VOL. CLXXII NO. 15
PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH 22 LOW 14
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Sixty-four students handed sanctions for cheating by Dartblog last Friday — interim Dean of the College Inge-Lise Ameer summarized both the reasons for declining student appeals and for the variety of sanctions handed down. Ameer confirmed the validity of the published memo and said she also sent individual letters to students involved. “I wanted them to know that I took every argument that they made, which were many, very seriously,” Ameer said of the memo. If a student was charged and did not self-identify on Oct. 30,
B y PARKER RICHARDS The Dartmouth Staff
A spectrum of sanctions have been imposed on the 64 students involved in the cheating incident in religion professor Randall Balmer’s “Sports, Ethics and Religion” course last fall. Punishments range from four terms of academic probation to two terms of suspension, with the differences attributable to the varying circumstances of the individual students involved. In a memo sent to Religion 65 students — obtained and published
SPORTS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FALL TO HARVARD PAGE SW2
OPINION
ALSTON: PRAGMATISM OVER POLITICS PAGE 4
the student received one term of suspension, the memo said. The overwhelming majority of students fell into that category, Ameer said. Students who are suspended are required to leave campus within 48 hours and may not return until they have completed requirements of the sanction and are formally readmitted by the undergraduate deans’ office. If the chair of the Committee on Standards, charged with judging violations of the academic honor principle, felt that a student had misrepresented information in a written statement or a hearing, a two-term suspension was imposed, the memo said. Fewer than five students fell into that category. If a student admitted that he or she was involved in violations of the academic honor principle on Oct. 30 to Balmer before the Office of Judicial Affairs was notified of the incident and Balmer — with judicial affairs director Leigh Remy — officially accused students on Nov. 11, that student received a sanction of four terms of College probation, the memo said. Such a sanction was applied to fewer than 10 students.
NATALIE CANTAVE/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Students in the “Sports, Ethics and Religion” class received sanctions.
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Restrictions associated with College probation include being barred from participating in College-associated student organizations such as sports teams or performance groups. If a student was not responsible for a violation on Oct. 30 but came forward and reported making a similar violation on a different day — such that the College could not have successfully investigated the incident — a sanction of four terms of College probation was imposed, the memo said. That sanction applied to “fewer than five students.” Lastly, if a student was charged based on the report of another student but did not self-report any involvement, that student also received a two-term suspension, the memo said. Again, fewer than five students were placed in that category. Ameer said that she could not provide additional specific numbers for any category, nor could she discuss the details by which individual students could be potentially identified. Thirty students appealed the initial punishments handed down, Ameer said, while the remainder accepted the initial outcomes of their cases. “I was really impressed with how all
Gender-inclusive fraternities accept winter members B y ALLISON LIEGNER
Eleven students have accepted bids at the Tabard, Phi Tau and Alpha Theta gender-inclusive fraternities this term, one more than the 10 students who joined during winter recruitment last year. Additionally, Amarna undergraduate society has had eight new members join so far for winter term. All co-ed houses accept new members during each term through various recruitment and rush processes, president of the Gender-Inclusive Greek Council Matthew Digman ’15 said. Both Digman and Phi Tau president
SEE CHEATING PAGE 2
LA VIDA COCOA
Aylin Woodward ’15 said that winter rush usually sees fewer students rushing, which is a trend consistent with patterns experienced by sororities and fraternities as well. This fall, more than 30 students accepted bids at co-ed houses. Phi Tau accepted one new member, Woodward said, although they extended bids to three individuals. Alpha Theta extended six bids and acquired five new members this past week, Alpha Theta president Cristy Altamirano ’15 said, while the Tabard accepted five new members this past week, the Tabard president Connie WEIJIA TANG/THE DARTMOUTH
SEE RUSH PAGE 2
Zoe Sands ’18 performs in the Cocoa and Chords Collis After Dark concert.
