MIRROR 1.8.20
COMING OUT AND BEING OUT 3
THE WILL TO LEAVE 4-5
Q&A WITH EMILY WALTON 7 SOPHIE BAILEY/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
2// MIRR OR
Editors’ Note
Commending Courage STORY
DIVYA KOPALLE/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
“Have courage” is an iconic piece of advice in literary and cinematic history. This phrase is usually said to the protagonist of the story when they are presented with an obstacle or challenge. But what does the word really mean? According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of courage is as follows: “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” So, the phrase “having courage” implies you either have the “strength” or you don’t. However, we don’t think it’s that simple. Courage isn’t simply a quality that some are born with and others born without. This week’s issue of Mirror highlights a broad range of topics relating to courage at Dartmouth. We speak to students who have expressed bravery by joining the Mountaineering Club, coming out as LGBTQIA+ or making the decision to transfer from Dartmouth to another school. We examine the history and significance of Geisel’s annual Koop Courage award and talk to a professor who specializes in researching the experiences of people of color living in rural New England. The stories we explore in this week’s issue exhibit varied examples of courage. They suggest that anyone may be capable of persevering in the face of adversity. So, we propose an addendum to the famous phrase: Rather than being “have courage,” it should be “find courage.” Courage is within all of us; it just depends on how we choose to express it.
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1.8.20 VOL. CLXXVI NO. 110 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DEBORA HYEMIN HAN PUBLISHER AIDAN SHEINBERG MIRROR EDITORS KYLEE SIBILIA NOVI ZHUKOVSKY COPY EDITOR JULIAN NATHAN ISSUE LAYOUT GRANT PINKSTON
By Christina Baris
At Dartmouth, courage is ubiquitous. Students and faculty members alike are constantly summiting new peaks, both literal and figurative. Because courage is so common here, it can often go unnoticed or unrecognized. However, there is one award that recognizes courageous acts in a unique way. The C. Everett Koop Courage Award was established in 2005 to honor students and faculty members who have shown courage in the quest for better health care. C. Everett Koop ’37 was passionate about public health. Specifically, Koop fought to improve nutrition, campaign for a “smoke-free nation,” increase public awareness of the dangers of smoking and educate the public on HIV/AIDS and its transmission. In 1992, Koop founded the C. Everett Koop Institute at the Geisel School of Medicine. According to James Sargent, director of the Koop Institute, one of the main goals of the institute is to promote discussion about the role that large corporate entities play in mass producing products that cause health problems. In May 2019, the faculty recipient of the C. Everett Koop Courage Award was Peter Mason, a professor of community and family medicine at Geisel. Mason works to improve healthcare for the Medicaid population. According to Mason, there are approximately 29,000 Medicaid recipients in the Upper Valley region. Mason also works with individuals in recovery from opioid use disorder and teaches around the state about medication for addiction treatment. Mason strives to correct public misconceptions concerning opioid use. “[My colleagues and I] are trying to decrease the stigma and have people understand that [opioid use] is a medical condition that’s treatable and not a moral choice,” Mason said. Mason’s work comes at a time when opioid use is a growing concern, particularly in the state of New Hampshire. According to the National Institute of Health, New Hampshire is one of the five states with the highest death rates from opioids. Additionally, Mason is passionate about providing health care to those who
cannot afford it. Peter Mason, along with Paul Manganiello, founded Good Neighbor Health Clinics in White River Junction 27 years ago. Mason noted that the clinic started out as a small volunteer operation and is now a successful health care facility. According to the clinic’s website, Good Neighbor Health Clinics is a non-profit free clinic that provides medical and dental care to Upper Valley adults who are uninsured or underinsured. The clinic’s mission is the make health care more accessible. While Mason has been helping the Upper Valley community since 1981, he has taken his passion for health care beyond the Northeast. For over 20 years, Mason, along with other Upper Valley community members, have ran a clinic in the mountains of Honduras. According to Valley News, this clinic was started with the help of Upper Valley-based volunteer organization Americans Caring, Teaching, Sharing. ACTS volunteers travel to the rural farming village of El Rosario, Honduras to provide medical care and improve the overall quality of life of the villagers. The clinic focuses on continued care to provide long-lasting solutions. For example, ACTS volunteers constructed latrines in the village to reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. Mason noted that the reason he received the Koop Courage Award was not clearly outlined; however, during the awards ceremony, it was emphasized that Mason offered constructive criticism to local medical centers in the Upper Valley. Mason’s actions demonstrate the characteristics that Sargent said the Koop Institute looks for in choosing a recipient for the award. “We try to honor somebody who has had courage in their professional career to stand up for what’s right and speak out against what’s wrong,” Sargent said. Additionally, Mason’s work benefits people who may not have the resources to help themselves. It takes a lot of courage to tell people when they might be wrong and to take a stance against corporations with a lot of power and public influence, like C.
