VOL. CLXXVI NO. 114
CLOUDY HIGH 36 LOW 30
OPINION
D’SOUZA: HI BIXBY PAGE 4
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
Sandy Ford-Centonze Spam phone calls to students remembered for her claim to be from campus police coaching and kindness
B y ANDREW SASSER The Dartmouth
KHANNA: SAME WORDS, DIFFERENT MEANINGS PAGE 4
ARTS
NEW HOOD EXHIBIT SHEDS LIGHT ON MIXED HISTORY OF SCHOOL PHOTOS PAGE 6
REVIEW: POPPY DEMONSTRATES GROWTH IN NEW ALBUM ‘I DISAGREE’ PAGE 7
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A legendary track and field coach, Sandy Ford-Centonze not only inspired the athletes she coached to reach the best of their abilities on the track, but also brought a sense of warmth and kindness in relationships with her athletes that lasted well beyond their years at Dartmouth. “Sandy was passionate about her student-athletes,” said athletics director Harry
Sheehy. “She had this ability to be honest with student-athletes — but without crushing their spirit — which is a necessity in the toolbox of a coach.” The longtime head coach of the Dartmouth women’s track and field team, Ford-Centonze died from cancer on Dec. 14. She was 59. A visitation was held on Dec. 18 at Ricker Funeral Home in Lebanon, followed by a public memorial on Jan. 4 at Rollins Chapel. She SEE FORD-CENTONZE PAGE 2
Students, community members hold small protest on Iran B y LAUREN ADLER
The Dartmouth Staff
Around 50 people gathered on the Green on Sunday afternoon to protest recent U.S. policies and actions toward Iran. Organized by activists in the Upper Valley, the event gained attention on social media and was attended by both Upper Valley residents and Dartmouth students. Situated on the southwest
cor ner of the Green, protesters listened to a variety of speeches over a megaphone, said anti-war chants in unison and sang protest songs. Protesters also held signs with anti-war messaging such as “No more endless wars,” “War is not the answer,” “Leaders lie, people die” and “How many lives per gallon.” SEE PROTEST PAGE 3
STAFF PHOTO
The Department of Safety and Security received reports of spam phone calls to students.
B y ALEKA KROITZSH The Dartmouth
Early last week, the Department of Safety and Security obtained reports from multiple students who said they received scam phone calls from individuals posing as members of Safety and Security. From Jan. 6 to Jan. 8, students received these phone calls from caller IDs that read ‘Dartmouth Safety and Security,’ according to interim director of Safety and Security Keysi Montás. The callers accused the students of various crimes, and some asked for money as immunity for these crimes. Around the same time as the calls, an email was also sent to a staff member at the College claiming to be a superior, asking
for money in a similar fashion. “[The callers] were saying that ‘We have information that you are guilty of a crime, and you need to give us $5,000 so we can take care of it,’” Montás said. He added that none of the targeted students — that he was aware of — sent money to these callers. Margaret Nichols ’20 received such a phone call with the caller ID reading ‘SnS’ on the afternoon of Jan. 7. “I picked up, because it was SnS, and then they knew my name,” Nichols said. “The combination of those two things kept me on the phone.” After Nichols answered the call, the caller claimed to be from the Hanover Police Department. According to Nichols, the call
sounded professional at first, with dispatcher noises in the background. Then, the caller asked Nichols if she’d ever had problems with identity theft before launching into a story about her name being on a drug order arriving to campus. “It started to seem a little bit fishy, but it still sounded like the police,” she said. Nichols said the conversation felt like it was going in circles. The caller then told her that she had to turn herself in or they would give her name to the press. After Nichols asked the caller a question, the caller started to swear at her. At that point, Nichols hung up the phone. She SEE SCAMS PAGE 2
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Ford-Centonze coached women’s track and field for 28 years FROM FORD-CENTONZE PAGE 1