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 2
DAily debriefing Kayley Beer and Morgyn Soucy, two students at the New Hampshire Technical Institute, have suggested an alternate option to President Obama’s free tuition to improve Concord’s community college, The Concord Monitor reported Saturday. They believe that the government should offer tuition reimbursement if students earn high enough grades to be placed on the dean’s list and complete a certain number of community service hours. The two students met with U.S. Rep Annie Kuster (D-NH) on Friday to discuss Obama’s free tuition plan, which says that students should be eligible for two free years at a community college provided that they are enrolled in classes at least half-time and maintain a GPA of 2.5 or above. Students at NHTI have expressed concern about the president’s proposed plan reducing the college’s level of education or affecting the commitment and motivation of students attending for free, although they spoke of the importance of making higher education more accessible. Three New England real estate companies merged with Sotheby’s International Realty in order to reach a more national and global market. Lang McLaughry Real Estate and Four Season’s Sotheby’s International Realty merged and bought Vermont Country Properties Sotheby’s International Realty. The newly merged company will be called Four Season’s Sotheby’s International Realty and will be based in South Burlington, Vermont. The reason for the merger was a desire to provide more services and generate more opportunities by utilizing Sotheby’s resources and sales force. Bruce McLaughry, chief operating officer, said that the advantages include that when prospective buyers search Sotheby’s online listings, their listings will also be available. The merged agency will now possess 23 locations and around 220 brokers. Senate Democrats have introduced a highly anticipated gun control bill led by Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell (D-Windsor), VT Digger reported on Friday. Gun control legislation has not had a positive reach in the past in Vermont, but Campbell claims he is willing to risk his career for it. The bill aims to prevent convicted felons from purchasing guns and protect the general public. It makes it illegal to privately sell a gun without the supervision of a licensed dealer carrying out a background check on the purchaser. In addition, it permits prosecutors to enforce federal firearm possession laws, as well as requiring that the names of people who have been ruled a danger to themselves or others are reported to the database that is consulted during the purchase of a gun. Support for this legislation comes from national gun safety groups, while opposition is led by Governor Peter Shumlin.
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
Eleven students join coed fraternities FROM RUSH PAGE 1
Gong ’15 said. Co-ed fraternities have diverse processes for recruiting new members. The presidents of co-ed fraternities said their systems are much less formal than Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic recruitment. Gong said that the Tabard — which has been co-ed since the College began admitting women in 1972 — hosts rush on a rolling basis, meaning any interested potential new member can join at any point during the term. Although five members have joined the house so far, more are expected to accept bids this week. Gong clarified, however, that most members do join at the start of a new term. Those who commit to the Tabard for at least one term formally enter into the house, Gong said, adding that there is no distinction between new members and old members. The house held its termly “Meet the Tabards” event on Jan. 21 to formally reach out to potential new members, but any student is welcome to sit in on the Tabard’s Wednesday meetings. Sink night — when new members accept their bids — was the Friday following the “Meet the Tabards” event. Abhiyant Singh ’16, a brother at Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity,
participated in non-binding rush at the Tabard this term. He said he likes the flexibility that co-ed houses offer during rush and enjoys the community at the Tabard. For any student considering joining a co-ed house, he recommends to “be open-minded about the process.” Singh has not yet decided whether to commit long-term to the house or not. Phi Tau also accepts new members on a rolling basis, Woodward said. This term, Phi Tau has favored informal events attempting to attract more ’18s to the house. This term’s numbers are consistent with past winter rush processes, she said. Alpha Theta’s recruitment period began with two, two-hour sessions on Jan. 13 and 15, during which members of the house introduced themselves to potential new members and gave tours of the house. Students interested in joining Alpha Theta were encouraged to sign the house’s rush book in order to be considered for a bid. Anyone who is extended a bid has four terms to accept it, Altamirano said, adding that one of the new members this term had received a bid over the summer. This fall, Alpha Theta began its recruitment process a week earlier than it had in the past to coincide with the IFC and Panhell recruitment periods. Altamirano said that
the rationale behind this decision was to clear members’ schedules during the busy times of the term and to allow new members more time to get to know the older members. The new process has so far been successful, Altamirano said. One of two undergraduate societies at Dartmouth, Amarna has no rush or pledge period. Amarna’s eight new members was higher than expected for this winter, president Julia Salinger ’15 said. Salinger added that any student who wants to join Amarna is immediately admitted, and all Amarna events are open to the general student body. Additionally, new members are welcome at any time during the term, Salinger said. This past August, Amarna was recognized as an affiliate member of the Gender-Inclusive Greek Council under the Council’s new constitution.The constitution included a variety of other amendments, aimed at strengthening the Council’s nondiscrimination policy and fostering a more inclusive environment for students. The new constitution was ratified by the membership of each house this past fall. Panarchy undergraduate society is not a part of the GenderInclusive Greek Council. Woodward is a member of The Dartmouth staff.
—Compiled by Katie Rafter
Corrections We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
ZONIA MOORE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Eleven students have accepted bids at the gender-inclusive fraternities so far this term.
