 to speak with classes about his experience running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2013. Lacy said that the program was initially started to provide quick funds for student fellowships to work on research with faculty. The program has been funded through research grants from the Milton and Miriam Handler Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c) based in New York that provides funding for higher education and healthcare, Lacy said. However, this year the Foundation did not extend a research grant to the program following the expiration of the 10-year pilot agreement. The program is currently using direct funds from the College and alumni, but is running out of money and is seeking additional benefactors to support it, Lacy said. In the 10 years that the program was partnered with the Foundation, there have been a total of 25 alumni of the program. Harry Enten ’11, one of the first Politics and Law fellows and current political analyst at FiveThirtyEight, a data-driven media company, said that his participation in the program during his freshman summer helped lay the foundation for the rest of his time at Dartmouth and his post-Dartmouth career, including his current position. Enten added that dealing with a large project early on in his academic career enabled him to set himself apart from his fellow classmates by learning new material and data analysis techniques. “When you come in as a freshman, you write more essays than you do in high school and you don’t really deal with large projects,” he said. “I think working with numbers and crunching data with a professor who placed so much trust in me gave me an edge.” He said that looking at data sets through the program expanded his undergraduate skillset and played a big role in helping him get his current position at FiveThirtyEight. “Participating in the program showed me that maybe this big stuff really isn’t too big for me and laid the foundation for my career in media,” Enten said.
Enten added that he thought the program was not just for students interested in media or looking at numbers, since it also helps develop skills for graduate school applications and coursework. Zach Markovich ’15, another former fellow and current research assistant at Harvard Business School, said that his interest in the program started when he took Government 19.01: “Advanced Political Analysis” with Lacy. Markovich said that he worked on a project looking at trends in the volatility of state building, where some states such as Ohio are particularly volatile “swing states” during elections, while other states such as Vermont and Texas are usually more politically one-sided. He added that participating in the program was a valuable experience that helped him to develop his statistical and analytical skills. “I really enjoyed working on my project, and the research experience was critical to helping me become a research associate at Harvard Business School, because the data analysis skills are needed to support projects,” Markovich said. Dan Pham ’16, another former fellow of the program and current associate at Parthenon-EY, a business management consulting firm, participated in the program during his junior spring and said that he thought the program could benefit from more advertising and exposure around campus. “The program is a really fantastic resource to get involved in research outside of the classroom, but it is not that well advertised in the government department or other social science departments,” Pham said. Both Pham and Markovich also completed their honor theses using parts of the research they conducted through the program. Government professor Brendan Nyhan, who was involved in projects sponsored by the program in past years, said that the program is a great start for students who aspire to go to law school or are interested in the subjects of politics and law. “We don’t have an undergraduate law program, but we have lots of students who want to go to law school and the Program in Politics and Law is a great way to help students pursue law-related projects and gain experience with research,” Nyhan said.
issue, especially among student pedestrians. “In ter ms of people being distracted by their electronic devices, it is more likely to be a student,” Rathburn said. “It doesn’t mean it can’t be somebody else, but [the] population of students in the area is pretty high, so we tend to see a lot more kids looking at their phones there.” In the past, Young frequently saw distracted walking incidents. “One student in the middle of the intersection [of Main Street and Wheelock Street] was jaywalking against the light doing something on the cellphone as the [Dartmouth Coach] was turning the corner,” Young said. “Dartmouth Coach drivers are very well aware of pedestrian issues in Hanover, and they say students take serious risks.” Young also said that the school needs to further promote pedestrian visibility. He encouraged students to wear bright clothing at night so that drivers can spot them more easily. Students could also wear reflective gears such as wristbands and knuckle lights provided by the Student Wellness Center and Hanover Improvement Society, he said. Hanover director of public works Peter Kulbacki said that the town will continue to develop different technologies to improve pedestrian safety at Dartmouth and at other parts of Hanover. “We have done crosswalks that light up when people are crossing and some other technologies that f lash when someone is approaching,” Kulbacki said.
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
PAULA MENDOZA/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Even covered in snow, the fence deters jaywalkers from walking into oncoming traffic.