Everett Koop did by pointing out the dangers of tobacco. Mason’s work in the Upper Valley and Honduras has benefited many communities. Yet, he was still surprised to have received an award with ‘courage’ in the title. “I’m a little surprised to have the term ‘courage’ applied to me because I think I’ve just done what I thought was right,” Mason said. “All along the way, I’ve had all kinds of people working with me, helping me, sharing my passion.” In fact, Mason believes that he demonstrated the most courage in his early life and not in his most recent work. “When I was 16 years old, I was at the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, and I did a lot of antiwar demonstrating as well during the Vietnam War. So, if there was anything that I did that maybe had a little bit of courage, that might have been it,” Mason said. C. Everett Koop’s and Peter Mason’s stories demonstrate that pursuing a career in health care is a courageous journey to embark upon, and undergraduate students are just at the beginning of that journey. Maddie Doerr ’22, who is on the pre-med track, notes that it can be challenging at times to see how timeintensive courses, weekly laboratories and hours of research all contribute to an end goal. “You have to be really careful about keeping your eyes set on the prize and knowing what your end goal is,” Doerr said. Doerr added that while coming to Dartmouth — a place far from home without any familiar faces — initially felt like a courageous act, she ultimately recognized that it was necessary for personal growth. “If you’re not out of your comfort zone a little bit, you’re not growing and changing as a person,” Doerr said. This highlights why courage can be so hard to define. Courage is not always obvious. Sometimes, the most courageous acts don’t feel particularly courageous or bold at all; they just feel right.
Coming Out and Being Out: LGBTQIA+ in Hanover STORY
MIRR OR //3
By Charlie Ciporin
“Dartmouth? Really?” The surprise my friends and family expressed back home in my college choice was tangible. For years, those close to me heard me complain about the lack of LGBTQIA+ support and representation in the small town I come from. Teachers, friends and family alike expressed to me that I made a mistake in choosing to come to Hanover, saying I wouldn’t be able to express my true identity in such a small and homogenous community. They couldn’t understand why I would choose to come here over other more urban options. Frankly, part of me didn’t understand either. I came out as gay at the beginning of my sophomore year in high school. While I’m from a considerably liberal state, I happened to live in a small but strongly conservative pocket. I didn’t face a ton of discrimination, but I still faced the expected hardships of being the first and only openly gay student to ever attend my small, allmale high school. In my experience, Dartmouth has not reflected the expectations of the people back home; I have felt more comfortable in my identity in the past 10 weeks than in the three years of high school that I was out. As cliché as it sounds, for the first time in my life, I’m not known as just “the gay kid” to my peers. While many know it as a part of my identity, I’m now able to define myself in different ways. While my experience has been mostly positive, I know that Dartmouth is not perfect in this regard. And as a white male, my experiences are vastly different from others around campus. Another member of the Class of 2023, who asked to remain anonymous because she is not out to her parents, provided insight on a contrasting perspective as a queer woman of color. She expressed her fears moving forward at Dartmouth with the Greek system, which dominates the social scene. “Personally, as a queer woman of color, my friends and I who share similar identities find that when it comes to things like the rush process,