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 3
Students suspended, put on probation for misconduct understand how stressful it’s been.” Balmer said on Sunday that he the Dartmouth students behaved in had not yet been informed of the this and took responsibility,” Ameer outcomes of the hearings or what said. “I continue to be impressed punishments were handed down with Dartmouth students in my for students. time here. Most of them accepted “I defer to the wisdom of the what happened and are moving Committee on Standards, and I don’t really have anything to add on.” The cheating incident first came to that,” he said. to light when Balmer noted a dis- Balmer said that he was “happy crepancy between the number of not to be more involved” in the responses to in-class questions using process than he was and that he handheld clickers versus the appar- hopes to put the incident behind ent number of students present in him. the classroom. On Oct. 30, 2014, Ameer and College spokesperBalmer presented a clicker version son Diana Lawrence declined to of certain questions followed by disclose how many students punhard copy version and recorded that ished were varsity athletes, citing 43 students did not respond to the privacy-related concerns. Ameer paper version that athof the questions “I don’t think it’s going said letes would nevbut did respond to prevent any of these er be treated using clickers. in Ameer said students from going on differently j u d i c i a l p ro that the sanctions were gen- and having successful ceedings than n o n - at h l e t e s, erally consistent lives.” but noted that with punishshe was speakments for past ing generally. violations of the - inge-lise ameer, “Evacademic honor ery Dartmouth principle. Any interim dean of the student is reviolation is con- college sponsible for the sidered “major academic honor misconduct” by the College and is treated as such, principle, no matter what you do in your out-of-class time,” she said. she said. No student involved will have a The entire judicial process for all record of their violations or punish- 64 cases was concluded within less ments on their transcripts, Ameer than three months from Balmer’s said, though all students will have a initial observations on Oct. 30. record of the incident maintained From when the Office of Judicial Affairs became involved on Nov. in their student files. Ameer said that many graduate 11 to Jan. 19, when all matters schools request information from concluded the review process, the their applicants regarding any College was able to hold all hearings interactions with judicial affairs and review all appeals. Ameer said offices, but added that the College that there are not many institutions does not release information with- that could fairly adjudicate that out the students’ permission. The number of cases in that period of students themselves will be respon- time in a way that was fully respectsible for reporting their conduct to ful to students. potential future employers, Ameer “I was just so impressed, honestly, that we were able to follow said. “I don’t think it’s going to pre- through with all of these cases,” vent any of these students from go- Ameer said. “I thought it showed ing on and having successful lives,” that we have a strong judicial sysshe said. “I think they’re all going to tem, and a strong academic honor be much better people as a result, principle.” even though it was really hard and Remy declined to comment and difficult, and I want to stress that I directed all questions to Lawrence. FROM CHEATING PAGE 1
Ameer said that she sympathized with the students involved and that she hoped that in the future students would consider the potential impact on others when asking friends to break rules for them. Ameer said that she hopes students learn that at times, they may be put in difficult social situations, but they must learn to overcome temptation. Faculty and administrators need to better communicate the academic honor principle to students and the proceedings and ramifications that occur following breaches of the principle, Ameer said. “I think it’s pretty clear that we need to do a lot more as an institution to talk about it,” she said. It is unclear if the incident will impact future proceedings of a similar sort. Conversations about the impact of the incident are still to be had, Ameer said. Balmer said that the incident had a negative impact on his trust with students. “There has been a level of trust that is important for learning that’s been violated, and I regret that,” he said. “It’s part of the sadness of the whole situation. It would be foolish and naive of me not to be more cautious, and that’s what
I have to learn from the situation.” Ameer, however, emphasized the maturity of the students involved. “I was very proud of the students and how they came forward, how they behaved and how they reflected, but it’s still a violation of the academic honor principle, and that’s really what I had to base my final decision on,” she said.
The incident received broad coverage in the national and international media, generating reports in The Boston Globe, the Daily Mail in London, The Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press, among other media outlets. Several students who were enrolled in the course did not respond to requests for comment.
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THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
PAGE 4
Staff Columnist WIll alston ’16
CONTRIBUTING Columnist NICOLE SIMINERI ’17
Pragmatism Over Politics
Let’s Go Sororiting
President Obama should stop preaching an unrealistic agenda. A spokesman for Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) recently dismissed Obama’s proposal to raise taxes on capital gains to fund increases in middle-class tax credits as not serious. I’m far from enamored with the man from Wisconsin, but his stand-in is spot on. Ever since calling the 2010 midterm elections a “shellacking,” President Obama has been focusing on grandstanding and trying to present the progressive face he did when he campaigned against Hillary Clinton in 2008, instead of presenting congressionally passable proposals to deal with real issues — and his State of the Union address last Tuesday was true to form. Since demographics oscillate between elections and substantially alter outcomes, the 2014 election can’t really be called an incredibly strong mandate for Republicans to impose their vision on America — if there is a single Republican vision for America at all. Regardless, the election results do have meaning — time’s running out for the president, and he must substitute serious action for a litany of progressive platitudes and a string of domestic and foreign disappointments. Obama’s view of the efficacy of his own foreign policy isn’t particularly serious, or even grounded in anything resembling reality. He claims that American leadership is “stopping [the Islamic State’s] advance” when the Islamic State has in fact doubled the amount of territory it controls since the summer. At the very least, he should be given credit for asking for a “resolution to authorize the use of force” against the Islamic State, as opposed to his and Hillary Clinton’s sauntering into Libya’s civil war without authorization and turning that country into a politically divided Islamist wasteland. Obama’s community college proposal, as pointed out in the Jan. 16 Verbum Ultimum, “A Shallow Promise,” isn’t serious either. Borrowing from an idea based on a Tennessee program that isn’t funded by tax hikes, Obama’s idea would throw $60 billion in federal money at a community-college system in which only about a fifth of students complete their two year degrees in three years. Throwing more money at a problematic system isn’t a serious solution,