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Geisel School of Medicine students and staff protest ACA repeal administration. Event organizer Anne-Laure against the repeal of the Patient Dassier Med’16 said that the Protection and Affordable Care repeal of the ACA will increase the Act, engaging medical students, number of uninsured Americans clinicians and staff in tandem with by 18 million in the first year alone, larger hospital organizations. and by 32 million over 10 years. The ACA, commonly referred During the event, director to as Obamacare, is a piece of of the Dartmouth Institute for legislation introduced by the Health Policy and Clinical Practice Barack Obama a n d p ro f e s s o r administration of medicine at that implemented “I think that Geisel Elliot s e v e r a l repealing [the ACA] Fisher discussed healthcare the potential is much more of a r e f o r m s , ACA repeal, its including new power play and a effect on patients benefits, patient show than actual and future protections, rules patient advocacy f o r i n s u r a n c e meaningful change at Geisel. Fisher c o m p a n i e s , in the country.” contributed to taxes, tax the development breaks, funding, of bipartisan s p e n d i n g , - ALEX DOERING ideas in the education and MED’20 Affordable Care new job creation. Act, working in These refor ms the George W. also aim to Bush and Obama slow healthcare administrations spending in on health care the United reform. His ideas States. However, congressional regarding the reformation of the Republicans promised to repeal healthcare market and delivery and delay further implementation were expected to slow the growth of the Affordable Care Act under of healthcare spending while the recently elected Donald Trump improving the quality of care that FROM CARE PAGE 1
Americans received. “The idea is that accountable care organizations will build upon the rewarding of medical groups, hospitals and physicians in ways that allow them to improve care while lowering costs,” Fisher said. “If they lower the growth of healthcare spending and improve care for the patients they serve, they would be eligible to keep some of the savings. There are now 860 accountable care organizations in the United States and over 20 million people are getting care under them.” Republicans are committed to effective market-based approaches to improving care for the public, but coverage expansion programs are threatened under the repeal, Fisher said. “I think the ACA definitely has some flaws, but it is doing good for patients around the country,” Alex Doering Med’20 said. “And I think that repealing is much more of a power play and a show than actual meaningful change in the country.” Fisher said that structural changes to the insurance market that have been proposed by Trump’s administration would especially threaten the coverage of those who are already sick, have a
chronic medical condition or are do not have insurance. poor. Reza Hessabi Med’20 said “The wonderful thing about the that part of being a physician is current way the health insurance advocating for the health of one’s market was expanded is that it patients, not just working with requires health insurers to accept them in the exam room, and that a l l p at i e n t s participating in without any the gathering e x c l u s i o n s “The great concern of was one way of r e l a t e d t o the potential repeal of doing that. prior medical “We’ve conditions,” the Affordable Care Act seen in lots of he s a i d . is that it would take different states “The great that the ones away the capacity of concern of who are slow the potential insurance companies to roll out repeal of the to provide care to all Medicaid or Affordable expand access Care Act is patients.” to healthcare that it would services have take away mu ch h i g h e r -ELLIOT FISHER, DIRECTOR the capacity preventable of insurance OF THE DARTMOUTH deaths, excess c o m p a n i e s INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH mortality and to provide poor health c a r e t o a l l POLICY AND CLINICAL outcomes at patients.” every single PRACTICE Natalie data point,” Ring Med’18 Ja k e Pe rl s o n said she Med’20 said. participated “This is an in the protest because it is a impending public health crisis – the practitioner’s responsibility to care potential repeal of the ACA and about their patients, including rollback of health services for the those patients who potentially most marginalized and vulnerable cannot come to them because they among us.”
CREATIVITY AT COLLIS
PAULA MENDOZA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Students study and socialize downstairs in Collis Center.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017
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STAFF COLUMNIST MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN ’18
STAFF COLUMNIST DANIEL FISHBEIN ’19
Do Not “Hail to the Chief ”
Reclaiming “Alternative Facts”
When our patriotic music emphasizes leader over country, it betrays us. “Hail to the Chief ” is the worst song in the United States’ patriotic oeuvre. “America the Beautiful” tells us of “amber waves of grain” and “purple mountain majesties,” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” evokes our pride in the broad stripes and bright stars of that red, white and blue beacon of freedom. But “Hail to the Chief ” implores us to pledge cooperation with and salute one person. The tune suggests blind acceptance and adoration of a man, not an ideal. There was an inauguration on Jan. 20, but this peaceful transfer of power — the cornerstone of our republican roots and of George Washington’s legacy — has never looked more like a coronation. There are few lines of argument today more frustrating and fallacious than those that conclude with some variation of “He’s the President now,” “He’s everybody’s president,” “We must show him respect and accept his mandate” or “Get behind him for unity’s sake.” But let adherents to America’s founding principles and their opponents both take note: Americans owe nothing to the president — the president of the United States owes everything to them. The cult of personal loyalty characteristic of our new president and his adherents is a relic of monarchy and autocracy. Kings had royal courts, but presidents must not. The public ought not be ruled by force of personality. Americans deserve better than that. The public ought not be reprimanded for public demonstration. Americans deserve better than that. And the people of the finest nation to have ever been created in the spirit of liberty ought not settle for their current lot. They deserve far, far better than that. The capacity for free demonstration, agitation and resistance is the very thing that has made this country great and will continue to do so. Federal employees may serve at the pleasure of the president, but the president serves at the pleasure of the people. And it is not incumbent upon those who are now displeased to change; instead, it is incumbent upon the president to earn their trust. A man becomes worthy of respect when his actions compel it, and a president becomes deserving of admiration when he demonstrates a dedication to the principles of
American democracy and to each American. The president is subject to the restrictions set out in the Constitution and enshrined in U.S. law. He is not above the law, nor is he the arbiter of the law. He is a citizen whose fate rests only in the hands of the citizens whose welfare he is lawfully bound to promote. Imagine half of your neighborhood got to choose your new mailman, despite your wishes to the contrary. You would not sit silent if he left your letters in the mud at the foot of your driveway each day, nor would you be expected to. If he failed to deliver your mail, you would agitate for a change. You could not be faulted for working to ensure his adequacy as a mailman until your mail reached your mailbox without fail. Our new president’s explicit promises, and the implicit undertones that pervaded and accompanied his campaign and transition to the presidency, threaten to leave millions of Americans’ letters in the mud. His mindset and ignorance threaten to undo the progress made by groups lacking the rights and freedoms that too few people in this country enjoy. His aim, and that of the racists and billionaire oligarchs with whom he surrounds himself, is nothing less than complacency and the acceptance of regression. The respect accorded to the office of the president is utterly distinct from any accorded to the person who occupies it. If that person acts in a manner contrary to the founding ideals of the republic and threatens to undermine them; fails to account for the rights he is bound to protect and responsibilities to which he himself is bound; or exhibits the traits of a monarch and lays the groundwork to become one, he is undeserving of that respect. Resisting Trump’s agenda is therefore neither unpatriotic nor treasonous nor wrong. It is the greatest possible display of respect for the presidency of the United States — and for the country that office exists to serve. So do not pledge cooperation and do not hail to the chief. Follow instead the path of liberty, the way of equality and the pursuit of justice. Follow instead the lines of “God Bless America,” and “swear allegiance to a land that’s free.” We are not required to hail to the chief. He is required to hail to us.