is survived by her sons Christian and Antonio, her grandson Ryker and her sister Shawna Harper. Born near Concord, NC, FordCentonze demonstrated both her athletic abilities and protective spirit from a young age, Harper said. “She was a standout point guard in high school and was also the first black drum majorette at our high school,” Harper said. “She was always really protective, but also had a kind spirit and was interested in helping other people.” Fo r d - C e n t o n z e a t t e n d e d Appalachian State University as an undergraduate, where she excelled as a captain of track and field team and in the 400-meter dash. She worked as an assistant coach at her alma mater from 1984 to 1986 and obtained a master’s degree in athletic administration before becoming head coach of the University of Vermont’s women’s track and field team in 1986. After coaching there for six seasons, in 1992 Ford-Centonze arrived in Hanover, where she would stay for the next 28 years. Barry Harwick ’77, head coach
of the men’s track and field team, worked with Ford-Centonze for all of those years. Hired within weeks of her arrival, Harwick recalled the impact she had on the team as both a coach and a mentor. “She took a great deal of pride in helping her athletes improve,” Harwick said. “She also valued the lifelong relationships she built with her student-athletes.” Harwick also added that FordCentonze had a significant impact on the Upper Valley, particularly with children. “She took charge of the Grafton County One Lapper — a fun race for kids that happens during the Dartmouth Relays,” Harwick said. “She beamed when she saw those kids run and get their medals.” Ford-Centonze was also highly devoted to her family. According to her son, Christian Ford-Centonze, she was always focused on making sure her sons performed well in school and sports. “She instilled good character and a good work ethic in me,” he said. “As a coach, she was always an important role model for me and my brother in taekwondo and other sports growing
up.” During her coaching tenure at Dartmouth, Ford-Centonze led the women’s team to a number of successes. Under her leadership, the team placed seventh at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships — the highest finish an Ivy League school had ever accomplished at that meet. More recently, the team placed second in both the Indoor and Outdoor New England Championships during the 2017-18 season. One of her recent athletes, Cha’Mia Rothwell ’20, won both the Indoor and Outdoor Ivy League championships in hurdles for three consecutive years. Recently, Ford-Centonze coached two athletes who would qualify for the Summer Olympic games — Abbey D’Agostino ’14 and Alexi Pappas ’12. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, D’Agostino represented the United States in the 5000m event, while Pappas represented Greece in the 10,000m event. D’Agostino achieved seven national titles during her college career — the most of any Ivy League student-athlete in the conference’s history. As a coach, Ford-Centonze focused
on helping each of her athletes improve. According to former mentee Wayne Burwell ’97, she excelled at tailoring individual workouts to her athletes’ needs. “As a hurdler, she showed me how to run with steps and helped me work on my blocks,” Burwell said. “She was always very precise with her techniques and how she coached me.” While Ford-Centonze often put great pride into her athletes’ accomplishments on the track, she also prioritized their well-being off the track. According to Rothwell, Ford-Centonze had a “motherly vibe about her.” “She really cared about your mental health and wellness before how fast you could run on the track,” Rothwell said. “Anytime I needed something or something came up, I would never hesitate to give her a call.” Danielle Okonta ’20 said that FordCentonze was like a “second mother” to her and the other sprinters and hurdlers in the winter. “Coach Sandy always invited us to her home for brunch at the start of the season,” Okonta said. “We didn’t do anything track-related — she just
liked having us around.” Okonta also recalled that FordCentonze was passionate about other sports, particularly March Madness. Okonta said that Ford-Centonze — a lifelong fan of the University of North Carolina — would often be really passionate when it came to watching UNC basketball. According to Harwick, FordCentonze’s lifelong relationships reflected in the number of former alumni who attended her memorial service. “It was really heartwarming to see the number of alumni who came back and talked about their positive experiences with Coach Sandy,” Harwick said. Even after the athletes she coached graduated, Ford-Centonze maintained close relationships with them. Burwell said that after he moved back to the Upper Valley in 2002, Ford-Centonze was instrumental in helping him navigate life as a single parent. “She helped watch over my daughter when she competed in the Dartmouth Relays,” Burwell said. “We talked about our kids a lot, and she felt like much more of a mother to me.”