but getting down into the business of why K-12 education is failing for students at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder might be. Obama’s redistributive tax proposal, while perhaps reasonable in its desire to close important loopholes on capital gains, is basically a nonstarter with both houses firmly under the control of his political opponents. The GOP’s backpedaling on its 20-week abortion ban proposal shows some degree of understanding of what can and cannot happen. It would be similarly advisable for the president to avoid quixotic proposals that have little chance of coming to fruition and to concentrate on a realistic agenda, one that could both give a boost to folks in need and reduce the harm potentially done by government. A serious agenda would perhaps resemble something like the agenda advanced by Bill Clinton and the GOP-controlled Congress he had to work with from 1994 on. During this period, steps were taken to introduce real workforce development incentives and initiatives to complement a streamlined welfare system, balance the federal budget and provide relief to families with children — the latter of which, to his credit, President Obama has proposed. These initiatives played to Republicans, through their promotion of personal and governmental fiscal responsibility, and to Democrats, through their aim at promoting the long-term advancement of the disadvantaged. Along similar lines, President Obama could do a lot to advance his agenda if he advanced some serious tit-for-tat compromises: “You give me a minimum wage hike, and I’ll give you the Keystone XL pipeline. You close some tax loopholes, and I’ll give you corporate tax cuts, and in the meantime let’s both work to pass more free-trade deals.” Certainly this wouldn’t leave any hard-liners salivating, except for those who sit on a hard line down the center, but it’s hard to imagine any other serious path forward for the president at this moment. As the Rolling Stones said, “You can’t always get what you want — but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.” Right now, compromise is what the country needs.
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ISSUE
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
NEWS EDITOR: Sara McGahan, LAYOUT EDITOR: Lily Xu, TEMPLATING EDITOR: Brendan Schuetze, COPY EDITOR: Vanessa Soncco.
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.
Making sororities mainstream social spaces empowers women. The Greek system indisputably has a lot of problems. One that consistently crops up is the concept that Greek houses create spaces where sexual violence is more likely to occur and is perhaps even tolerated. If Greek houses truly exacerbate this issue, however, it is not a product of the Greek system in general — it is a product of the current, male-dominated system. Incorporating sororities into “mainstream” social life by increasing their visibility and social participation on campus would help combat sexual violence and empower women across campus. As it is now, the Greek system consists of a large number of fraternities, a smaller number of sororities and a still smaller number of gender-inclusive houses. Despite the fact that females make up approximately 50 percent of the Dartmouth student population, the male-exclusive fraternities garner most of the spotlight in the mainstream social scene. This glaring difference is clearly reflected in Dartmouth lingo — students have designated “frackets” and go “fratting,” not “sororiting.” For national sororities, which comprise the majority of sororities on campus, national rules often keep them closed to non-sisters. Because local sororities, in contrast, are not subjected to national rules, their members can have their house as open as they want — and often do so to the same degree that fraternities do. Yet, few non-sisters take advantage of this, possibly because of the misconception that sororities aren’t really open to non-sisters. Of course, not all sorority members want to fully open their houses to the public, and possibly be forced to deal with intoxicated strangers or dirty basements, and these wishes should be respected. The fact remains, however, that open sororities do exist and are under-utilized while fraternities are over-utilized. This is problematic because fraternities create spaces that encourage excessive drinking while the system of getting on table for pong separates girls from their friends, resulting in an ideal situation for sexual assault. Various studies show that fraternity brothers are more likely to have committed sexual assault and that women who go to fraternity parties are more likely to experience assault firsthand. This already uncomfortable situation is intensified
for first-year students, who cannot rush and have not been at Dartmouth long enough to cultivate friendships with upperclass students. During my first year, I became painfully familiar with this discomfort. Now, as a sister of Epsilon Kappa Theta, I have a space where I feel supported, and I wish I had known that such spaces existed earlier. If sororities begin to occupy a more visible position in campus social life it will equalize the playing field and curtail sexual assault by providing spaces where women — affiliated or otherwise — can feel comfortable in the same way that men find comfort in numbers in fraternities, sentiments that Alan Schwarz captures in his Jan. 19 article in the New York Times, “Sorority Anti-Rape Idea: Drinking on Our Own Turf.” In the article, Schwarz quotes Sigma Delta’s Molly Reckford ’15, who states that sororities can combat sexual assault by giving women “ownership of the social scene.” In fraternities, men monopolize power and have the “home-court advantage.” Sororities provide women with the agency to establish spaces where they feel supported and generally safe. The College should make it a realistic goal to help local sororities occupy a more visible space in the campus social scene. Sororities have not existed as long as fraternities, and thus do not have the same access to alumni resources — especially considering that locals do not have national organizations to help fund them. To combat this, the College should help subsidize local sorority parties and publicity efforts. More importantly, active efforts should be undertaken, both by the College and sororities that want to be more open, to remind students that fraternities are just one of many social options — and that local sororities are certainly one such option. This does not mean that sexual assault is solely a male-on-female crime. Yet there is overwhelming evidence that sexual assault exists as a very real issue under the current, male-dominated system. Though it may not eradicate the problem, helping local sororities to become more viable social spaces would be an effective step toward combating sexual assault.