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To maintain hope, the American left must take up the mantle of unreality.
It is easy to think about the world today and be depressed. The sun rarely shines in the winters and every day you get a bit further behind in class. People continue to pour kilotons of carbon into the atmosphere and continue to ignore the millions of refugees displaced, in part, by our own actions. On Jan. 20, as the Hanover sky assumed its dull grey shade, President Donald Trump’s inauguration hung its own cloud over the future of our country. I need to find a way to see something brighter coming. I need a positive to cling to as I go through life, faced with daunting piles of books, rainy weather and Trump. To do this, I can use a Trumpism: “alternative facts.” To paraphrase Trump’s senior advisor Kellyanne Conway, they’re the tool Trump used to gain power. Trump used these alternative facts to portray a darker reality, coaxing voters to buy into the idea of a future “great” America. In this vision, Trump alone can get the country on track. I aim to reclaim alternative facts from Trump. In fact, we — the American left — can use alternative facts to resist Trump. To us, they can serve as the vestige of hope necessary to forge a brighter America. Trump has used alternative facts for nefarious purposes: to make the world weak and cast himself as its savior. We must utilize alternative facts ourselves and focus on the small positives in a world of negatives. Alternative facts are a necessary tool we can use to say something different. Trump spun his voters a tale of darkness and despair, but now we must answer those who oppose him with light. Alternative facts will enable us to find this light. Trump has made greedy use of the power of unreality, altering the truth in an effort to sell himself and lull us all with the art of a deal too good to pass up — and too good to be true. He told himself that his hands are not small, he built his colossal ego, he engaged in fraud and tax evasion, he built his personal
fortune. He told America he was the only man for the job — and so we now call him president. Trump has used alternative facts to help himself; we, on the other hand, will use them to help the community. While we maintain our vigilance to check Trump as he spreads his alternative facts, we will spread our own. While Trump sits in the Oval Office, we will reassure each other, even though it might not be. We will stand up for all Americans, even though we might not be able to stop them from getting hurt. We will cling to rays of hope that pierce through the Trump rain cloud. We will prevail over Trump using the same means by which he prevailed over us. Trump has shown that alternative facts will persuade desperate people, that they will vote for him if he offers something different than their reality. But while Trump offers a hateful slew of alternative facts, we will offer alternative facts that spread love. This love — alternative in its presentation of a reality in opposition to that of the Trump administration — will fuel us in our efforts to build a better tomorrow. Trump has shown America that what we think we know about our world can be bent. We can bend it back. But we can bend it to tell ourselves that another, better world still lies within reach. To see this alternative, though, we must embrace alternative facts. We must find the good that lies below the soil, that has been tread upon and lied to and beaten down to the point where we can hardly see it. We will find it, though. We will cling to it and tell ourselves that despite the realities of the wallets of the oil companies or the biases within our legal system or the immobility of our social structure or the exclusion of half our population, we will find a way to climate, racial, economic and gender justice.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
An Open Letter to Phil Hanlon
In these times of uncertainty, American universities depend on regular communications from their leaders about the responses to the barrage of President Donald J. Trump’s myriad detrimental policies and their implementation. More than two months elapsed between your two such statements, the first concerning Dartmouth’s continued support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students on Nov. 18, 2016 and the last related to the international students affected by Trump’s executive order from Jan. 27, sent to campus on Jan. 29. In the meantime, America’s new administration embarked on an entrepreneurial-military course. It attacked science, assaulted truth and moved to violate basic human and constitutional freedoms and rights. Two months is a long time to be silent on these issues and receiving piecemeal answers hardly paints a reassuring picture. It is not only about DACA or international students. The concerns are much broader. How will Dartmouth protect academic integrity and support its many other vulnerable community members? What is your vision for the College and its mission in the rapidly changing nation? More fundamentally still, what joint steps do university leaders anticipate undertaking in response to the nationwide events? These are not accidental questions. In the last few decades, higher education has taken an unambiguous path toward entrepreneurship. In parallel to the Cold War-era university-industrial
complex, we have witnessed the global growth of the similarly corporate university-entrepreneurial complex. Experiential learning incentives increasingly recall the tenets of vocational training. Pilot research institutes and initiatives draw on corporate funds and skew toward neoliberal ideas of for-profit innovation. Principles of Taylorism, a method for streamlining industrial efficiency since the late nineteenth century, guide assessments of faculty’s output, privileging productivity and quick dissemination of research over depth and quality. Tenure, meant to guarantee academic freedom, is threatened and, in some places, virtually dismantled from above. These changes suppress the dynamic, and rightfully difficult, ethical and philosophical questions that have propelled and disciplined academic inquiry for centuries, shaping the university as society’s “critic and conscience.” They hamper the education of citizens driven by concerns about morality and accountability. Last but not least, they produce disquieting parallels between the trajectories of our campuses and the new government in Washington. Yours, no doubt, is a job burdened with many challenges. Answering to the community is one of them. I thank you in advance for your effort to do so more consistently and comprehensively. – Yuliya Komska Komska is an associate professor of German at the College.
