VOL. CLXXIII NO.73
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145 courses overenrolled in past year
students into the class. Next time he offers the course, Hawley said he will cap it at 130 students. Having more students in a class than space permits stands in contrast to the College’s liberal arts focus on small class sizes, highlighting the issue of over-enrolled and at-capacity courses at the College. While the College prides itself on a liberal arts focus with small class sizes, 145 classes exceeded their listed enrollment caps in the past year, according to an analysis of the Registrar’s course timetable from the 2015 summer term to the current term conducted by The Dartmouth. In that time period,
By CARTER BRACE
The Dartmouth Staff
ARTS
FILM REVIEW: ‘KEANU’ PAGE 7
REVIEW: JOHNNY BLAZES AND THE PRETTY BOYS PAGE 8
OPINION
SOLOMON: THE DREAM EXPOSED PAGE 4
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When Earth science professor Robert Hawley offered his “Environmental Change” course for the first time in the fall of 2009, 47 students enrolled. Hawley was excited the next time he offered the class and had 78 students sign up. But the third time the course was offered, Hawley was less enthused to learn he would be teaching a class of 297 students. The class had so many difficulties due to size that Hawley capped the course enrollment, which now stands at 150 students. Nonetheless, this past fall, Hawley allowed 171
Radio stations celebrate anniversaries By JOSEPH REGAN
The Dartmouth Staff
Two student-run radio stations — WBDS and WFRD 99 Rock — celebrated major anniversaries last weekend. Both stations, under the oversight of Dartmouth Broadcasting, have been key components of the Upper Valley’s sonic landscape for decades. WBDS marked its 75th anniversary
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while WFRD turned 40. About 70 alumni out of the nearly 2,000 invited attended the anniversary event. Organizers held panels on the history of Dartmouth Broadcasting, its present operations and its plans for the future. “For the most part college radio stations are an untapped resource,” WFRD disc jockey SEE RADIO PAGE 5
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
DIVEST DARTMOUTH
SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Divest Dartmouth hosted the Big Green Rally, the most co-sponsored event in College history and largest climate rally in New Hampshire.
APAHM kicks off in May By SONIA QIN
The Dartmouth Staff
T his past Sunday marked the beginning of Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage month, an annual celebration of the panAsian community that continues through all of May. This year’s theme at Dartmouth is “Loving #MyAsianAmericanStory,” a hashtag that was originally started by an Asian American high school student. Kevin Bui ’17, a member of the APAHM student organizing commit-
tee, said that this theme was chosen to convey the idea of self-love. He added that this hashtag — which has trended nationally — helps fold Dartmouth’s APAHM into part of a larger conversation. Not only does this year mark the first time that APAHM is organized around a theme, but it is also the first time that APAHM was planned by a central committee. Assistant dean and advisor to pan-Asian students Shiella Cervantes said that the central
planning committee helps focus APAHM from a pan-Asian perspective instead of from the viewpoints of specific ethnic groups. T. “Camille” Wang ’17, also a member of the APAHM planning committee, said the College’s participation in APAHM consequently allows the student body to be part of this national conversation. “APAHM will allow students to learn about different perspectives and people’s experiences and SEE APAHM PAGE 2
Students connect and find love on Friendsy app By MEGAN CLYNE
The Dartmouth Staff
Campus love without the hang-ups: that’s the pitch that the mobile app Friendsy is trying to sell, and among Dartmouth students it is working — sort of. Friendsy co-founder s Dylan Sewell ’15 and Vaidhy
Murti of Princeton University created the app to give college students the chance to be part of a student-centric network and connect with their campus crushes, Sewell said. Seventy percent of members of the Classes of 2016 and 2017 are actively using the app at Dartmouth, but the
percentage of users among the Classes of 2018 and 2019 is much lower, Sewell said. Friendsy is becoming more popular on almost every campus in the United States at which it is active, Sewell said. He noted that there are 100 schools with over 50 users, 50 schools with over 250 users and 15 schools with over
1,500 users. The sign-up process for Friendsy is fairly simple, Sewell said. To create an account, prospective users type in a valid .edu email address, which ensures that all users are actually college students. In its early days, Facebook used the exact same system, originally restricting use to
only those with a Harvard. edu email address. The valid email address requirement differentiates Friendsy from other mobile dating apps like Tinder, where anyone can sign up and create an account. “Dating apps can be a little SEE FRIENDSY PAGE 3
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