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THE DARTMOUTH IVY NEWS
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
Brown University implements sexual assault proposals
B y KATE TALERICO and JOSEPH ZAPPA The Brown Daily Herald
In response to the Task Force on Sexual Assault’s interim report released Dec. 17, the University has enacted major reforms to address sexual assault policy, wrote President Christina Paxson P’19 in a community-wide email Thursday. The new measures mandate that the appeals process last less than 30 days, that all community members undergo regular sexual assault training and that students found responsible for sexual misconduct and sanctioned with separation from Brown leave their campus residences immediately. Paxson assembled a working group led by Vice President for Academic Development, Diversity and Inclusion Liza Cariaga-Lo to implement the report’s recommendations. Almost all of the reforms recommended in the interim report have now been implemented, said Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, adding that widespread community input spurred administrators to execute the report’s “high-priority” recommendations. Carey said it is “premature” to evaluate Brown’s updated policies relative to those of its peers in terms of leadership on sexual assault reform, noting that many American universities’ policies on the matter are currently in flux. The reforms Paxson announced in Thursday’s email center on increasing the availability and clarity of sexual assault resources, updating case pro-
cedures and boosting transparency regarding cases’ final decisions. As recommended by the task force, a new sexual misconduct and Title IX website was created, Paxson wrote. The site includes links to resources for those who have been sexually assaulted or who wish to report an incident, she wrote. Content on the Office of Student Life’s sexual misconduct site was updated to reflect new University policies. Additionally, new flow-charts explaining the actions taken by the University and students in sexual misconduct cases have been placed on the site and will be updated throughout the semester, Paxson wrote. The University will provide annual mandatory training programs for all students, faculty members and staff members. The timing and details of who will administer the training remain undecided, Carey said. This new mandatory training marks a substantial improvement on previous protocol, under which attendance was only mandatory for undergraduates during first-year orientation and was not strictly enforced, he said. The University will provide funds to cover the costs of implementing the training sessions, Paxson wrote. It will also create a discretionary fund to allow Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services, to allocate the appropriate personal and medical resources to complainants and respondents. The interim report suggested the University regularly collect data to monitor the campus climate sur-
EMMA JERZYK/THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Brown University will implement changes to its sexual assault policy following a Task Force’s interim report.
rounding sexual assault. To provide a baseline for data in the future, the University will administer a survey drafted by the American Association of Universities to undergraduates, graduate students and medical students over a three-week period between early April and mid-May, Carey said. Paxson is “committed” to making the results of the survey known to the Brown community, he said, adding that those results will most likely be released in the fall. To alleviate the trauma students involved in sexual assault cases may experience, the appeals process must now end within 30 days of an appeal request, Paxson wrote. The University will also share appeals made by
SING ME A SONG
KATELYN JONES/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Tyne Freeman ’17 performs in the MLK Lifted event, a celebration of song and dance, in Collis Commonground.
one party with all other involved parties. A student support dean from the OSL and an academic dean from the dean of the College office will be assigned to assist both complainants and respondents, Paxson wrote. The University will play a more active role in providing students with the guidance they need to navigate the difficulties of coursework during the time-consuming hearing process, Carey said. “It’s not that you can go see dean X in her office hours, but that we want you to see dean X and we’ll make it happen,” he added. Failure to comply with any measures taken between reporting and the trial, such as a no-contact order, will prompt an immediate response, such as removal from or limited access to campus. To ensure hearings are unbiased and “less traumatic to students,” the University will hire trained investigators to gather evidence and create a report that will be used as case materials. This practice is common among peer institutions, Carey said. Justice Gaines ’16, one of four undergraduate representatives on the task force, voiced concerns about the role of investigators potentially unfamiliar with Brown in the hearing process. “The changes seem to be going further for the investigation model than we had even suggested,” Gaines said. Investigators should receive “Brown-centric” training so they understand the campus culture, he said, adding that training could also familiarize investigators with issues of race, gender and sexuality relevant to many students. But while details of the training have yet to be determined, the sessions will probably not focus on culture specific to College Hill, Carey said. It is most important that investigators
have experience working on college campuses, and any training they receive related to Brown will probably be conveyed through the OSL and the Office of Institutional Diversity, he added. In addition to an updated statement listing the rights and responsibilities of students involved in sexual assault cases, both parties in future cases will be given copies of the Student Conduct Board’s memorandum of findings and their decision letters, Paxson wrote. “The idea is to provide greater transparency regarding the findings of the Student Conduct Board — not just a yes, no, responsible, not responsible,” Carey said. Detailed explanations of the reasons for the board’s decisions were previously administered to students inconsistently and often not in writing, he said. Students found responsible for sexual misconduct whose sanction includes separation from Brown will be immediately removed from on-campus housing and limited in their on-campus activities during an appeals process, Paxson wrote. The University has also clarified that the period of separation decided in a hearing will not include the semester during which the case is heard, Paxson wrote. With an earlier deadline for suspended students to petition for their returns to campus, complainants will be notified sooner about a respondent’s possible return, Paxson wrote. Gaines said the University should specify that complainants will be notified early enough to decide whether to take a leave of absence when the respondent returns. The intent of pushing up the deadline was to provide complainants with adequate time, Carey said, though he added that it remains to be seen whether the University will be able to implement a rule universally applicable to all cases.