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Q&A with physics professor and author Marcelo Gleiser more respectable position, a more solid employment prospect, but I The Dartmouth did not relent. I decided that I had Physics professor Marcelo to be a scientist, no matter what Gleiser has devoted his life to my parents thought, and so there the study of theoretical physics. was a little bit of family strife, but His discipline has enabled him to I survived and got my degree in study and teach on three different physics knowing that I wanted to continents, first completing his become a theorist. That meant not u n d e rg r a d u at e wo rk in Rio working necessarily in laboratory d e Ja n e i ro, experiments Brazil before but doing g r a d u a t i n g “My family didn’t like more of the from King’s the idea of me becoming mathematical C o l l e g e modeling London with a physicist because they o f n a t u r a l his Ph.D. His thought that engineering s y s t e m s — postdoctoral t h at u s e s a work took him is a more respectable lot of math to Fermilab, a position, a more solid and a lot of h i g h - e n e rg y computer p a r t i c l e employment prospect, simulations. p h y s i c s but I did not relent.” And so, that’s laboratory the path that located right I forged from o u t s i d e o f -MARCELO GLEISER, PHYSICS v e r y e a r l y Chicago, on. I had no PROFESSOR Illinois, and doubt that finally to the I wanted to University of deal with the California, big questions Santa Barbara. While there, and that cosmology and particle he applied for a faculty job at physics was where those questions Dartmouth, where he has been were most clearly asked. teaching for the last 26 years. “I came, and I loved the What does your work entail? place,” Gleiser said. “I loved the MG: I work on what could be department, and I’ve been here generally called “early universe ever since.” physics,” such as the Big Bang and In addition to his work as a cosmology. I want to understand physicist, Gleiser has published how the universe emerged from five nonfiction books regarding a hot dense soup of particles to his studies. These works have been become what it is nowadays, full translated into over 15 different of galaxies, stars, planets and even languages, with Gleiser receiving life. Some of my research also goes the Brazilian Jabuti Award for best into what we call the “emergence nonfiction work on two separate of complexity” that describes how occasions. Now, Gleiser will be the simple becomes complicated in teaching a new massive open online nature and how you can actually course named “Question Reality!,” quantify that complexity and learn which will explore the intersection the physical mechanisms behind it. between philosophy, religion and science. The course will begin on How have you enjoyed your Jan. 31, as part of DartmouthX, an time at Dartmouth and how initiative dedicated to expanding h a s D a rt m o u t h c h a n ge d Dartmouth’s collection of MOOCs during your time here? since 2014, in collaboration with MG: Oh, wow. So I’ve been the nonprofit online learning here for a long time. This is my consortium edX. only professor job thus far, so I’ve been here 26 years, which What was it like going through is longer than most people that c o l l ege a s a t h e o re t i c a l are studying here have lived. I physicist? would say that the most obvious MG: Basically when you’re an change at Dartmouth is diversity. undergraduate, you just do physics. When I came here, there was not So you’re going to get a bachelor’s a very diverse student population degree in physics, and it really or faculty population, and I think varies from student to student that this is really changing right how clear they are about their now. In the last few years you can path and what they want to do really see a much more diverse in the future. In my case, I knew, student population than in the although I will say that I started early days. The other thing that I doing engineering, and I only see and I love is that there is much moved to physics in my third year. more opening to new institutes, My family didn’t like the idea of centers and programs that foster me becoming a physicist because the conversation across disciplines, they thought that engineering is a which I think is at the very heart
By ANTHONY ROBLES
of liberal arts.