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TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2016
APAHM celebrates Asian American community and history community but sometimes goes unrecognized. recognizing that there’s a wide “The goals for the entire Dartrange of diversity within the pan- mouth community are just raising Asian community,” Wang said. awareness and getting people to cel Bui added that he hopes the ebrate and explore the culture and whole campus can share in this history of people who are alongside celebration together, and that it them every single day,” said Renata is possible for pan-Asian students Baptista, programming coordinaand non-pan-Asian students to see tor for community and leadership the programming from different development. “Something like angles. While some events focus APAHM is transformational for all on individual story sharing among of those groups in different ways.” Asian American students, several To Cervantes, APAHM celevents intended for everyone, he ebrates personal identity while said. educating people who are inter Wang said that it is much ested in learning more about other easier for pan-Asian students to perspectives. The programming identify with the issues and chal- ties into OPAL’s mission of valuing lenges brought up through much differences and creating a “socially of the programming. Nonetheless, just world,” she said. she said many elements, like self- Baptista said that APAHM identity and self-love, are relevant provided an interesting leadership to all. experience for the student plan “As an instining committution, as col- “ The goals for the tee, who had to lege students, think about how we’re expected e n t i r e D a r t m o u t h to represent an to lead the way community are just identity and an in terms of bein a ra i s i n g a w a r e n e s s experience ing open-mindsingle month of ed and celebrat- and getting people to programming. ing diversity,” he student celebrate and explore Tplanning Wang said. com C e r v a n t e s the culture and history mittee started and Bui comof people who are m e e t i n g l a s t mented on the term. unique nature alongside them every “ P a r t of the College’s single day.” of it is the balAPAHM comancing act of pared to other what’s possible, schools due to - RENATA BAPTISTA, what’s feasible the College’s for our campus, s p r i n g t e r m PROGRAMMING what’s feasible extending into COORDINATOR for our budget, June. and also what’s FOR COMMUNITY “We can have going to excite a whole month AND LEADERSHIP people,” Bapto dedicate to DEVELOPMENT tista added. highlighting the B u i Asian and Asian said that stuAmerican expedent planners rience,” Cerreached out to vantes said. several speakers “APAHM is meant to be not only and looked at the combination of reflect the experiences of people availability, pricing and who the who identity as Asian or Asian committee thought would bring American, but anybody within the most to the programming. pan-Asian community.” “We wanted to make sure ev She added that APAHM cele- erything was tailored toward our brates the identities of a wide array theme,” he said. of people, including East Asians, Baptista said that the planning South Asians, Southeast Asians, committee was also very intenPacific Islanders, international tional about the planning of the students, multi-racial students and closing gala, which is meant to adoptees. Cervantes said that orga- be a culminating celebration of nizers also wanted to create space APAHM. for the international community APAHM at the College is not — a part of the student body that institutionalized like it is at many plays a role within the pan-Asian other schools, Bui said, so the orgaFROM APAHM PAGE 1
COURTESY OF SHIELLA CERVANTES
Students participated in a photo project for APAHM, the results of which are on display in the Collis Center.
nizers have to “jump through hoops to get funding,” as the celebration is not part of the institution’s calendar. Cervantes said that this year’s budget for APAHM is higher than last year’s budget. Funding sources include the Special Programs and Events Committee, academic departments and the president’s and provost’s offices. On Sunday, APAHM launched its kickoff event inside the Center for Gender and Student Engagement office.
While the planning community had envisioned an event that would be larger in scale, the kickoff “was pretty good all around,” Wang said. Raaz’s performance was the highlight of the kickoff, she said. Cervantes said attendees had strong energy at the kickoff and the CGSE office was completely filled up. “I think the goal was just to celebrate and kickoff the month in a joyful and celebratory way,” Baptista said. APAHM began in 1977, when
the House of Representatives introduced a bill to proclaim the first 10 days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage week. May was specifically chosen as it commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese people to the United States. The month also marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, the majority of which was built by Chinese immigrants. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a bill passed by Congress to extend the celebration from a week to a month.