we are incredibly intimidated by that and worried that if any of the people in the sorority or fraternity were to find out that we’re queer, it’d hurt us immensely,” she said. “And I think that’s incredibly problematic.” The student had a more critical view of the College than I did; a fact that speaks to how no queer students experience campus in the same way. “I think generally students are accepting, but I feel like Dartmouth itself doesn’t do much when it comes to showing that they openly are tolerant of the LGBTQIA+ community,” she said. A member of the Class of 2021, who also asked to remain anonymous because he is not out to his parents, agreed that students on campus are generally accepting but spoke to the heteronormativity that social circles on campus revolve around. “While being gay is accepted, it’s not always embraced, and I think that the biggest difference between acceptance and embracing is provide insight on coming out while playing along to the heteronormative attending Dartmouth. “When I got here, the first few stereotypes,” he said. Charlie Plumb ’20, who is affiliated weeks I definitely felt pressure not to come out,” he said. “Not specifically with a sorority, agreed. “Socializing is essentially based from anything homophobic, but it around systems that are very binary was more just buying into the social and heteronormative, like tails and scene that was being a freshman.” He expressed that when he came formals, that are organized around frats and sororities going to meet the out, people were generally accepting of him. However, it didn’t come opposite gender,” Plumb said. Plumb, who came out in high without its hardships — it became a piece of gossip, and there were school, said instances where that coming to a person he had Dartmouth was “As cliché as it sounds, come out to an improvement for the first time in my would announce for her in being it to large groups able to identify life, I’m not known as of people as as visibly queer. just “the gay kid” to a means of While she my peers.” entertainment. experienced homophobia H o w e v e r, h e in high school, -CHARLIE CIPORIN ’23 made it clear she said she felt that those who relieved to come to a community where she felt no express themselves with a less need to come out; it was simply a common identity still might face part of her, and no one made a big trouble on campus. “I think that someone who wishes deal out of it. The ’21, however, was able to to express more stereotypical gay
CLARA PAKMAN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
qualities, or has an identity that’s less common and understood ... would have a much tougher time here,” the ’21 said. “It’s not like someone is going to outwardly say anything, but the more you present as [LGBTQIA+], the more looks you will get.” The ’23 added that for students of color, the problem intensifies. “I think especially when you’re a person of color who identifies as queer, the Greek system is extremely exclusive in that regard, and it’s immensely heteronormative,” the ’23 said. Plumb agreed but emphasized that in Greek spaces, houses have made steps to be more accommodating of those with different gender identities, although they’ve had trouble attracting students who might not fit the ‘mold’ of Greek life. “That change doesn’t happen until it happens,” Plumb said. “There are aspects of it that are structural, but there are aspects of it that are selfperpetuating.” All three students seemed to acknowledge that while Dartmouth
students can be accepting of LGBTQIA+ people, it’s still not easy to be queer at this school. “It takes courage to come out and to be out, which are two different things,” Plumb said. “It takes courage to be different, in general; it takes courage to walk into a formal with whoever you choose.” While I’ve found Dartmouth to be a much easier place to be out than at home, it’s clear that it’s far from perfect, and no one student experiences it in the same way. Factors like background, race and gender expression play important roles in everyone’s experience. While I had a multitude of students on campus to ask to interview for this article, most of them declined, and most of the ones who accepted asked to remain anonymous. Not all queer students feel comfortable on campus, and their fears are exacerbated by a heteronormative social scene. I am grateful for the support and acceptance I have felt on this campus so far and remain hopeful that improvement will come during the four years I have ahead of me.