College working to change phone system to make calls traceable FROM SCAMS PAGE 1
then called back Safety and Security, who confirmed it was fake. There have been incidents similar to these at Dartmouth in the past, Montás said. Last year, community members received phone calls where the caller IDs read ‘FBI,’ and two years ago there were callers claiming to be from the ‘Dartmouth Police.’ Montas said that these types of scam calls “are very difficult to track.” “Another thing that is consistent with these scams is how they want to be paid,” said Safety and Security lieutenant Gene
Thompson. Thompson said that the IRS, the FBI, law enforcement and Safety and Security do not generally make phone calls, but instead contact people face-to-face or via email. Since the morning of Jan. 8, Safety and Security has not received any more reports related to these phone calls. The department referred the case to Hanover Police and notified campus via email on Jan. 8. “Ideally, we should be brought in right away,” said chief information officer Mitchel Davis. He added that information, technology and consulting
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
department only got involved in the matter when a department at Dartmouth reached out to them for assistance after receiving similar scam phone calls. ITC’s security department met with Safety and Security on the morning of Jan. 13 to formulate a process by which the ITC could be involved sooner in these instances, according to Davis. Interim senior director of ITC Sean McNamara explained that these calls are particularly hard to track given how easy it is to “spoof ” incoming calls with access to a call server. “Even if we were able to [trace these calls], it would be a matter of submitting a report to the FBI, to notify them of our findings and then they would follow up,” McNamara said. McNamara said educational institutions are common targets
because they are less private than other corporations and companies. For this reason, he said, whoever launched these calls are likely also targeting other schools. To prevent such issues, ITC has been working on changing the College’s phone system to a “cloud-based phone system” called Jive that will have log files, thus making calls more traceable and secure, according to Davis. Jive will offer students and staff the option of giving out an alternate number to businesses or those they don’t know as well instead of their personal phone number, Davis said. Jive offers a physical phone, as well as a “phone on your cell phone,” where a separate number will trigger phone calls through the Jive app. “It gives people an option to be able to communicate over the phone when they want to, but also to be able to control their environment and keep their private
phone private,” Davis said. McNamara said that there are significant security improvements with Jive, given that the “software and implementation” will consistently be up to date and handled securely. However, he still expressed concerns; even though data between the phone and the cloud provider is encrypted and secure, once the phone call leaves the provider, it could traverse through other systems that may not handle the call as securely. As of now, McNamara explained that the investigation and incident response that ITC has opened is more focused on prevention, due to how difficult it is to find the source of the calls after they have been made. “[The] best thing is a strong defense, and knowing that these types of threats are out there, and anyone could potentially be a target,” McNamara said.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Dartmouth professor named chair of New Hampshire parole board B y PIERCE WILSON The Dartmouth
On Dec. 12, New Hampshire g ove r n o r C h r i s S u nu nu ( R ) designated writing and rhetoric professor Jennifer Sargent as the new chair of the New Hampshire Adult Parole Board. Sargent, who has a range of experience in the legal and educational fields, will begin her tenure tomorrow, and Donna Sytek, outgoing chairman, will remain on the parole board as a member. “Governor Sununu hopes that Jennifer Sargent will modernize and professionalize the parole board over and above the reforms that have already been ushered in,” the governor’s communications director Benjamin Vihstadt ’16 wrote in an email. “Jennifer came highly recommended to our office and quickly rose to the top of
qualified candidates who have the relevant experience to get the job done.” According to Vihstadt, although members of the parole board are volunteers nominated by Sununu, the Board operates independently from the governor’s office and other legislative bodies. Sargent said she considers herself “apolitical.” “The overarching goal is to create a culture of consistency,” said Sargent, who first joined the parole board in late 2019. According to Sargent, creating this culture “will involve creating standard procedures and policies using evidence-based practices and guidance from agencies that study corrections and reentry.” Sargent also said that she has been directed to “bring the parole board into the 21st century,” as it has “been operating for decades with an inadequate budget and an