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SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Divest Dartmouth held a rally last Saturday to encourage the College to divest from fossil fuel companies.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2016
Friendsy partnered with Snapchat FROM FRIENDSY PAGE 1
scary. There are randos out there,” Sewell said. Once users receive an activation code sent to their email accounts, they can return to the app and fill in basic information, such as gender, class year, personal photos and optional descriptive tags like “foodie,” “must love dogs” or “outgoing.” Users can then see all the students in their vicinity. They can limit their search preferences to a certain radius of people, and they can indicate filter for specific genders and class years. Friendsy participants scroll through images of other students at their college or at other schools and anonymously select whether or not they want to hookup, date or be friends with another person. The recipient will receive an alert, along with a pool of 10 possible people who may have clicked on them. Their job is to guess who expressed interest in them, making the app a kind of “guessing game,” according to Sewell. Sewell explained the numerous features that accompany the app, such as chit chat — an anonymous chat room between two people on the same college campus. Once the two people feel comfortable
speaking to each other, they have the option of becoming friends and revealing their identities. Friendsy users can also compliment people on their profiles. These compliments are screened and moderated by Friendsy’s team to control against pejorative or negative comments. Recently, Friendsy sponsored a contest with Snapchat. The two companies asked people to snap a specific user with the caption “#wemetonfriendsy” for a chance to win a free gift card. Two Dartmouth students won the contest, receiving a $100 gift card to Pine Restaurant. Visiting professor Svetlana Grushina, who teaches a speech course called “How New Media Shape our Lives: Rhetoric, Theory and Praxis,” commented on the prevalence of social media in modern society. She said that people, especially college students, are often hard-pressed to think of relationships they have that do not involve the use of social media. Apps like Friendsy offer a much wider pool of interactional opportunities than was available before the rise of social media, Grushina said. “I believe that intimate and authentic social interactions can take place over social media,” she said. Despite her support for social
media, Grushina said that face-toface interaction contributes greatly to growth in a relationship and that dialogues are the fundamental building blocks of society. Additionally, she said that social media can create an arena for people to express themselves in ways they would not otherwise in person. To her, the content of what people say to each other really matters, as there is a permanence associated with the written word. Murti said Friendsy is highly concentrated in the Northeast, mostly because the company’s location has enabled it to host frequent social marketing campaigns in the region to raise awareness about the app. Sewell said that Friendsy aims to create a safe, personal environment for all of its users and eventually expand its market overseas in the future. “In one sentence, we want it to be the best college dating app it can be,” Murti said. Sewell said Friendsy aims to make people excited to come back to campus at the start of every new term or semester and pursue their own love interests. Many Dartmouth students reached for comment either declined to comment or did not respond to requests seeking comment.
COURTESY OF DYLAN SEWELL
Dylan Sewell ’15 is the founder of Friendsy, an app that allows students to connect with others on campus.
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Number of faculty affects course enrollment
who joined the department in that period. Departments submit requests for 2,487 courses were offered. The problem is often the most new faculty members to the deans acute in some of the most popular of the faculty in the summer. The departments. The government de- deans then hold a meeting at end of partment had the most over-enrolled each summer where they decide how courses over the past year, followed resources are allocated to the different by the engineering department and departments, according to geography department more distantly by chair Susanne the computer science and Spanish “The deans are usually Freidberg. The departments in responsive, and we’ve dean’s office in turn depends on joint third. Limitations been adding more resources coming on faculty hiring faculty members, but from president’s office. The deans are a frequentlycited barrier to not at the pace that rarely grant the full requests of academic de- we’d like.” d e p a r t m e n t s, partments at the Freidberg said, College offering though the gemore sections of -DEAN LACY, ography departa popular course. GOVERNMENT ment was recent Existing facly granted a new ulty can only take DEPARTMENT CHAIR faculty position on so much of as part of a dia course load. Most professors can only teach three versity initiative. or four courses a year, and those who “We all like having more faculty.” teach particular courses are often the Wohlforth said only faculty members in a depart- The hiring process in academia can ment with the expertise to do so. be difficult and slow, and Dartmouth For instance, music professor Hafiz has to compete with elite peer instituShabazz’s expertise on the practical tions. Wohlforth noted that a strong and intellectual areas of Afro-Cuban department at the College will sucmusic means he is the only professor cessfully recruit 40 to 50 percent of who can teach the repeatedly over- candidates it makes offers to. enrolled Music 51, “Oral Tradition Enrollments are not always limited just by the number of faculty departMusicianship.” Faculty hiring is a particular con- ments are able to hire. A limitation on cern for the government department, the number of sections of a course which faces high demand for courses as that a department can offer can be caused by somethe second most thing as simple popular major at “We don’t have as not having the College. enough physical “The deans any more room in space. Freidberg are usually rewas blunt about sponsive, and Fairchild, which is