How did you end up teaching t h i s c o u r s e, “ Q u e s t i o n Reality!”? MG: I wrote a book called “The Island of Knowledge” that was very well received, and I decided that it could be a perfect course for nonscience majors about the interface between science, philosophy and religion. I proposed it as a college course, and it was approved. I lectured it once, and the students loved it. We had a wonderful time in the classroom. And then, when I got this big grant to start this new institute — the Institute for CrossDisciplinary Engagement — as part of the grant, I had money for two MOOC productions, and I decided that this would be a really good MOOC. That’s why it became not just a course here at Dartmouth, but also an online course that starts very soon. What will the full course experience be like? MG: Basically, MOOCs have three components. They have videos that the instructor — in this case, myself — uses to present most of the course material, so basically a lecture. The media group here was outstanding in its production efforts, and they really created videos which are very good, almost NOVA [a science television series] quality. There’s beautiful graphics, animations and images that compliment what I am saying. Then you have interviews with experts from many different fields, from a classics professor talking about Lucretius to a CERN physicist talking about the search for the ultimate particles of nature on location at CERN. So I went there and filmed it. Then there is the work that the students themselves do, which is divided into multiplechoice questions that are basically content check to make sure that they are actually studying and learning something and activities that they have to develop and present back to the class. It will kind of be an interesting exercise when you have more than 10,000 people doing this. How did you decide that this course was suitable for discussion? MG: Well, part of my mission, not just as a professor here at Dartmouth but as a public intellectual, is to bring the conversation between the sciences and the humanities out into the public sphere. I want people to be aware of what’s going on and to be a part of the conversation about the latest ideas in sciences and the humanities and how they interface so the Institute’s mission is precisely that — to bring this [the conversation] out into the public sphere and talk about the
nature of reality from a scientific and philosophical and religious perspective. It’s a perfect crossdisciplinary platform to engage the public in this conversation.
free will? But to go from Plato to “The Matrix,” we go across the whole history of Western scientific knowledge from a cosmological perspective, and we discuss how our visions of the universe changed What’s the course about? over time from being earth-centered MG: One way to describe this to a multiverse, how our notions of course is to say we start at Plato’s particle physics changed over time, “Allegory of the Cave” and we end from the Greek atoms to modern with “The atoms, the M a t r i x . ” “Basically, we cover the m y s t e r i e s B a s i c a l l y, quantum whole idea of what reality of we cover mechanics to the whole is from ancient Greek the search for idea of what Higgs and philosophy to modern the reality is the ultimate from ancient science fiction and cutting particles of G r e e k - edge science, including nature and, philosophy also, what the to modern the possibility of artificial meaning of s c i e n c e intelligence and virtual mathematics fiction and is. We really c u t t i n g - reality.” c ove r a l o t e d g e of ground science, in six weeks. i n c l u d i n g -MARCELO GLEISER, PHYSICS The course is t h e PROFESSOR divided into possibility three parts: of artificial Cosmos, intelligence M at t e r a n d and virtual reality. We consider Mind — two weeks for each, seriously the question: “Do we essentially. And it’s self-paced like all live in a computer simulation?” MOOCs are, within those six weeks. And if we don’t, how can we tell, and what are the impact of these This interview has been edited and conversations on the notion of condensed for clarity and length.
COURTESY OF MARCELO GLEISER
Professor of physics Marcelo Gleiser has taught at the College for 26 years.
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
PAGE 6
DARTMOUTHEVENTS
#STOPPRESIDENTBANNON
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017
Matthew Goldstein ’18
TODAY 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Physics and Astronomy Space Plasma Seminar: “Remote Sensing of Earth’s Dayside Reconnection Processes by Imagers and Radars” with Boston University Professor Toshi Nishimura, Wilder 202
5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
“Living on Virtually Nothing in America” with Johns Hopkins University Professor Kathryn Edin, Rockefeller 003
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Danish String Quartet, Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Cente
TOMORROW
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
DEN/Tuck Speaker Series: Andrew Smith Tu’07, Founder and CEO of ATDynamics, Inc., DEN Innovation Center, 4 Currier Place, Suite 107
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Leading Voices in Higher Education: President of Morgan State University Dr. David Wilson, Filene Auditorium, Moore Building
7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Alash: a Tuvan throat singing ensenble, One Wheelock, Collis Center
RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Greek sandwich 5 Happy gatherings 10 Baby cow 14 Control for an equestrian 15 In full view 16 Buckeye State 17 Horse feed 18 TV’s “The Practice,” e.g. 20 “Bummer!” 22 Ford fiasco 23 Provides staff for 24 “That makes sense” 26 Champagne stopper or popper 27 Genius Bar pro 29 JFK’s successor 32 High-card-wins game 33 Enjoy 35 Submitted tax returns with a click 38 Door holder’s witticism 41 Part of Congress 42 Somali-born supermodel 43 Wide shoe size 44 Frat. counterpart 45 Aid in a felony 47 Traps in an attic? 49 Deborah of “The King and I” 51 Fictional Hawaiian police nickname 52 Rage 55 Procter & Gamble laundry detergent 60 Australia’s “Sunshine State” ... or where you might find the ends of 18-, 20-, 38- and 55-Across? 62 “Go back” computer command 63 Sch. near the U.S.-Mexico border 64 Tweak, say 65 Raise a big stink? 66 Pops a question 67 Outlaw chasers 68 Hours next to flight nos.