The Will to Leave: Students Who Transfer 4// MIRR OR
STORY
By Cristian Cano
VIOLA GATTI ROAF/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Students at Dartmouth tend not to leave. No, I’m not talking about finding transportation off-campus. I’m not talking about study abroad and off terms, either. I’m talking about the retention rate. According to the Office of Institutional Research’s website, Dartmouth’s fall-to-fall retention rate hasn’t dropped below 96 percent since at least 2007, with 2018’s rate being on the higher end at 98 percent. The four-year graduation rate, which has been calculated up through the Class of 2015, has consistently been between 86 and 88 percent, while the six-year graduation rate’s range jumped
up to 94 to 96 percent, calculated through the Class of 2013. To put those numbers into perspective: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 60 percent of students nationwide who began seeking a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution in fall 2011 completed that degree at the same institution within six years. At Dartmouth, out of the Class of 2013’s incoming class size of 1,112, just under 970 graduated within the standard time of four years, and after two more years, that number had risen to just under 1,060. Only around 50 students who enrolled at Dartmouth in fall 2009 didn’t have a Dartmouth degree six years
later. Such in-depth data hasn’t environment. Rachel Muir, a former been made available for more recent ’20 who took a mental health leave class years, but starting in winter even given the "It seems like at 2018 before most recent transferring to data available Dartmouth, even Northwester n — which was if students were University later the fall-to-fall year, cited unhappy or struggling, that retention rate for the prominence the Class of 2018 the prevailing opinion of Greek life as of 98 percent was 'just keep pushing a major reason — less than 30 why they left s t u d e n t s w h o forward.'" Dartmouth. had enrolled in They said they fall 2014 were no wanted to -TERIN TRACHTENBERG longer enrolled participate in by fall 2015. some of the same For the relatively few students “quintessential” social experiences who do leave: why? that others did but felt uncomfortable Fo r s o m e, i t ’s t h e s o c i a l and unsafe in the Greek spaces where
they were usually held. Sophomore fall, they grew even more upset seeing signs of Greek life all around campus. They were especially frustrated seeing students participate in the “rush rituals” after joining a house toward the beginning of the term and found that even their friends who hadn’t rushed were still gravitating toward Greek houses because they were the main social outlet. For others, it’s how students engage with academics. Farid Djamalov, a for mer ’21 who transferred to Yale this past fall, said he had thought about transferring his first year at Dartmouth, but he didn’t feel like he knew Dartmouth well enough to make such a big
decision. He studied art history truly cared about. — according to the Office of One thing Djamalov pointed to Institutional Research, the 27th as a big problem with the transfer most common major in 2019 process is that transfer applicants with only nine students — and often need strong applications to encountered pushback and felt the be accepted at other institutions. need to explain his choice while at However, for many people unhappy Dartmouth. at Dartmouth, there’s a good chance For other students still, it’s mental that unhappiness would show in health more than anything. Terin their grades and activities. He Trachtenberg is a former ’20 who acknowledged that even though withdrew in April 2017 before Dartmouth wasn’t the best match enrolling in a local community for him institutionally, he did well college that fall and finally at Lewis academically and was involved in & Clark College this past fall. He said several clubs while at Dartmouth. that before deciding to permanently “Unfortunately, with the way the withdraw from Dartmouth, he system is set up, you’re supposed to started with a temporary leave to only be miserable insofar as you can prioritize addressing his severe still be thriving,” Djamalov said. depression and anxiety. In addition to the acceptance While Trachtenberg really rates and friendships left behind, wanted to be able to stay and Muir was also concerned about succeed at Dartmouth, he said his financial aid throughout the transfer mental health eventually reached the process. Even though Greek life point where even going to class was was one of their biggest issues with difficult, and there would be days Dartmouth, Muir still applied to when leaving his dorm room once schools with Greek life because they for food was all he could handle. said they were often the same schools The pressure to not just succeed that provided generous financial aid. but also exceed “I didn’t e x p e c t a t i o n s "I didn't really filter really filter academically what colleges o n l y m a d e what colleges I was I was applying things harder. to transfer applying to transfer “I had