in the issue in her we’ve been add- terrible shape.” department. ing more faculty “ W e members, but don’t have any not at the pace - SUSANNE FREIDBERG, more room in that we’d like,” GEOGRAPHY Fairchild, which government deis in terrible partment chair DEPARTMENT CHAIR shape,” she said. and professor Silsby Dean Lacy said. The department currently has 28 Hall exhibits similar problems, as it faculty, even though six years ago, a houses the departments and programs department committee recommended in anthropology, government, sociolthat the department have 32 faculty ogy, Latin American, Latino and members by this year. In the mean Caribbean Studies and quantitative time, the government department social science all under one roof. lost some faculty and gained new The issue of inadequate office ones, while some candidates did not space also causes difficulties in attractaccept final offers. The department ing the most prized faculty candidates also hires visiting faculty to help with to the College, Freidberg said, adding that she thinks the issue will increasthe courseload for classes. The growth in the government ingly affect departments at the College. faculty means that the situation with Despite the difficulties in teaching over-enrolled courses is better than it larger courses, some professors enjoy was in the early 2000s, said government professor William Wohlforth, SEE ENROLLMENT PAGE 5 FROM ENROLLMENT PAGE 1
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
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STAFF COLUMNIST IOANA SOLOMON ’19
STAFF COLUMNIST STEVEN CHUN ‘19
The Dream Exposed
Divest from Skepticism
Liberal arts is no longer enticing to a career-oriented generation. Almost exactly a year ago today, I made the decision to come to Dartmouth. Unlike many of my peers, my choice was not entirely an easy one. Picturesque Hanover was nothing like the bustling streets of New York City. It was by all means quieter and more beautiful, with the fresh air and grassy scent that seem all but impossible to find in the city, but it was also more isolated and far less familiar. Dartmouth gave me the ideal, dreamy “Ivy-League” education, but at a cost. From a financial standpoint, I could have chosen a college that offered me a merit scholarship equivalent to a full ride. This scholarship would have provided the opportunity for a guaranteed job at a prestigious institution for four years at no cost and would have been an excellent source from which to develop the skills I needed for the field I then imagined I would be heading into. But I decided to let my heart think, and I chose the dream instead. I chose Dartmouth for all the classic reasons — the Ivy League title, the promise of strong alumni connections, the wide array of faculty and resources, the focus on undergraduate education, the study abroad opportunities and the subtle but confident guarantee of postgraduation success. But what I mostly fell for was the mantra of a “liberal arts education” — the idea that I was free to study whatever I wanted, that I could pursue any intellectual aspiration without having to worry too much about the future and that, regardless of what major or minor I ultimately chose, I would nevertheless be acquiring the “soft” skills employers desperately sought. A speaker at one of the first-year orientation events explained, quite simply, that hard skills and field-specific information a student learns at a vocational institution change constantly and can be learned or relearned at any point in one’s career. By contrast, the soft skills acquired at schools like Dartmouth are assets that catalyze success from the very beginning and that, no matter what, will always be needed. Months flew by, and disappointment and regret seeped through what had been rosecolored glasses. Objectively, I no longer found the study abroad opportunities as generous as they had promised to be. I was no longer
as impressed with the teaching quality or the resource offerings as I had once been. And artificial features like the beauty of the campus or the quality of the food no longer seemed as important. However, one thing I still believed in almost religiously was the superiority of Dartmouth’s liberal arts education. Now, with four weeks to go before the end of my first year, with more conversations under my belt and more hours spent thinking everything through, I am questioning that. If we were truly free to choose to study whatever we wanted, if we truly learned the same communication, writing and critical thinking skills from any subject we pursued and if all of us had an equally good chance to work for Goldman Sachs post-graduation, how come so many of us are economics or STEM majors? How come so many of us sneer, whether verbally or otherwise, at arts and humanities majors? How come so many of us use words like “useful” to describe the classes we take? Ultimately, it feels like the liberal arts dream just isn’t being bought anymore. Whether because recruiting is getting more and more competitive or because employers are changing their preferences or maybe even because the student debt looming over our heads is forcing us to think more practically starting at an earlier age, we seem to be far less eager to believe the idealistic promises of liberal arts advocates. We associate our majors and minors more and more with our career plans, and we seem to hover over summer jobs and internships far more than academic camps or programs. In a way, we seem to be pulling in the vocational education model and wedging it into our current structure. While the liberal arts framework is still very much alive at Dartmouth and at similarly prestigious institutions, it is likely only being sustained by the Ivy League brand or other big names and the expectation that wellestablished alumni will reach in and rescue the current generation with jobs and sponsorships. Otherwise, the hunger for hard skills and the desperation to connect what we learn to what we do is real, and Dartmouth would do best to recognize that, both in what it promises to its applicants and in the education it provides.
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ISSUE
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2016
NEWS EDITOR: Parker Richards, LAYOUT MANAGER: Jaclyn Eagle, TEMPLATING EDITOR: Jaclyn Eagle.
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’s not about the money; it’s about sending a message.