inadequately staffed office.” Sargent said she hopes to improve the amount of resources accessible to the board as well as how those resources are used. She said that these decisions will result from an analysis of current practices. At the College, Sargent teaches courses on the criminal justice system, gender studies and constitutional law. “ T h e c l a s s ro o m g i ve s m e information I bring to the parole board, and the parole board gives me information I bring to the classroom and to my writing and research,” Sargent said. “Everything I’ve done in the court system and as an educator has taught me about listening to various viewpoints, critically studying evidence and evidence-based practices, and creating systems with goals and strategies in mind. I wouldn’t be
good at any of this without all the experience I’ve had in government, courtrooms and classrooms.” Sargent elaborated on the missions Sununu has tasked her with, saying that it is an “extraordinary challenge and opportunity to make New Hampshire’s parole system a model parole system.” “Parole serves many interests, the primary one being public safety,” she said. “Protecting and serving all of those interests with modern evidence-based practices is really exciting.” In addition to her work at Dartmouth, Sargent has also taught at Vermont Law School, served as the managing attorney of the New Hampshire Public Defender, worked a special justice for the Lancaster and Haverhill District Courts as well as the disciplinary counsel for the New Hampshire Supreme Court Office of Attorney
Discipline, and has advised writer Jodi Picoult on legal content. Government professor Herschel Nachlis, who teaches American public policy, spoke of the challenges faced in modernizing parole — the likes of which Sargent will likely face in her new role. “In criminal justice in general and sentencing in particular, historically, there has been sort of tension and battles between consistency and discretion,” he said. Nachlis said he feels that Sargent’s experience in many areas of the legal system will be helpful in her new role. “What Professor Sargent’s unusual range of experience will allow her to do is know that it’s not just the decisions you make at the parole board, it’s what you do afterwards and the programs you set up afterwards to help folks out,” Nachlis said.
Protesters called attention to Middle East, reliance on fossil fuels FROM PROTEST PAGE 1
The protest comes on the heels of actions by the United States and Iran that have escalated the risk of armed conflict in the region. On Jan. 3, the United States carried out a military strike which killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Since the strike, Iran retaliated with missile strikes against two U.S. military bases in Iraq and accidentally took down a commercial airliner, sparking protests against in the capital city of Tehran. A lineup of speakers comprised of both Dartmouth students and Upper Valley residents spoke about the danger of war with Iran, the United States’ history with Iran, as well as other topics such as anti-Semitism. One Upper Valley organizer gave the crowd two specific instructions: to organize to build power and to educate to build leaders. Speakers at the protest also condemned American action on climate change. In addition to writing
a short anti-war song specifically for the event, Laura Simon, a local climate activist and a member of the Upper Valley Clean Air Committee, spoke to the effects of war on the climate. “What role do endless wars play in the climate crisis?” Simon asked the crowd. “To say that the U.S. military is the largest user of petroleum, while also using some of the most toxic materials, is just scratching the surface. Militarism is the most oil-exhaustive activity on the planet, and becoming more so with faster, bigger planes and tanks that guzzle more fuel, and increasingly [cause] more intense wars.” Simon also criticized the United States’ reliance on oil and fossil fuels, taking the opportunity to speak out against the College’s proposal to build a biomass heat plant instead of investing in solar power. At the end of the event, organizers urged attendees to follow the protest’s call to action. They suggested that attendees contact their congressional
representatives to demand that Congress not provide additional funding to the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. The protest ended officially with a final song calling for peace. “I came out [to the protest] because I’ve been seeing a lot about the war on social media ... it’s really important to gain knowledge about it, so it kind of attracted me to learn more and come here,” said Alicia Massey ’22. “I don’t like war, so I was like, ‘I want to come out.’” Asma Elhuni, lead organizer at the United Valley Interfaith Project and one of the organizers of the protest, praised the event. “Organizers wanted to plan this protest to send a strong message to the community that we do not support war, and we need a new path forward for our country that is not supporting this war machine that has fueled the U.S. country since the beginning of its founding,” Elhuni said. “We want something new.”
