VOL. CLXXIII NO.84
MOSTLY CLOUDY HIGH 65 LOW 39
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2016
Petition calls on admin to reprioritize
By ALEXA GREEN
The Dartmouth Staff
ARTS
SENIORS PREPARE FOR SHOW PAGE 8
OPINION
SHARMA: POLITICS OF GENDER PAGE 6
JUNG: BLIND TO COLOR AND TO HISTORY PAGE 7
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Student leaders at the College released a petition on Monday critiquing the administration and urging the Board of Trustees and College administrators to “depart from the realm of student life” and instead focus on fiscal decisions they say will enhance campus intellectual and social climate. As of press time, 1,037 people have signed the petition which also has nearly 200 comments. The current goal is 1,500 signatures. Senior class president Danny Reitsch ’16, senior class treasurer Michael Beechert ’16, Palaeopitus senior society moderator Robert Scales ’16, Student Assembly vice president Dari Seo ’16 and junior class president Elisabeth Schricker ’17 , launched the “Take Back Dartmouth” petition this Monday under the public name Daniel Webster. The petition states it will be delivered to the Board of Trustees, College President Phil Hanlon, Provost Carolyn Dever, Dartmouth students, faculty and alumni. Reitsch and Beechert wrote the petition, which was inspired by multiple instances of the College administration making poor financial decisions and “over stepping boundaries” regarding student life, Reitsch
said. The petition aims to address “financial mismanagement” and “distracted focus” at the College, the factors the group sees as the two primary problems facing Dartmouth, Reitsch said. Lapses in focus are partly a result of college ranking systems — including U.S. News and World Report — in addition to negative media coverage of the College, he added. “There is a strain on undergraduate education,” Reitsch said. The petition also expresses concern with the consistent increases in tuition and attendance fees. This year, the Board of Trustees approved a tuition increase of 3.8 percent, and the cost of attendance at the College has increased by 39 percent from the 20092010 to the 2016-2017 academic years. “It is important that we reprioritize,” Scales said. “Our resources should be emphasizing and underscoring the school’s strengths, and I think when budgeting decisions come up, it is important to be systematic.” Scales cited the difference between the rate of tuition increase and that of the SEE PETITION PAGE 2
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Forum talks survey, working groups, tenure
ELIZA MCDONOUGH/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Palaeopitus senior society sponsored a community forum to discuss the results of the October climate survey. Students asked several questions concerning tenure.
By JOYCE LEE The Dartmouth Staff
Students and senior administrators discussed the results of the Rankin & Associates October campus climate survey, the sustainability of working groups and the role of the administration at a community forum sponsored by Palaeopitus senior society last night. Dean of the College Rebecca Biron, vice provost for student affairs Inge-Lise Ameer, vice provost for academic initiatives Denise Anthony and vice president for the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity Evelynn Ellis were in attendance at the forum to present
and discuss the findings from the survey. Around 60 people attended the event which was held at 6 p.m. in Rockefeller 002. The forum also discussed the three linked working groups, one each for students, faculty and staff, formed in March to study existing data and initiatives regarding diversity and inclusivity at Dartmouth. These groups made recommendations to the “Inclusive Excellence” executive committee composed of College President Phil Hanlon, Provost Carolyn Dever, executive vice president Rick Mills and Ellis. Biron opened the forum by referencing the recent removal of a Blue
Lives Matter display in the Collis Center and the tenure process, which has been criticized after English professor Aimee Bahng was denied tenure last week. She said that these events demonstrate how issues involving diversity are emotionally and ethically charged. “In response to conflicting views on different actions, both recent actions and longstanding actions taken by administrators, faculty, staff and students, many of us are feeling primarily angry, hurt, impatient or confused,” Biron said. “Many of us are feeling all of those things at the exact SEE PALAEOPITUS PAGE 3
Over a dozen seniors secure national scholarships By ALEXANDRA PATTILLO The Dartmouth
This year, over a dozen seniors have secured national scholarships to pursue further study after commencement. As of April 1, Madeline Baird ’12, Michael Beechert ’16, Rocio Labrador ’15, Alex Moushey ’16 and Joshua Tu-
pler ’16 have all been named as Fulbright Scholars. Four Dartmouth students — Katherine Crane ’16, Dalia McGill ’16, Bay Lauris Byrne Sim ’15 and Malika Khurana ’15 — earned the H. Allen Brooks Travelling Fellowship, which the College awards each year to graduating seniors or recent
Dartmouth graduates in fields such as architecture, urban planning and art history. The College also awarded the James B. Reynolds Scholarship for Foreign Study to nine students: Pascal Croak ’16, Ester Cross ’15, Jacqueline Donohoe ’13, Christopher Fay ’16, Saida Makhmudzade ’14, Elizabeth Markowitz ’16,
Maia Salholz-Hillel ’15, Alice Wang ’16 and Nancy Wu ’15. Reynolds Scholarship recipients will be able to study or conduct research in any field in any foreign country with a recognized educational institution and a definite program of study or research approved by the Committee on Graduate Fellowships at Dartmouth.
Other popular scholarship opportunities among students at the College include the Beinecke and Udall Scholarships. The Beinecke award, which supports the graduate education of “young men and women of exceptional promise,” provides award winners SEE SCHOLARSHIP PAGE 2