this to based on to based on whether big worry that whether or not maybe I had or not they had Greek they had Greek j u m p e d t o o life because I knew life because far into the I knew that I d e e p e n d , ” that I needed to apply needed to apply Tr a ch t e n b e rg to schools that could to schools that said. “That give me give me good financial could maybe by good financial coming from a aid..." aid, and public school in u n fo r t u n at e l y a tiny Oregon the schools that coast town and -RACHEL MUIR will do that going straight almost all have into a super Greek life or prestigious four-year university on something equivalent,” they said. the other side of the country, I’d “I just wanted [it to be] less of a bitten off more than I could chew.” focus.” Once the decision to transfer Muir mentioned looking has been made, what comes next? specifically at schools that participate According to Djamalov, the process in the QuestBridge prog ram, feels a lot like applying to colleges which partners with colleges and the first time around, except in universities to offer support to lowhis case, he had to juggle the income students, as those schools application process with a four- would have be more likely to provide class term. He was nervous about good financial aid. the low acceptance rate for transfer Trachtenberg, unlike Djamalov applicants and about how he would and Muir, didn’t jump right back have to leave behind people that he into another four-year university
MIRR OR //5
and instead enrolled in Oregon processing through so much of the student orientation as easily, as they Coast Community College, where constructed aspects of Dartmouth were mostly first-years younger than he earned his Associates’ Degree. that were unnecessary,” he said. him, but he finds himself attending He had always planned on returning “Or not even unnecessary, but just optional activities more often, and to a four-year college eventually constructed, and I just assumed that he’s even thinking of getting involved but feared that if he had done so was part of any college experience.” in the leadership of his Queer right away, the same issues that Muir was concerned when they Student Union. occurred at Dartmouth might have first transferred, especially because Trachtenberg said he looks just happened again, which he said as a first-generation, low-income back on his experience and is glad would have been “disastrous.” junior transfer, they found that a he at least attempted to attend He believes that choosing to go lot of their fellow Dartmouth, as to community college first was the transfer students "My first term at he learned that right choice, even though if he had were both more he was capable to deal with the guilt of dropping privileged and community college of making a out of Dartmouth and feeling like younger. They was a struggle. The major life change he had thrown away opportunities said that they’ve and sticking with by making a “downgrade.” He fo u n d f r i e n d s critical difference it for a while. explained how he had an easier time and communities is that when those However, his one connecting with his classmates at that they feel regret is that he feelings happened at Oregon Coast, possibly because of comfortable in, probably stuck a more relaxed culture and feeling and they pointed Dartmouth, I would around just a at ease around fellow Oregonians. out how things kind of shut down, and little too long and “It seems like at Dartmouth, like resources wishes he hadn’t even if students were unhappy or for low-income when those feelings been so stubborn struggling, the prevailing opinion students just feel happen here, I'm able in admitting he was ‘just keep pushing forward,’” “more visible” to leave. to make a plan to deal needed Trachtenberg said. “I guess for me, I at Northwestern If he could do it reached a point where keep pushing c o m p a r e d t o with the stressors." again, he might forward was an unsustainable Dartmouth. have left after action. It was only making things While Muir is his freshman harder on me, and I wasn’t going having a positive -TERIN TRACHTENBERG winter instead of to be able to succeed in my classes ex p eri en c e at partway through that way.” Northwester n, his freshman Thankfully, all three former their perspective on the role of spring. students say that they’re doing much college as a whole has changed Trachtenberg stresses, however, better now than they ever did at quite a bit over time. Their choice that even though his improved grades Dartmouth. to attend Northwestern, which, might suggest that transferring was Djamalov says he is still extremely like Dartmouth, has a well-known an instant cure-all to his problems, grateful to his friends and professors name, was influenced by factors it was anything but. He talked about back at Dartmouth and finds Yale like finances and location, but they how he attended several therapy to be what he hoped college would no longer believe that a big-name sessions in his hometown to work be like from the start. He said he school is what they need most. through his