PETER CHARALAMBOUS/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Around 50 students and community members participated in the protest.
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST DIANA D’SOUZA ’22
STAFF COLUMNIST MAYA KHANNA ’22
Hi Bixby
Same Words, Different Meanings
Teaching my dad how to use a smartphone. My dad always had a bad history with his new phone worked. I was pelted with new phones. We bought him his first one in 2014: questions every hour: a Samsung Note 3, the largest phone we could “Diana, come here. What is my password? find on the market. For extra precaution, we Where is the Google located? Why are the equipped it with an Otterbox case, holster belt buttons on this phone so small?” As I patiently clip and a tempered glass screen protector. fielded his questions, he would bring out his Unfortunately, he put his phone on top of Note 3 and explain to me all the reasons it the car, drove away and never saw it again; was superior to the S9. even worse, he forgot to set up a password. After my dad mastered the basics, I When my mom bought introduced him to Face my dad a new phone, he ID (which still baffles came up with a solution to “Now, I am at a point him) and Touch ID (it ensure he would never lose in my life where I can pains me how he uses his it again: The phone would index finger). He even never leave the house. teach my dad. That’s a experimented with Bixby, After scrolling through the scary thought.” the Samsung equivalent of news, he would eventually Siri . No matter how hard leave the house to go to a my dad tried, Bixby could doctor’s appointment or the grocery store. not understand my dad’s accent. By the end He would flip his phone over (apparently of a couple of days, Bixby was only able to that is the “proper” way to turn the phone answer the same two questions my dad asked off), place it on the dresser and get in the car. every day: “Hi Bixby, where is Goa?” and We eventually stopped calling him when we “What is the weather like today?” Then, he heard his ringtone coming from my parents’ would flip his S9 over and go back to using room. his Note 3. This winterim, my dad decided to switch Several weeks in, we noticed several from Verizon to Altice, which provides problems with the S9: a ringtone that wouldn’t unlimited talk, text and data for $20 a month stop ringing, a nonexistent voicemail system for life. However, he soon realized that his and a phone number that refused to transfer beloved phone could only be used on a over. My dad and I made four more trips to Verizon plan, and he begrudgingly switched the Optimum store — two of which were on to a Samsung S9. Because I was at home Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve because with little to do, I was tasked with taking my dad insisted on going when the lines were my dad to the Optimum store to set up his short. We eventually ended up returning the new phone. After his phone was activated, SEE D’SOUZA PAGE 5 he headed home, determined to learn how
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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.