To put it bluntly, I thought Divest of Notre Dame, Stanford University, Amherst Dartmouth was pointless. I strongly believe College, Georgetown University, the Unithat climate change should be our foremost versity of Oregon and Dartmouth, just to concern, but it seemed that Divest Dartmouth mention a few, the impact of widespread dididn’t have any concrete goals, and I didn’t vestment would be massive — not in financial buy into the idea that “morally bankrupting” terms, but in forcing discussion. The scientific energy companies counted as doing anything literature — much of which has come from productive. I’ve always been unenthusiastic colleges themselves — has made the dangers about activism that doesn’t propose solutions of climate change incredibly clear, but what’s or set goals. T-shirts and megaphones do not preventing action is a sense of widespread ursocial change make. But I missed something gency. Divestment is not just a minor financial in this analysis. There is a strategy to Divest transaction that barely affects fossil fuel comDartmouth, one that is less easily assigned a panies — it is a plea for urgency. Some of the dollar value or measured country’s most respected in parts per million: institutions divesting indi“What makes making colleges divest that apathy is far too divestment powerful cates is a way to tap into their great a danger. symbolism and influence. is not the financial So this non-believer has In my view, divestment changed his mind. At this repercussions but isn’t about affecting fossil point, any effort to address fuel-burning companies’ the expansion of the climate change is worthfinances — it’s about while. While the conversaconversation due renowned institutions tion is still framed in terms to the prestigious sending a message of of degrees Celsius, it won’t urgency. too long before it is role of the American be The financial impact framed in lives lost and college.” of divestment is hard to billions of dollars of ecodetermine. It is abunnomic and environmental dantly clear that it will in damage. no way significantly affect the companies that As Divest Dartmouth evolves, however, I Dartmouth divests from. Initially, I was skepti- see ways of increasing its efficacy. The first is cal of the trade-off between the well being establishing more concrete goals. Technical of the College and making a symbolic stand details like timelines for divestment and stanthrough divestment. I figured that spending dards for which companies should be targeted money gained from fossil fuels on research could make the movement more palatable for and empowering students who could then the administration and trustees. In addition, make a real impact on climate change would Divest Dartmouth cannot paint energy combe a far better use of our endowment. The panies with the wide brush of “fossil fuel.” cost to the College of divesting seemed too For example, I would hesitate to divest from great. However, it’s hard to say that divestGeneral Electric, because while it’s certainly a ment would significantly harm the College. player in the oil and gas industry, it’s also the An open letter from 61 Dartmouth alumni largest manufacturer of wind turbines in the notes that fossil fuels make up a relatively United States. Furthermore, the transition to small portion of Dartrenewable fuels will be a mouth’s endowment and long one. To that point, we “Some of the country’s cannot consider all fuels could be reinvested with few adverse effects. It may most respected the same. Natural gas is far be sub-optimal, but it is cleaner than coal, which institutions divesting far from disastrous. Behas become the focal point yond that, the College has indicates that apathy is of many divest movements divested before: in 1989, as it’s one of the dirtiest far too great a danger.” fuels in use. This allows us the College sold off $11.5 million dollars of investto focus on divesting from ments in companies with the worst polluters while dealings in South Africa to protest apartheid. remaining engaged with companies that are It seems the College has the ability, if not the actively pursuing renewable fuels. will, to use their endowment to address critiAbout a month ago, I was considering cal issues. writing this column from the other side of What makes divestment powerful is not the the divestment debate. I was prepared to definancial repercussions but rather the expannounce the Divest movement as inconsequension of the conversation due to the prestigious tial and irresponsible for drawing attention role of the American college. The university away from serious efforts to address climate system has historically been at the forefront change. I have been through every arguof progress. Countless Nobel prize winners, ment against Divest, and, in the course of my renowned scientists and business leaders have thought process, each one has failed to hold emerged from this system, giving American water. People who think like me often have colleges more and more clout. With that histrouble finding the importance in movements tory in mind, it’s easy to imagine the message without measurable effects. But it’s foolish — that divestment can send. With student movepractically irresponsible — for anyone who ments at institutions such as the Massachurecognizes the danger of climate change to setts Institute of Technology, the University disregard Divest Dartmouth.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2016
PAGE 5
Radio stations remain independent Some courses are in constant high demand FROM RADIO PAGE 1
Matt Rube ’19 said. “The one thing you can’t get from Spotify and Pandora are your friends. With WDCR we have the potential to create a music-social network that is campus-centric.” WFRD 99 Rock is the third biggest radio station in the Upper Valley with 10,000 listeners tuning in at any one time, with peak numbers around 20,000. Attempts to begin a radio station at the College began around 1902, but those early experiments met with administrative resistance. A campus license was finally issued for a campus radio station in 1920. The radio was rudimentary then, Rube said. Rube — who, in addition to his role as a DJ is also director of alumni relations for Dartmouth Broadcasting — said radio was initially sent out to campus through the wiring in the heating vents. Official College recognition came in 1941, longer than was strictly necessary, according to Rube. “The earlier radio experimenters got into trouble when a broadcast to campus intended to be the president’s remarks accidentally broadcast an in-studio producer who was cursing,” he said. The then-College president was angered by the broadcast which had made it seem that he was cursing, Rube said. Dartmouth Broadcasting is the umbrella organization under which WDCR — the web radio station — and WFRD 99 Rock operate. WDCR was the company’s first AM station, opening in 1958. In 1976, 99 Rock was introduced. Around 2008, the AM tower was taken down in order to make room for a softball field, and so WDCR moved to the internet. Moving forward, Dartmouth