feelings of depression, enjoys how at Yale, he feels more “I thought that I needed a anxiety and guilt from dropping comfortable name l i k e out of Dartmouth. His first term at with his choice "I thought that I N o r t h w e s t e r n community college was hard, and of major and or Dartmouth even now he has moments of feeling appreciates how needed a name to stick myself to, in over his head. he has so many like Northwestern to be palatable to He has a positive outlook, though, conversations in or Dartmouth to the professional that after everything, he’s in a better which “people wo rl d , ” M u i r position to confront those feelings in don’t think it’s stick myself to, to said. “I no longer a healthy, productive way. inappropriate to be palatable to the think that … at “I still had to struggle through the bring up class the time that’s feelings of depression and anxiety material outside professional world." what I thought and guilt that had accrued during of class.” I needed, to lift my time [at Dartmouth] when I was He said he still myself out of finding little success,” he said. “My -RACHEL MUIR thinks about how poverty, and in first term at community college was much he simply order to do that, a struggle. The critical difference is accepted at Dartmouth without I would need this school.” that when those feelings happened questioning it; it wasn’t until going At Lewis & Clark, Trachtenberg at Dartmouth, I would kind of to Yale that he saw how different is enjoying yet another transition to shut down, and when those feelings his college experience could be. another school. He found that he didn’t happen here, I’m able to make a plan “Even right now, I’m still connect to the other students at new to deal with the stressors.”
6 // MIRR OR
Climbing Cliffs and Breaking Ceilings STORY
By Angelina Scarlotta
Traditionally, the outdoors have Rubin spoke on the challenges been a male-controlled space. of being a woman in the outdoors History remembers men as the compared to her experiences at explorers, the athletes, the scientists Dartmouth. and women as the teachers, the “I think the outdoor community nurses, the wives. However, the lines on a broader scale, in the U.S. between men and the outdoors and or even a further field than that, women and the indoors have been tends to be a little notorious for blurred and bent in recent years being male-dominated. And I’ve — empowering women to take on definitely experienced that outside roles in spaces where society had not of Dartmouth, and it was a little bit commonly accepted them. T h e intimidating when I was first getting Dartmouth Mountaineering Club has into outdoor sports,” Rubin said. contributed to this movement in its Rubin began climbing during high own small way, the best way it knows school back home in Washington. how: by climbing cliffs and breaking D.C., though she said those climbing ceilings. experiences were far different from The DMC is a sub-club of the the ones at Dartmouth. She explained Dartmouth Outing Club focused on that on the cliffs of the Potomac River, rock climbing in New Hampshire, climbers top rope (a method where as well as running trips to places like you are belayed and do not fall if you Thailand and Red Rock in southern lose your grip), but on the crags of Nevada. It was founded in 1936 by the Upper Valley — and in most of Jack Durrance ’39, 36 years before the world — climbers lead climb (a Dartmouth became coeducational in more technically advanced method 1972. Though it took several terms where one person leads with the rope for women to be elected to leadership and you may fall a few meters). roles within the Dartmouth Outing Rubin said she found the change Club, Elise Erler ’76 was chosen to be challenging but rewarding. as vice president “It was and subsequently definitely a little “I think the outdoor became the first scary, I would woman on the community on a say. I think I’ve directorate in the broader scale, in the always struggled 1974-1975 year. a little bit with Rachel Rubin U.S. or even a further fear in terms of ’20, DMC chair field than that, tends climbing, but during the winter to be a little notorious one of the more and spring terms satisfying and of the 2018- for being malemotivating things 2019 year, said dominated” for me has been that climbing learning how to at Dartmouth control that fear today has made -RACHEL RUBIN ’20 to be able to do her feel more what I want to comfortable and do and getting accepted due to over those fears. Like I used to be the distinct female presence in the scared of heights, and I’m not really outdoor clubs on campus. anymore,” Rubin said. “I think what’s been so amazing The Dartmouth Climbing Team about becoming involved in the DOC is a subgroup of the DMC founded and the DMC in particular is that I’d in 2016; the team practices at the say there’s a pretty even gender split. Daniels Climbing Gym and competes A lot of the strongest climbers in our in the USA Climbing: Collegiate club for the past few years have been Series, in which they received fourth women,” Rubin said. place overall last season.