The way in which we use language often leads to discrimination against women. During the 2018 midterm elections, a recordbreaking 185 women ran for congressional seats, resulting in an historic 117 female members of Congress. The unprecedented surge of women’s congressional participation led many to call 2018 “The Year of the Woman.” The election of so many women into the top political offices of the United States electrified feminists across the country, and the 2020 election cycle has seen more women than ever before seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Our generation has seen women surpass men in attendance at American universities, voice their long-held concerns through the #MeToo movement, lead top businesses and pursue battles for gender equity. Yet these victories mask a largely invisible form of sexism that continues to limit professional and social opportunities for women: the continued prominence of double standards, often expressed in language, that devalue women’s accomplishments while maintaining men’s position as the standard-bearers of institutional power. It’s no secret that words often carry different connotations, depending on the context and tone with which those words are delivered. A 2017 study by Pew Research Center explored the diversity of meanings that a single word — like powerful, intense, compassionate or strong — can suggest. Though respondents used those words to describe both positive and negative traits, the words’ implications, when applied to males and females, differed radically. For example, the Pew study found that Americans were much more likely to use “powerful” to describe men in a positive way (67 percent positive) than women (92 percent negative). The huge gender discrepancy in Americans’ perceptions of the term “powerful” reveals a broader truth about the way gender so drastically impacts the value judgment we place upon others: We often praise men for the very same actions or traits for which women are widely criticized. The widespread tendency in American culture to condone in men that which is discouraged in women continues to shape women’s access to equal opportunities — both in and out of the workplace. Consider the word “bossy.” The term itself is fraught with societal expectations for the “type” of woman that makes a desirable colleague: amicable, docile and polite, but never too assertive. One could hardly imagine men being held to such a standard. What’s even more shocking is that words with similar connotations — but different value judgments — are often used to describe men in the workplace. Positive words like ambitious, confident and competent all frequently translate to little more than “bossy”; but when assigned to
female colleagues, those traits are given a negative spin. Though this difference may seem inconsequential, it has painfully tangible consequences: Women’s lives and careers depend on equitable opportunities for social and occupational advancement, all of which depends on the perception of colleagues and supervisors. Decisions concerning promotions, hiring, firing and pay are often left to subjective assessments such as a woman’s ability to “act as a team player” or “relate well to customers.” And those are assessments that often operate according to our different expectations for women and men. Outside the workplace, the expectations embodied by our double standards in language use are just as harmful. Whether searching for a partner, mingling at a party or just walking down the street, it isn’t uncommon to hear value judgments placed differently upon men and women by way of language. While these comments are often offhand, said jokingly and quickly forgotten, they are always there — cultivating and maintaining the damaging stereotypes that persist for generations. Though these words have changed across time, adopting trendy references like “she is so extra” in place of more dated terms, the expectation that women must fit a certain persona has transcended time via language. To eschew these expectations as a woman is to risk being labeled “temperamental,” “opportunistic” or “selfish” while male colleagues waltz around the office praised as “passionate,” “ambitious” or “a real go-getter.” The point of this article is not to give women a free pass on engaging in adverse behaviors, or to suggest that gender is always the basis for negative performance reviews or rejection at a cocktail party. Women, like men, have agency over themselves and are fully capable of doing a poor job. Rather, it is to recognize a consistent and widespread double standard in language use that continues to reinforce antiquated stereotypes concerning the expectations that our society places on women. At Dartmouth, an institution that operated for nearly 200 years as almost exclusively a place for wealthy white men, it is particularly important for us to stay mindful of the ways in which our use of language can perpetuate gender discrimination on campus. By thinking about our interactions and challenging our expectations for each other, we open up space for students of any gender the freedom to be themselves defined not by stereotypes, but by who they are. Language comprises the building blocks of our day-to-day interactions, so let’s think critically about the ways in which it may impact gender dynamics both on campus and off.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
DARTMOUTHEVENTS
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
PAGE 5
COOOOOOKIES
JULIA VOLD ’23
TODAY 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Exhibition Talk: “Dissonances by Christina Seely,” sponsored by the Hopkins Center for the Arts, Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center.
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Talk: “Eminent Domain in India and the U.S.: Key Comparisons,” Shruti Rajagopalan, SUNY-Purchase and Mercatus. Sponsored by the Political Economy Project, Room 002, Rockefeller Center.
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Class: “Flex Dancing Master Class,” sponsored by the Hopkins Center for the Arts, Straus Dance Studio, Berry Sports Center.
TOMORROW 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Seminar: “Microbiology and Immunology Seminar,” sponsored by the MCB Graduate Program, Kreind
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Lecture: “Nonverbal Communication Among French and Indigenous Peoples in the Americas,” Céline Carayon, Salisbury University. Sponsored by the Department of History, L01, Carson Hall.