Broadcasting hopes to do more with HD radio, Rube said. The development would not require a new tower but would require new technology applied to existing Dartmouth Broadcasting equipment. With the new technology, the company could broadcast both an FM channel and an AM channel. “Dartmouth Broadcasting encompasses a wide range of activities: marketing, sports, music, news, talk shows, interviews,” Rube said. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley was in the station’s studio last year during his presidential campaign. The station still has a ticker tape from the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Rube said. Heath Cole, Dartmouth Broadcasting’s adult advisor, said the radio station broke the news of the Kennedy assassination on campus. “There used to be a system of chimes that were broadcast, the number indicating the urgency of the news,” he said. “When JFK was shot, for the first time on campus, five chimes rang out. We [the radio station] were the first to know, and we were the ones who broke the news on campus.” Cole has been a part of Dartmouth Broadcasting for 23 years. He spoke with pride about four first-place NHAB Granite Mike awards Dartmouth Broadcasting won in 2015. In the 1970s and 1980s, the station frequently played new music from bands like Kiss, Aerosmith, Boston and others, he said. Except for sports play-by-play analysis done by radio affiliate Chris Garrett and the afternoon drive-by done by Cole, all content is student-produced. The level of student involvement is exceptionally high for a 24-hour station, Cole said. In order to engage audiences and
produce compelling content, Cole said the station has to be 24/7. “It’s like a restaurant: when you go, or in our case tune in, you expect to get a table, to hear your favorite music or talk show,” he said. Ryan Hall ’19 is a disc jockey for Dartmouth Broadcasting. From 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., he is responsible for keeping 99 Rock running smoothly. “On weekdays, I talk between songs, plug things like the Furious Five at 9, which is a call-in program we run where you can hear your favorite rock songs,” he said. The station’s reach — 10,000 viewers every hour — is impressive, Hall said. In one recent contest, the winner was a listener from California, Hall said. Cole estimated the radius of the station’s coverage to be 65 miles generally, but with radio sharing services and its web station, Dartmouth Broadcasting’s reach can be even further. Kevin Patterson ’17 is the general manager of Dartmouth Broadcasting, responsible for both stations, as well as the news, sports and marketing department. Patterson said that Dartmouth Broadcasting receives no funding from the College and must generate its own revenue. This is especially true of 99 Rock, the commercial station that is the main revenue source for Dartmouth Broadcasting, through on-air advertising. The station receives ratings based on the music it plays and the number of people listening. Patterson said that he believes working for the radio forces you to look beyond the Dartmouth Bubble. “You have to consider the audience, which is demographically different than the student body because it is largely composed of Upper Valley residents, or people driving through the area,” he said.
FROM ENROLLMENT PAGE 3
the experience. Engineering professor John Collier, who has grown accustomed to teaching the “Introduction to Engineering” class with 70 students, said he was “exceptionally pleased” about the popularity of the course. Religion department chair Randall Balmer, who has taught two overenrolled courses in the past year, said he enjoys the opportunity to lecture to a larger group. However, Balmer acknowledged that there are limits to how large a class can be before there are difficulties keeping track of who is actually attending or not. Balmer taught the Sports, Ethics and Religion class in the fall of 2014 with 271 students, 64 of whom were later disciplined for academic honor code violations relating to faking attendance in class using clickers. Hawley says tries to accomplish a degree of intimacy in his 150-plus person class by having all the students introduce themselves on the first day of class. In addition, introductory courses in the government department have hard caps on enrollment, refusing students beyond the enrollment limit. Wohlforth’s introductory “International Relations” course has 50 students and 10 to 30 on a wait list, whereas Wohlforth said he would ideally teach 25 students in this class. He added that the popularity of government courses is not likely to be a result of easy grading. In fact, introductory courses cannot have medians higher than a B+ per government department policy. Wohlforth said that he sees the “number one downside” to teaching at Dartmouth as teaching larger classes than he would like. Lacy and Wohlforth also said that the ideal number of students in a mid-level course should be 15 to 25 students, significantly lower than it is presently. Currently, most mid-level government classes are capped at 35 students, though there are exceptions granted. In reality, Lacy’s “Campaigns and Elections” class had 48 students, and he noted that the experience of teaching this course at this size did not differ significantly from a 150-person class he had taught previously back at Ohio State University. Classes in other disciplines also have limits on how many students can be taught effectively. Engineering professor Peter Robbie’s “Design Thinking” course requires class participation and hands-on group projects, and therefore cannot be taught as a giant lecture course, Robbie said. However, demand for the course led Robbie to teach the class three terms a year, whereas he originally only taught one section a year. The class, designed for
20 students, currently enrolls 30 and has a 70 person waitlist each term. Nonetheless, Robbie says the size of the course compares to similar courses offered at peer institutions like Stanford University and Northwestern University. Problems with over-capacity courses can be exacerbated by the absence of graduate students, especially in the humanities and social sciences. Lacy noted that in many of the classes in Ohio State’s government department, are actually the same size as the ones offered by the government department at Dartmouth, as Ohio State can use graduate students to teach classes. Hawley said that he is able to teach his earth sciences classes with the assistance of one or two teaching assistants who help with grading. Additionally, student graders can be used to grade quantitative assignments like problem sets. Some courses are over-enrolled because they offer the only chance for students to interact with particular subject matter. Asian and Middle Eastern studies and women’s, gender and sexuality studies lecturer Jung Ja Choi offered the only class in Korean literature, which proved very popular with students. Choi said that her students told her that they wished there were more Korean literature classes at the College, which does not have a Korean studies program. Choi also offered another over-enrolled course on Korea called “Sexing Korea.” Similarly, Shabazz’s course on oral traditions of musicianship offers students with no musical experience the chance to learn the rudiments of musical theory while also exploring their own cultures’ musical traditions. All three of Shabazz’s sections of the course in the past year have been over-enrolled. Other classes are popular because they speak to topical issues. Lacy’s “Campaigns and Elections” class was particularly popular in the run-up to the New Hampshire primary, while the Geography department’s introductory class, Geography 2, covers the popular topic of global health. Hawley’s class gives students the opportunity to cover topics of social relevance relating to climate change, while allowing students to satisfy a science distributive requirement. Almost all the faculty interviewed typically allow students to enroll in their classes if they are seniors who will not get a chance to take the class again or if they need the course to satisfy majors and minor requirements. Expressing a compelling intellectual interest in a class can also help. For instance, some of the students that Wohlforth allowed in his over-enrolled class on Russian Foreign Policy were Russian majors.