LAUREN KIM/THE DARTMOUTH
The Dartmouth Mountaineering Club was founded 36 years before Dartmouth became coeducational.
Member Shaalin Sehra ’23 described the team’s first competition in October 2019 in Everett, MA. There were 12 climbs set for women; making it to certain markers on the climb would earn a certain number of points, and finishing the climb would earn 25 points. She finished all 12, leading her to clinch first place. Sehra is no stranger to competitive climbing, as she competed all through middle and high school. Sehra said that Dartmouth’s climbing team has been impressive to her particularly because of its strong female membership. “Our team has a lot of strong female climbers. Especially right now, our interim team captain leads most of the stuff. So that’s been helping with making it a lot more friendly to women,” Sehra said. The aforementioned interim captain is Sophie Kwon ’22, who co-captained with Alex Quill ’21 this past fall; they were filling in for Roxie Holden ’21 and Marlee Montella ’21 who have returned to captain for the
winter and spring. Kwon, a former more women involved,” Kwon said. USA Climbing “Because I think National Team “Our team has a lot that that would member who foster the culture took second of strong female that is needed for in her fir st climbers. Especially female leadership competition, to come.” right now, our interim forS years said she e h r a e ch o e d believes that team captain leads these sentiments, women hold most of the stuff. So noting that the important newness of the l e a d e r s h i p that’s been helping team leaves room roles on the with making it a lot for improvement. team, but “Here, I think it more friendly to th at th i s i s is supportive, but n o t e v e n l y women.” I think it’s more distributed collegiate. And the amongst all climbing team is -SHAALIN SEHRA ’23 levels. new so they’re still “I think that trying to figure out one thing I was really trying to work what’s the role of everybody, too,” on is that we have really cool female Sehra said. leadership at the top of the climbing As the DMC passes into its 84th team, but not so much when you look year and the climbing team begins at the entire ratio of males to females its next season, members will move on the team. And that’s something forward with the goals of sustained I’m trying to work on ... I’m trying progress and equal opportunity for to, over the course of the year, get women’s endeavors in the outdoors.
MIRR OR //7
Q&A With Sociology Professor Emily Walton Q&A
By Kate Yuan
Discussion surrounding race and diversity is often centered around the most inflammatory issues that make the headlines. What often isn’t covered is the day-to-day interactions and experiences that racial and ethnic minorities face that make them feel unwelcome in places that they want to call their home. I grew up in a suburban town that is overwhelmingly white and have found myself to be the only person of color in a room more times than I can count. In my experience, people are usually more willing to swallow the lump in their throat concerning an exchange that left them feeling uneasy than speak out about it due to fear of making others uncomfortable. I had the opportunity to talk with sociology professor Emily Walton about her work and research in the Upper Valley concerning race and diversity. Walton has been at Dartmouth since 2012 and teaches a number of classes related to her research. This academic year, Walton is teaching SOCY 7, “First Year Seminar, Race and Ethnicity,” along with SOCY 34, “Health Disparities” and SOCY 47, “Race and Ethnicity.” In the spring, Walton will be teaching a new course called SOCY 42, “A Sociological Introduction to the Asian American Experience.” You call yourself a race scholar. How do you define that and what does that mean to you? EW: I didn’t start out studying race; it was something that came to me over time. When I was in graduate school, I was interested in health and happened to work with my advisor who was Japanese-American. He got me interested in understanding how Asian and Latino mental health was related to various social factors. As I gained more experience, I really became interested in how race stratifies our lives. Particularly for white people, we don’t think about that. Race is supposed to be invisible to us to protect our identities as the ones with the “highest social standing.” So it became really
important to me to tear away that curtain so we can start to break down inequality. Also, because race is so difficult to talk about in our society, it’s really important to me to call attention to it and say that I am a race scholar and not dance around it with other terms. How long have you been researching the Upper Valley and what got you interested in it? EW: I started this project around two years ago. Previously, I had been an urban race scholar. After moving here, my husband — who is Filippino American — and I both noticed that this place was sort of unwelcoming to us. So I started to think, “If I as a white woman am experiencing this, what does that mean for my husband who is a person of color and entering all these places where he’s the only person of color?” This is a special environment to be a racial and ethnic minority. So I started asking, “What does it mean to try and move here and build a home when you’re moving to a place that is historically and culturally very different from you and how you phenotypically present?” How do you go about confronting issues that can oftentimes be polarizing and sensitive to many people? EW: I try not to be afraid of confrontation. As a white person, I think I have a certain position of privilege that I need to exercise with other white people. I think the way to go about it is to ask questions. I really just try to get people to examine the decisions that they’re making. In my classes, it’s often difficult, but I think my being a role model for how I talk about race is helpful for getting students to let down their guard. I also encourage, especially to white students, the fact that it’s going to be uncomfortable. I tell them that it’s their job to listen more than talk and to understand how this environment influences the power that they have.