PAGE 6
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
DARTMOUTH EVENTS TODAY 5:00 p.m. “Shored Up: When Human Nature and the Force of Nature Collide,” (2013) documentary film, Haldeman 041
5:30 p.m. “Artists Respond to War, Part 1: Combat Paper Project,” artist talk by Drew Cameron, Wilson 219
7:30 p.m. “Argentine Tango Course and Practica,” Beginners & Intermediate, Sarner Underground
TOMORROW 12:00 p.m. “A Better Life “(2011), film viewing sponsored by Institutional Diversity & Equity, Blunt Alumni Center 324
5:00 p.m. “Book Arts Workshop - Exposed Spine-Making A Book with Stitching on the Spine,” Baker Library, Room 21
7:00 p.m. “EYEWASH: JO DERY,” screening and performance series, VAC 001, Basement
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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
PAGE 7
“Into the Woods” belongs out of the theater
B y andrew kinsley The Dartmouth Staff
The new Disney films are like bottled water — they repackage something classic, give it all these bells and whistles and come up with something no better than the original. We shell out our money nonetheless, consuming this trivial drivel as if we are expecting something new. After “Maleficent” (2014) I swore to myself not to see another live-action Disney adaptation, yet some masochistic force or evil fairy godmother compelled me to the theater to see their latest offering, “Into the Woods” (2014). An adaption of the Tony Awardwinning 1987 Broadway hit of the same name, “Into the Woods” brings together a variety of classic fairy tales, including “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Rapunzel” and “Jack and the Beanstalk.” In the film, a baker and his wife — cursed by a wicked witch — must collect a slipper, a red coat, golden hair and
a white cow to break the spell and have the child that they desire. All the fairy tales exist in the same wooded universe, leading to unexpected interactions between our favorite fabled figures. What sounds like a complete mess actually runs rather smoothly, thanks to the writing of James Lapine and the witty lyrics of Steven Sondheim. The film, however, is far less than the sum of its parts. Late critic Roger Ebert acerbically said, “No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough.” The play version of “Into the Woods” is famous for its trick ending halfway through, which then introduces the second act. After 80 minutes of the movie I was eager to leave, putting on my coat and hoping that Disney had neatly tied its bow. Unfortunately, a giant terrorizes the kingdom, harkening in another hour of eventless pabulum supersized with extra moral filling. In trying to kill off the giant, the plot tries too hard to break from
tradition, making Prince Charming into Prince Cheating while the baker’s wife abandons her husband and newborn child. Like Rapunzel’s hair, it keeps going and could use a good cut. Even the movie’s poster is too long, rattling off the ensemble of mega names that make up the film like Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, James Corden and Chris Pine, most of whom seem as uncomfortable with their singing as Russell Crowe in “Les Miserables” (2012). Even the great Meryl Streep, blessed be her name, who as Eric Stonestreet’s character on “Modern Family” put it, “could play Batman and be the right choice,” somehow does not make a convincing witch. Ironically, Meryl Streep has said that she dislikes how old women are demonized as witches in cinema. A diamond in the rough, her witch lacked that cackling, misanthropic bite of a leprous outcast. Only Blunt and Kendrick are up
to the task, with Blunt bringing an effortless sensitivity and playfulness to the baker’s wife and Kendrick showing off her “Pitch Perfect” (2012) chops as Cinderella. Both give natural life and light to the
Even the movie’s poster is too long, rattling off the ensemble of meganames that make up the film... most of whom seem as uncomfortable with their singing as Russell Crowe was in “Les Miserables” (2012). gloomy, tree-covered set, while the rest of the ensemble give off artificial, histrionic performances, as if being driven by a director off
stage screaming “Bigger! Bigger!” How Rob Marshall, the director of “Nine” (2009) and the AcademyAward winning “Chicago” (2002) created this film is a mystery. Next up in Disney’s queue of movies is “Cinderella” (2015). I wonder what Walt Disney would think of his company’s recent streak? Granted, “Maleficent” and “Into the Woods” have raked in $758 million and $155 million, respectively, but at what cost? Disney once claimed that “Disneyland is a work of love. We didn’t go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.” These films have drifted away from their founder’s motives and are too focused on the bottom line to venture into new territory. Disney itself cannot go into the woods, so it looks like they’re staying safe at home. Rating: 5/10 “Into the Woods” is playing at The Nugget every day at 6:50 p.m., as well as 1:30 p.m. on weekends and 9:20 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Bruin ’05 acts in short films, television commercials
B y kaina chen
The Dartmouth Staff