30 Margarine that 51 Rapper with a DOWN shares its name title 1 Branch out with Texas’ state 52 Poolside shade 2 “Okey-dokey” flower 53 Pecans and 3 Second actress cashews to win an Emmy, 31 Ballet leaps 32 “Now, where __ I?” 54 Nerdy type Grammy, Oscar 34 “Sadly ... ” 56 37-Down and Tony 36 Red Sox ballpark containers 4 GM system with 57 Singles an AtYourService 37 Hair coloring 39 Cocktail makers 58 Binged (on), as app 40 Ambulance fig. snacks 5 Helps with the 46 S.O.S shelfmate 59 Pans for laundry 48 Make certain of potstickers 6 Happily __ after 50 Fish-eating eagle 61 Maple extract 7 Maker of the Genesis game ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: system 8 Like many Shakespeare plays 9 MLB Cardinal’s cap letters 10 Lear’s youngest daughter 11 “I get it” cries 12 Green citrus fruit 13 Baby horse 19 Lousy grade 21 Sock that covers the joint it’s named for 25 Biblical queendom 26 Pet store enclosures 27 Ref’s ring decision 28 Spine-tingling 01/31/17 xwordeditor@aol.com
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
By C.C. Burnikel ©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/31/17
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017
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Alumna Q&A: Pamela Katz ’80, screenwriter, novelist, professor By KYLEE SIBILIA
The Dartmouth Staff
Pamela Katz ’80, renowned screenwriter and novelist, majored in anthropology at Dartmouth. After graduation, she went on to work as a camera assistant for several prominent directors before eventually pursuing a career in screenwriting, focusing on historical and biographical film projects. In addition to her work in film, Katz has also written a novel, a nonfiction book and a television mini-series. Katz is currently a professor of screenwriting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. How did your time at Dartmouth influence your future career? PK: Although I didn’t major in film, I took a lot of film classes. Of all the film classes that I took, there was one that influenced me the most, and that was taught by Maurice Rapf. He’s no longer alive, but he taught screenwriting. He taught me not just a lot about movies and screenwriting but also about writing and storytelling, and I always remembered him as I went forward. Additionally, a lot of really interesting people visited the film department at Dartmouth. One person who visited us was Peter Watkins. He made films that were kind of intellectual and political, and they weren’t blockbusters. Somebody in the audience asked him if he felt like he needed to be more accessible to a mass audience. He got very upset and said, “Have you ever met a member of this mass audience? Have you ever met anybody who wasn’t complicated and didn’t have their own story and their own depth and their own life?
I don’t know what anybody means when they talk about appealing to a mass audience because I’ve never met one.” That was something that I’ve remembered all my life, because I also work on films that have smaller audiences. Finally, I think it was my colleagues who influenced my career choice, and in particular I would mention Gina Barreca ’79. I felt very out of place at Dartmouth in many ways, and when I met Gina we helped each other to make the fact that we were really different from a lot of people there a strong point instead of a weakness. She’s still my best friend to this day. We have an emotional, intellectual relationship that if for no other reason, if I would be looking back, I would have gone to Dartmouth just to have made a lifelong friend and colleague like her.
Your films are known for their focus on historical biog raphy. How did you become interested in this genre? PK: Although I’m not religious, I am very much a Jewish American, and my father was a GermanJewish refugee. Lots of family was lost in the Holocaust. Prior to working on the kinds of films I’ve worked on, I had run from my past. I was more interested in anybody else’s past than my own. T h e a n s we r t o h ow t h i s became what I do now has one name attached to it, and that’s Margarethe von Trotta, a legendary German filmmaker with whom I’m working on a film right now, our fourth together. The great privilege of my professional life was having met her. She came to me 17 years ago, and she wanted to make a film about the Rosenstrasse, a non-violent protest held in Berlin
in 1943 by the non-Jewish wives of Jewish men who had been detained for deportation. We had to know a lot about traditional Jewish life for the film, and quite interestingly she started to teach me about Jewish life and culture. And I thought to myself “This is great, but what’s wrong with this picture?” That was the moment when I realized that I had really been running from Jewish culture. With her, I dove right into it. I think that was the jumpstart for me to start accepting more historical films and to realize that it was not only professionally satisfying but also something very personal that I had to reckon with. How do you navigate the line between staying historically accurate and creating a film that’s still entertaining for audiences? PK: I’m glad you asked that because right now I’m working on a film where that’s an enormous and gratifying challenge. I’m doing a film on Jan Vilček. He’s a scientist who’s engaged in the forefront of biotechnology and science. He was also a Holocaust survivor as a child, and he defected from communist Czechoslovakia. There’s an enormous amount of intellectual material to harness. At the same time, I want this film to be accessible and interesting to a large audience. There’s always this issue of truth: how much can you play with the facts in order to create a dramatic story? I think the answer to that is that you have to have a lot of integrity. My first way in is to learn as much as I possibly can, so that I’m in a position to make those decisions in terms of finding the truth. After you do the research and you feel that to the best of your ability you know what you’re
COURTESY OF PAMELA KATZ
Pamela Katz ’80 is a professor of screenwriting at Tisch School of the Arts.