FROM D’SOUZA PAGE 4
S9 and buying him an iPhone 8+, which the employee told us was the biggest phone sold at the Apple Store. The employee selling us the phone thought my dad was hilarious. My father, a 6-foot-tall man, walked in carrying a tiny bag with three phones (his Note 3, S9 and iPhone 8+) and a notebook filled with passwords and steps on how to use his phone. He then proceeded to haggle over the sixpercent discount that the store offered on a sushi platter. My dad was born in 1939, which makes him 80 years old. Even as a professor, he didn’t use a computer because his secretary did all his typing for him. Although I was initially annoyed by our weekly trips to the Optimum store, I have come to admire my dad’s willingness to constantly learn and his desire to be fiercely independent. When I see the look of fixation on my dad’s face as I explain to him how to use cellular data for the sixth time, I am reminded of our role reversal.
When I was young, my dad and I spent many months together on a beaten-down couch, reading books about talking about animals and dump trucks. Now, I am at a point in my life where I can teach my dad. That’s a scary thought, because it means that I’m getting older. According to all the Instagram posts, this is the decade where I get a job, buy an apartment, get married and have children. Strangely enough, the process of helping my dad find his dream phone has helped me slow things down. Together, we have braved heavy rains on the highway, battled with Optimum customer service and consumed many McDonald’s Southwest Grilled Chicken Salads. Spending more time with my dad has reminded me of the importance of taking a break from work and enjoying my youth. As for my dad, he is still figuring out how to use his new iPhone. It’s only a matter of time before he figures out how to text in the family group chat — which, for the record, we named “Bixby.”
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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
New Hood exhibit sheds light on mixed history of school photos B y MiA RUSSO The Dartmouth
It could be argued that one of the most common photographs to be taken is a school photo. The majority of people have been in or seen one. Normally, they are not usually viewed as controversial. In the “School Photos and Their Afterlives” exhibit currently on display in the Hood Museum, history professor emeritus Leo Spitzer and Columbia University English professor Marianne Hirsch, in coordination with the Hood’s academic programming curator and coordinator for the exhibit Amelia Kahl, developed an exhibition specifically designed to expose the underlying themes of conformity and repression in societies around the world. The exhibit displays a variety of archival school photos and other pieces where artists take a stand and utilize school photos in different ways. According to Kahl, the school photo is a form of art that many people encounter in their lives. “Many of us have been through that process,” Kahl said. “So [the curators] are thinking about that visual conceit and how that plays out over time and in different places. They are really using that idea of the school photo as a way to talk about major issues historically and in contemporary life — mainly issues of assimilation.” The exhibit has three sections: “Europe and Its ‘Others,’” “The United States and Its ‘Others,’” and “Imagining Justice.” “Europe and Its ‘Others’” includes reminders of the importance of education across cultures and time periods, showing photos of children going to school during war times as a sign of hope.