Karisa Bruin ’05 came to the College wanting to study veterinary medicine but found herself involved in theater and improv. Now, Bruin works as an actress, director and writer, including her latest work, the short film “Broke Juke” (2014) and a series of ads marketing the Affordable Care Act. How were you involved in the arts at Dartmouth? KB: I double majored in theater and Spanish literature, and I did a lot of theater productions from both sides. I acted and directed and designed shows. I was also in the Dog Day Players, the improv group. I spent the majority of my Dartmouth time in the Hopkins Center. Did your interest in theater begin prior to college, or was it something you found while at Dartmouth? KB: Well, I always had done theater. I did my first play in kindergarten. I actually came into Dartmouth wanting to be a large animal veterinarian and very into math and science. I started on the pre-med course at Dartmouth. I never thought of acting as the career I wanted to have, I never really viewed [it] as a career. My freshman year I took “Acting 1” to fulfill my arts requirement and I just liked it and kept taking the acting classes. In my mind, I was taking acting classes to balance out
my science classes. I really enjoyed the acting program and I applied and went on the [foreign study program] in London. In my professional career I’ve encountered a lot of actors that did a conservatory-style [program]
If I do 85 auditions and I book eight jobs, that’s actually very good, that’s paying my bills and a good rate of return, but it’s insane. If you were a surgeon and succeeding eight out of 85 times, you would be fired or sued for malpractice. In this business, not getting it is part of the process. But I also think that is part of the reason I picked going into this business and stayed in it. -karisa bruin
and a Bachelor of Fine Arts as opposed to just a [Bachelor of
Arts], but I think I prefer the wellrounded nature of the Dartmouth experience. It’s certainly made me a more interesting person as opposed to studying only just theater.
to present myself professionally. It’s lot about working really hard, making opportunities for yourself, being ready when bigger opportunities come to you.
How are you involved in acting now? KB: Right now I’m an actor and I perform regularly at iO Chicago Theater and I’ve done a lot of commercials and radio. In the last year and a half, I’ve started to write a lot more and enjoying that, so I’ve decided to go back to graduate school. I’m currently getting a [Master of Fine Arts] at DePaul University in screenwriting.
What are some of the challenges of the entertainment industry? KB: If I do 85 auditions and I book eight jobs, that’s actually very good, that’s paying my bills and a good rate of return, but it’s insane. If you were a surgeon and succeeding eight out of 85 times, you would be fired or sued for malpractice. In this business, not getting it is part of the process. But I also think that is part of the reason I picked going into this business and stayed in it is I like the uncertainty. I like that my days are different every day. There are times when that gets a little terrifying in terms of, “What am I doing?” But the good thing is that my husband is also an actor and because of fact that we both have some instability, there’s stability in our relationship.
How did you enter the professional acting world? KB: My entry point for professional work came from doing improv comedy. Immediately after graduation I moved to New York and studied at some improv theaters and then I moved to Chicago, which is kind of known to be the comedy capital of the world in a lot of ways. I was on a performance group and an agent represented a guy on my team. His agent came to one of our shows and they liked me. They brought me into their office for an audition and I auditioned for that, and they signed me, and then I started going out on auditions, commercial auditions, film, some [television] — all kinds of stuff. It wasn’t that I was discovered, but when agents called me, I had all the professional stuff — headshot, resume — lined up so I was able
Have you and your husband worked on anything together professionally? KB: We have professionally worked together on some commercials and short films. He’s a performer with the Second City, and he has been on a number of international touring companies and traveled around the world performing for them. He performs between six to eight shows a week. Professionally, right now, that’s his focus, and I’m doing the commercial work and
[graduate] school.
What’s one of your favorite things when filming? KB: Well, one of my favorite things is getting to know the people in the different departments. Everyone in this business, especially the commercial world, is in the same boat. We’re all freelancers. We come together for this one project for one or two days of being together and then we part ways. I always like getting to know people as I’ve booked more jobs and been around, I start to see people I know again on set. Not every single one of my jobs is comedic, but I love doing comedic commercial or any on-camera stuff or short films or independent pilots, and just making up jokes on the fly — using my improv skills to make things funny or add a line here or there. I currently have a commercial running here in Illinois, and I improvised the last line on it and it made it into the cut. What is an interesting fact about you that people normally would not know? KB: Something I really like to do for fun is play European board games. They’re like strategy games, like Settlers of Catan, but that is the entry-point. I have one buddy that has a hundred board games. Sometimes, we will go over to one guy’s house and play board games for 10 hours. This interview has been edited and condensed.