PAGE 6
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2016
DARTMOUTHEVENTS TODAY 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Dartmouth Baseball vs. Harvard University, Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park
2:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Dartmouth Softball vs. Harvard University, Softball Park
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Riding for Climate Justice on the Road to UN Climate Negotiations, Morgan Curtis ’14 and former director of the UN Global Climate Observing System David Goodrich ’74, 006 Steele
TOMORROW All Day
Room draw for fall term housing
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
“CMOS Current Source,” Electrical Engineering Seminar Series, YuehChing Teng, Cummings 202
4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
“Should Everything Be for Sale? Or Are There Moral Limits to Markets?” Debra Satz, Jason Brennan, Filene Auditorium, Moore Hall
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
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2016
‘Keanu’ cannot recreate the Key and Peele magic
too few; in an attempt to formulate a convincing and coherent narrative and The Dartmouth Staff temper their traditional ridiculousness, Fresh off the set of their recently Key and Peele actually rob the film concluded Comedy Central show of its full comedic potential. Famous “Key and Peele,” the shape-shifting for their multi-layered, unpredictable Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele sketches, the duo unfortunately creates make their big screen debut in “Keanu” a fairly monotone and reserved come(2016). Like many television come- dic mode. Instead of creating more dians have discovered, particularly situational humor, Clarence and Rell Saturday Night Live cast members, protest too much, bickering ad naucinematic audiseam and wasting ences are unwelprecious comedic coming of stars “Moreover, the film’s time. traversing media. central conceit of a MoreFortunately, the over, the film’s missing kitten pursued central conceit of dynamic duo’s antics translate by deadly gangs saps a missing kitten into a feature it of any obscene bite; pursued by deadnarrative film, ly gangs saps it of while maintain- this is Key and Peele any obscene bite; ing the same declawed.” this is Key and sketch comedy Peele declawed. style which made The ribald, often them household racially oriented names. idiom of their show becomes neutered Here, the duo takes on familiar per- for mainstream audiences. Everyone sonas, with Key the straitlaced, J. Crew must be a softy not-so-deep down clad suburban husband Clarence, and when they worship a mewing furball. Peele the deadbeat, newly single Rell “Keanu” cannot replicate the volatility wallowing in self-pity. When an ador- and insanity of “Seven Psychopaths” able kitten comes rapping on Rell’s (2012), in which the stolen Shih Tzu chamber door, he soon forgets about provokes a diverse chain of explosive his own lost Lenore and rediscovers the psychos. Here, everyone is a crossjoys of life. Yet the kitten comes with dresser, from the gang members to serious baggage; two gangs have also Clarence’s uptight wife, just waiting to claimed Keanu as their own. Soon it reveal their gooey insides. While Key becomes a game of, forgive the pun, and Peele don’t attempt to replicate cat and mouse to reclaim the missing McDonagh’s black humor, it perhaps kitten. To reclaim his stolen beloved, would have made the feline focus more Clarence and Rell must take on new palatable. Under this kitten umbrella, names (Shark Tank and Tectonic), even the excessive violence and slo-mo integrate themselves into the local shootouts feel oddly juvenile. gang, the 17th Street Blips, and join Yet perhaps Key and Peele mock tothem through all their nefarious drug day’s obsessive cuteness fetish; in a culdealings. ture where dogs have Instagram pages At its core, “Keanu” is a cross- and Halloween costumes, what’s to dressing film akin stop gangs from to “Some Like It “Yet perhaps Key and fighting over a Hot” (1959) or kitten? The num“White Chicks” Peele mock today’s ber of “awws” (2004), in which obsessive cuteness coming from faked identities the audience befetish; in a culture promise hilarious came comedy; hijinks. But in- where dogs have like trained anistead of bras and Instagram pages and mals they cooed wigs, Clarence with delight at the and Rell must Halloween costumes, pre-programmed drop their voices what’s to stop gangs moves of the and spew the NCGI-generated from fighting over a word to convince kitten. Nonethethe local thugs. A kitten?” less, the film ends constant threat of up more like an exposure permeaggrandized cat ates the narrative, which their increas- video, with an initially engrossing ingly absurd cover-ups punctuate with central theme that tires after overuse. palliative humor. Watching Shark Tank “Keanu” needed a hit of catnip, and convince the gang members of George instead took a catnap midway through Michael’s blackness then Tectonic fu- from which it never really awoke. tilely attempting to exonerate himself of three violent murders was one of Rating: 7/10 the film’s few moments of lucidity. “Keanu” is now playing at the Nugget Ironically, these set pieces numbered Theaters at 4:40 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
PAGE 7
TALKING SHOP
By ANDREW KINGSLEY
SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Artist-in-residence Eric van Hove, whose work resides in the Jaffe-Friede Gallery, spoke on Thursday at the Hood.