talking about, the real way to engage an audience is to find out what’s going on emotionally. At the end of the day, audiences are people and people are interested in people. You’ve done work in both s c re e n w r i t i n g a n d b o o k writing. How does the creative process differ between these two mediums? PK: At the end of the day, it’s not as different as you sometimes think it will be. What I found was that so many of the tasks were the same. I found it very useful in a historical book to start each chapter in a
location, so that you could set up something that allows people to feel like they’re there. In a book, you’re dealing with much more material, and you have this sense of much more freedom, but I find that at the end of the day, you’re abiding by the same rules. If you don’t engage an audience, they will not turn the page, and they’ll turn it off if they’re watching it at home. You’re still telling a story; you’re still developing characters, whether they’re historically real or imagined. This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Danish String Quartet brings twist to classical music tonight By JOYCE LEE
The Dartmouth Staff
The Copenhagen-based Danish String Quartet, which has garnered popular appeal thanks to its members’ beards, hipster-esque style and line of craft beer, seems to thrive on surprising combinations. Consisting of violinists Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen and Frederik Øland, violist Asbjørn Nørgaard and cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, the quartet was appointed to the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two programme in the 2013-2014 season, and was the recipient of the Carl Nielsen Prize in 2011, which is Denmark’s largest cultural prize. Tonight, it will perform at the Hopkins Center for the Arts, bringing its technical prowess and
met at a summer music camp run to the music that they play. unique personality to Dartmouth. The Hop director of programming by the Danish Amateur Orchestra “They don’t draw a line between Margaret Lawrence said that she Association. Sjölin is Norwegian. classical and other kinds of music,” she had pursued hosting the said. “They’re part quartet for a performance of a new generation at the College for the past “The hope is that there will be that is increasingly three years. breaking down something for everybody, and “They’re a young barriers between group, but they have an while some people might come for different types of extraordinarily nuanced Beethoven, they’ll hear the folk music music.” understanding of the At its and hopefully enjoy it, and it might be classical repertoire,” she performance tonight, said. “They’re playing with the other way around as well.” the quartet will be freshness and excitement, playing Beethoven’s and they have a personal String Quartet in E understanding with each -RUNE TONSGAARD SØRENSEN, VIOLINIST minor, Op. 59 No. other that go way back.” 2, ‘Razumovsky,’ as The three Danish well as Norwegian members, Sørensen, Øland and Lawrence said that the personal composer Rolf Wallin’s Swans Kissing Nørgaard, have known each other understanding between the musicians and arrangements of Nordic folk since they were teenagers, when they allows a unanimity in their approach music.
“In many ways, [the folk music] belongs on the stage alongside classical works,” Lawrence said. “Hearing non-classical music alongside classical musical gives insight to the older work, while the classical work can also provide insight to the folk music.” Sørensen said that he enjoys playing a diverse program and that using their own arrangements of the folk music allows them to provide a more personal touch to that part of the performance. Although the Beethoven piece is not as personal, Sørensen added that the quartet hopes that its performance will project the same emotions that its members feel when listening to Beethoven. “The hope is that there will SEE QUARTET PAGE 8
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017
‘Moonlight:’ a quiet but powerfully immersive portrayal of life By SEBASTIAN WURZRAINER The Dartmouth Staff
British film critic Mark Kermode once said of “Pan’s Labyrinth” that if a film that good were to be released every 10 years, then he would happily carry on being a critic forever. That notion has guided me throughout my efforts in film criticism and has always been a reminder that I write reviews not because I wish to lambast terrible films, but because sharing my love for a truly exceptional piece of filmmaking is amongst my greatest pleasures. If you were to look back at my reviews for The Dartmouth, you might notice that I have yet to award a single film a perfect 10 out of 10. In my mind, that recognition is reserved for the kind of film to which Kermode is referring — the transcendent cinematic experience that instantly cements itself as a permanent resident on my list of the greatest films ever made. That streak ends today because “Moonlight” is such a film. “Moonlight” doesn’t have a story — it has three. Even then, the word “story” can only be applied in the loosest sense. Each part of the film highlights moments in the life of Chiron, a gay African-American
man growing up in Miami, Florida. Not “important” or “dramatic” moments — just moments during his childhood, adolescence and adulthood. We see Chiron (Alex Hibbert) as a child, near-silent and searching for a parent figure who can fill the role better than his drug-addicted mother (Naomie Harris). As a teenager, Chiron, now played by Ashton Sanders, attempts to come to terms with his sexual orientation. And as an adult, Chiron, played by Trevante Rhodes, is a drug dealer forced to deal with the pains of past. What I have just described may sound like a plot, but the film is really a series of beautiful and tragic moments centered around themes of race, sexuality and identity. The film has already received considerable media attention, and undoubtedly will continue to do so, for its honest and profoundly compassionate portrayal of a complex character. Not only are people of Chiron’s race and sexual orientation shamefully underrepresented in modern cinema, but given our current political climate, this film feels like a necessary counterbalance, a reminder that all people, regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, deserve to be treated