In your article, “What it’s like to be a person of color in rural New England? Basically Invisible,” you discuss the prevalence of misrecognition as opposed to prejudice. What qualities of a place like the Upper Valley make these kinds of interactions so normal? EW: I think one interesting thing about the Upper Valley is that it depends on where you go, but it is economically polarized. We have a strong working class white community, and we also have — at least around Hanover — a pretty educated, wealthy, white community. People coming from that community tend to think of themselves as politically liberal — which they are — and enlightened on a number of issues. I think that that is a particularly difficult environment for racial and ethnic minorities to feel they have a voice in. There’s so many wonderful things about the Upper Valley, but I think people also might have a hard time seeing that there may be negatives. That puts people of color who have experienced those things in a difficult position of expressing it or being recognized when they have an issue. You touch on this a little at the end of your article, but what efforts can be made to “do integration right?” EW: One of the big things that comes out of my research is that a lot of these racial boundaries that people are drawing are symbolic. It’s like, you can live in this community, but you’re never going to be a member of this community. So then, I think the solution also needs to be symbolic. One way to do that is representing people in the local media and trying to change the narrative. It’s one thing to have a story in the newspaper that highlights someone’s ethnic cooking, but it’s another to have a story in the paper that’s treating this person as a member of the community. One of the things that I’m trying to get going is a Humans of the Upper
PHOTO COURTESY EMILY WALTON
Valley Facebook group where we’ll interview longstanding community members, but also people of color who have just moved here. Hopefully, it will be able to show that there are common threads of humanity running across all people. How might not being a person of color influence your work? EW: I think I have to be very careful about who my audience is, and I realized a while ago that it’s my job to speak to other white people. I have to help other people recognize their whiteness. I mean, I can never personally know what it’s like to be in someone’s shoes as a racial or ethnic minority. I definitely have realized that I have a lot of blind spots through interacting with my husband. It’s hard to get over that socialization of an entire lifetime of not seeing race. I definitely try to humble myself and put other people’s experiences and perspectives ahead of my own, and oftentimes that comes from students. A previous op-ed I wrote in USA Today about how there should be a required college course on race and ethnicity really came from students.
It was an idea they had, and I brought it to fruition in a piece of writing. What do you find to be the largest barrier or challenge in your research? EW: It’s hard to get people to be honest. It’s not so much when getting people to talk about their own experiences as a person of color, because I think it’s easy to recognize those instances when you’ve been mistreated or felt uncomfortable. I think talking to white people, we sort of automatically fall back on this “happy talk” about diversity and multiculturalism and wanting to be seen as a good person. White people want to protect themselves from being seen as “less than good.” Everyone wants to be seen as a good person, so they’re not going to be totally honest about the way that they interact, and oftentimes they may not even see it. So trying to get accurate information is very hard when people want to protect their identity as a positive one. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
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A Brave Face PHOTO
By Bowen Chen