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
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ARTS
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
Bookmaking workshop emphasizes veteran experience
B y Amelia rosch
The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Dark pulpy water in giant plastic containers was transformed into sheets of off-white and grey paper — some left plain and some covered in bold blue, red and black prints — this weekend in the Hopkins Center as part of the Combat Paper Project. The project, in which participants created hand-made sheets of paper out of old military uniforms, is part of the Hopkins Center’s “World War I Reconsidered” programming commemorating the centennial of the start of World War I and looks at the intersection between art and war. Combat Paper Project founder Drew Cameron, who served in the United States Army for six years, said that he decided to start the project to allow veterans to remake their uniforms into art pieces that start a conversation. “To take a uniform worn in service and to turn it into paper seemed appropriate,” Cameron said. “Paper can be used to tell stories. What if that story referenced was somehow connected to the actual material it was printed on, so that’s another layer of concept.”
The Combat Paper Project’s papermaking process begins with the old military uniforms, which are made into a pulp and mixed in with water to create a slurry. The slurry is collected in a tool called a mould and deckle, and the water drains out, creating a thick sheet of wet paper . The paper is then transferred between pieces of felt, where it is left to dry and shrink. “It’s a very wet process,” Cameron said. Cameron said that a key part of making paper is making sure that the slurry that will become paper remains even, whether it is in the mould and deckle or during the transferring process. Once the paper is transferred and starts drying, the printing process can begin. Cameron said that the ink he uses is made from a highly beaten cotton pulp that is sprayed through a bottle and onto a silkscreen stencil onto the page. He said that the ink is able to stay on the page due to the hydrogen bonds that form between the fibers in the ink and in the paper. “When you use pulp to print onto wet pulp, when it dries, the bond happens, so the printed image and the paper become one,” he
said. “It’s like the print is coming from out of the sheet of paper.” The stencils that Cameron uses for the Combat Paper Product range from an etching of a World War I battle scene to the illustration from a matchbook that was made in Haverhill, New Hampshire, but all are connected to either the military or to the art of printmaking. He said that there is a lot of freedom in printmaking with silkscreen, due to the artists’ ability to mix colors and layer images upon each other, as demonstrated in some of his latest pieces. Cameron said that while he mostly works in San Francisco, his branch of the Combat Paper Project tours the country several times a year. On this current tour, the Combat Paper Project will also hold workshops in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Iowa City, Iowa and Houston, Texas. “There are a lot of communities that have been directly affected by the military experience, so there’s always people who are interested in doing the workshops.” Cameron said that there are very few technical challenges with the workshops and that the actual papermaking process is easy to teach.
He said that the biggest challenge of the Combat Paper Project is finding funding for it, since all of its workshops are free. “They are open, and the equipment is hard to come by,” he said. “So how do we keep it alive that way? That’s the biggest challenge I can think of — how do we keep doing it?” He said that most of the Combat Paper Project’s funding comes from pieces he is commissioned to create. Hopkins Center outreach and arts education coordinator Erin Smith said that the fact that Cameron’s workshops are free and open to the public is different, because most outreach workshops held by the Hopkins Center charge a small fee. Chad Rairie ’16, who served in the United States Marine Corps between 2008 and 2012 , said that he decided to use his old uniforms. “They did not fit anymore,” he said. “I decided that something interesting that I could do with the uniforms that I turned into paper is to be able to write letters.” Rairie said that he wanted to make something special for the Marines with whom he served who are getting married and starting
families and decided to make them cards out of the paper he made instead of traditional wedding gifts. “It’s personalized from things I’ve done,” Rairie said. “It’ll be a fun project to continue for the rest of the year.” Rairie said that he is planning on continuing to work with Cameron on future projects. The Combat Paper Project began in November 2007 by Cameron and Drew Matott, a papermaking and book artist, with a workshop at St. Lawrence University. The Combat Paper Project is based in San Francisco with affiliates in New York, New Jersey and Nevada. They have held workshops in Northern Ireland, Canada and Kosovo. In addition to this weekend’s workshops, Cameron will give a talk on the relationship between art and war tonight at 5:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall, Room 219. Prints by Cameron will be included in the Kronos Quartet’s piece “Beyond Zero: 1914-1918,” Smith said. “Beyond Zero: 1914-1918” will play Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in Spaulding Auditorium.
UNDER THE SEA
AMELIA ROSCH/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Drew Cameron demonstrates how to make prints with silk screening.
JESSICA AVITABILE/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Children make tridents as a part of the Hood Museum of Arts’ “Poseidon” exhibit at the Hopkins Center Family Day.