with immense respect. That being said, to reduce “Moonlight” to a social or political statement undermines its power as a work of art. Fundamentally, it is a film about real human beings and real human issues. It never shies away from the struggles that someone like Chiron would inevitably face, yet it’s not depressing in the traditional sense. Much of the story is reportedly based on the lives of Barry Jenkins, the director, and Tarell Alvin McCraney, the writer, and indeed the film often feels more real than most biopics. Hibbert, Sanders and Rhodes work seamlessly together to create a complete character. Hibbert manages to embody both the innocence of childhood as well as the immense scars of an abusive home life, while Sanders finds a way to play “doesn’t quite fit in” without ever relying on clichés. And Rhodes is uncanny in his ability to take the character in a direction we don’t necessarily expect without losing the core qualities that make Chiron such a singular protagonist. His quietness is his defining character trait, and all three actors wield their silence like a sword, allowing the absence of dialogue to speak volumes. Harris takes what could have been a stock character and elevates
her, layering her performance with an unexpected poignancy. Janelle Monáe and André Holland also bring surprising depth to small roles. They never feel like they’re playing a part. But the real scenestealer is Mahershala Ali, who, like Harris, is currently nominated for an Academy Award. His portrayal of Juan, a drug dealer and mentor for young Chiron, is never showy but his performance is unforgettable, balancing benevolence and tragic hypocrisy. Jenkins’ directing is at once mesmerizing and understated, just as his extensive use of long takes can sometimes be flashy and sometimes subtle. With an evocative use of colors and lightning, the film is gorgeous to watch, sometimes conveying realism and sometimes opting for pure stylism. The visual effects are elevated by Nicholas Britell’s eerie score, which never sounds like a typical film score with its unconventional sounds that perfectly match the visuals. When the final shot of “Moonlight” cut to black, I wasn’t exactly sure how to feel. In this case, I think that’s the sign of a great film. The best stories run the emotional gamut, so that at the end, you’re not entirely certain which emotion you want to settle on. That indescribable mixture of
emotions is among the most powerful ways to reflect the human experience. This is the best film of 2016. Moreover, it’s one of the best films so far this century. “Moonlight” deserves to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. But it may not win, and that’s okay, too. Because 20 or 30 years from now, when all else is forgotten, “Moonlight” will still be remembered. I am a white, cisgender, heterosexual male from a middle class background. In many ways, that is the definition of privilege. I will never know what it is like to be a member of a number of groups that have been historically discriminated against and continue to this day to face oppression. I do, however, think I have a responsibility to help if I can, to try to do the right thing. But I also need to listen — listen to the people who have and will experience things that I never will. Watching a movie like “Moonlight” is one small way to listen; cinema allows us to crawl inside the skins of different people and experience a sliver of their lives. Trust me, “Moonlight” is worth listening to. Rating: 10/10 “Moonlight” will be playing at 7 p.m. on Feb. 17 in Spaulding Auditorium.
Danish String Quartet held master class with students yesterday FROM QUARTET PAGE 7
be something for everybody, and while some people might come for Beethoven, they’ll hear the folk music and hopefully enjoy it, and it might be the other way around as well,” Sørensen said. “There’s a little bit of everything.” In addition to its performance, the quartet also engaged in an open chamber master class with Dartmouth music students on Monday. Øland and Sjölin, the two players present at the master class, provided constructive comments to violin and cello players. Music major and cello player Eddie Pyun ’18, who played as part of a student quartet at the master class, said that the Danish String Quartet had actually recorded its own version of the Beethoven piece the student quartet had performed. Because of this, Pyun said that he was excited to receive comments from the musicians on his playing.
“I had never heard of this group until I looked up the recording of this piece, but they’re the first ones to show up on YouTube, and every single other recording paled in comparison,” Pyun said. “What really sticks out about them is that in today’s world of classical music, playing well isn’t good enough, so I really appreciate how — as we’ll see in their concert tomorrow — they stay close to their Scandinavian roots.” The quartet followed the master class with a dinner at East Wheelock House, where it played a small performance and engaged in a discussion with students. Lawrence said that the Hopkins Center attempted to create a personal relationship between the musicians and students. “[The members of the quartet] are not stuffy artists; they’re very personable and laid back,” she said. “Visiting artists can have
[students] think differently about [what] they’re playing and evolve in the space. It’s a real opportunity to learn in an intimate setting.” In the master class, Pyun said that a particularly instructive moment was when Øland asked the students in Pyun’s quartet group to play with their eyes closed in order to eliminate the visual stimulants. “It was very counterintuitive instruction because in a small ensemble, we place a high premium on visual cues for communication,” Pyun said. “But once we played with our eyes closed, it seemed like the music gained a fluency that we hadn’t been playing with before. It was revealing all of our visual communication as obstacles.” Pyun said that as an aspiring professional musician, he was excited to discover the challenges of the Danish String Quartet’s musical journey and any advice they might be able to give to students.
COURTESY OF DANISH STRING QUARTET
The Danish String Quartet will play a set including Beethoven and folk music.
Nørgaard said that he hopes students will be able to walk away from the quartet’s performance with a feeling of having been part of a community engaged with the same music. “[The program] has everything,
from folk music to Beethoven, so hopefully students will walk away curious, happy and fulfilled in the musical traditions,” he said. The Danish String Quartet will perform in Spaulding Auditorium tonight at 7 p.m.