PAGE 8
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2016
Johnny Blazes and the Pretty Boys rocked the stage at FNR
risma of the lead singer,” concert They went on to mention that, attendee Reed Sturtevant ’16 said. within the LGBTQIA community, The Dartmouth He went on to say that it was certain groups “get put to the The sounds of rousing horns the best FNR show he has been to forefront and get a lot of visibility, and [others] don’t.” and tight, soulful vocals filled in years. Laura Calderon ’19 said that “The murder rate in the black Sarner Underground on Friday night as Johnny Blazes and the the boldness was something that trans community is unacceptable, Pretty Boys performed at Friday she had observed in many of the and we need to be talking about these things even while we’re Night Rock for this year’s Dart- Pride Week activists. “[They] celebrating,” mouth Pride Week. Blazes said. The band played a lively set that were just up I n included various covers as well as t h e r e b e i n g “There was a really raw terms of the clever original songs off their debut t h e m s e l ve s, ” exciting sexuality to future of the album Soul Vernacular, which was Calderon said. “[They] really every moment of [their] m o v e m e n t , released this past September. t h ey b e l i eve Lead singer Johnny Blazes made me feel performance.” that the disformed the band with their father, like I should be cussion of inguitarist J. Johnson, in 2011. The as fierce and as -LIZZY ROGERS ’16, FNR tersectionality two talented musicians had a proud.” Lizzy Rog- ATTENDEE is vital. charming onstage dynamic and “ W e were supported skillfully by the rest ers ’16 agreed, need to look of the ensemble, which featured saying that it at the interback-up vocals, keyboard, bass, was inspiring percussion and an impressive horn for her “to see someone up there sections of things,” Blazes said. who’s just so comfortable.” “Every person needs to examine section. “There was a really raw excit- our own privilege, whatever that Hirsh Elhence ’17, Friday Night Rock’s current booking manager, ing sexuality to every moment of privilege is.” COURTESY OF JOHNNY BLAZES Pride Week activities will consaid that he and the students or- [their] performance,” she said. Johnny Blazes and the Pretty Boys played at Friday Night Rock last week. Rogers went on to mention tinue until May 6. ganizing Pride Week wanted to select “a band that would fit the that she especially appreciated the ethos of Pride… someone who band’s song “Jade,” which Blazes could represent the community.” summed up as being about “not Elhence heard that the band knowing if you want to be someone had played at the Boston Pride or want to [be with] them.” Blazes describes the lyrics of Festival in June. “We listened to them and they their songs as “very much queer.” sounded great,” he said. “They They added that many of their have [this] burlesque, glitter rock songs address the “confusion of the queer identity and the pleasure vibe.” Blazes, a captivating entertainer of that confusion.” Although they do not necessariwith experience in circus performance, vaudeville, drag, burlesque ly categorize their performances as a form of acand more, said tivism, Blazthat the band es pointed aims to get au- “We need to look at the out that “in diences up on intersections of things. 2 0 1 6 wh e n their feet. Every person needs you have a “Our music consciously is intended to to examine our own queer mesmake people privilege, whatever that sage or ethic dance,” they to your work, explained. “So privilege is.” i t ’s i n h e r the audience ently politithat I really -JOHNNY BLAZES cal because want to reach that’s not the is people who common narwant to dance, and who appreciate really tight and rative.” They also explained that, exciting musicality.” The band easily achieved this though their shows are meant to goal during Friday night’s show. be fun and celebratory, they make Students in attendance said they sure to bring up important social felt encouraged to let loose and issues as well. “The joy of music and the joy of ELIZA MCDONOUGH/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF were inspired by Blazes’ confidancing is a way to access people,” Students performed in “Lifted: Art as a Form of Social Resistance” in Collis Common Ground on Friday night. dence and boldness onstage. “I was really struck by the cha- Blazes said.
By KIRA MIKÉS
LIFTED THROUGH SONG