It also shows the segregation and assimilation central to life in colonial territories. “The United States and Its ‘Others’” focuses on the forced integration of Native Americans and African Americans into the dominant white American culture and the subsequent suppression of their own cultures. In addition, there are scenes from Japanese internment camps showing how, even in prison, there is still value placed in education. In “Imagining Justice,” the camera turns to the unrealized futures of Mexican and Argentinian students who were murdered or disappeared under dictatorial rule. When discussing the inspiration behind the exhibition, Spitzer said that the school photo is a meaningful form of art produced by the technical innovation as well as the development of state-accredited education in the 19th century. “Then we began to think about the school photo in terms of the efforts to manage the various populations in a state,” Spitzer said. “Ethnic, national, racialized differences — authorities used photographs to further assimilation of social norms and transformative ideology because they suppress differences.” Though the exhibit exposes and often emphasizes the negative, forced assimilation associated with school photos and how they are used to reinforce dominant societal norms, there are also images that foster hope through resistance. “We have photographs taken in Jewish ghettos during the Nazi era, secretly, while schools were suppressed and cameras were basically suppressed,” Spitzer said. “This was the equipment that you needed to make photographs and
yet photos were taken, and that’s the amazing thing. That kind of resistance also manifested in school photos. So they’re not all bad; they can be used in a much more positive way. We would hope that people would come away [from the exhibit] having realized some of the complexity in that visual — both visible and invisible — that is involved in a photo.” With such a variety of works and points on display, each person who enters the exhibit can find something to connect to. This idea, according to Hood engagement coordinator Isadora Italia, makes the exhibition all the more powerful. “It’s a really thought-provoking
show,” Italia said, “I think there’s a lot of opportunity to teach with it and to learn from it, and I think that’s really at the heart of our mission [at the Hood].” Situated in the context of a college art museum where the target audience is students, a new dimension is layered onto the interpretation of the exhibit. “I think this show can bring up a really relevant question for Dartmouth students, which is, ‘How much of my individuality, how much of my uniqueness, am I able to show here at school, and how much conformity is expected of me?’ That’s something that students try to struggle with and negotiate
and balance,” Kahl said. Kahl explained that, with the combination of the strong culture of Dartmouth’s campus and how it contrasts with the rapidly changing world outside, students can struggle to define themselves and find their place. This internal and societal conflict, however, leads to greater growth and the formation of a stronger individual identity, which has immense value because it is only through this that the culture surrounding assimilation and conformity can ever truly change, Kahl said. “School Photos and T heir Afterlives” will be on display until April 12.
ALISON PALIZZOLO/COURTESY OF THE HOOD MUSEUM
“School Photos and Their Afterlives” will be on display until April 12.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
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Review: Poppy demonstrates growth in new album ‘I Disagree’ By Jack Hargrove The Dartmouth
In many regards, the advent of the Internet has changed the landscape of music more than anything since the invention of the phonograph. From the explosion of microgenres such as vaporwave and cloud rap in the 2010s to streaming services allowing immediate access to just about every song ever recorded, the music industry is almost unrecognizable to what it was pre-Internet. One of the more significant aspects of the new music industry is the now meteoric pace at which stars can rise through the use of websites such as SoundCloud, Bandcamp and even YouTube — all of which allow anyone to find an audience much more easily than in the past. Moriah Rose Pereira, better known as Poppy, is easily among the best and most interesting artists to emerge from the Internet, getting her start posting videos on YouTube in 2014. Her early videos were bizarre but artsy, consisting of Poppy performing unnerving and absurdist skits with sterile backdrops and mood music playing in the background. Her most famous video, garnering over 20 million views, is “I’m Poppy,” in which she repeats the phrase “I’m Poppy” over and over from various positions for 10 minutes. Through these videos, Perreira managed to effectively cultivate the character of Poppy, a humanoid robot with consciousness that eerily approximates the way a human acts. As the character Poppy, Perreira released the albums “Poppy. Computer” in 2017 and “Am I a Girl?” in 2018, both featuring futuristic and electronic art-pop songs. However, her sound recently shifted to a peculiar blend of pop and metal and her new album, “I Disagree,” is the culmination of this new era. In this project, Poppy finds a perfect blend of the two genres and makes her most captivating and experimental music yet. The album kicks off with the lead single “Concrete,” immediately
putting the dark musical and lyrical themes of this era on display. After an alarm sounds at the beginning to announce Poppy’s arrival, she begins to whisper-sing, “Bury me six feet deep/Cover me in concrete/Turn me into a street.” The disturbing lyrics continue throughout the song, with the lines “I tried to eat ice cream/I tried to drink tea/But I need that taste of young blood in my teeth”; however, these lyrics are sung with a joyful, cheery inflection, in direct juxtaposition to the lyrical content. This duality is reflected in the music itself, alternating back and forth between saccharine pop and harsh metal. The quiet-to-loud motif is used extensively throughout the album, with Poppy alternating between sounding like a classic popstar and a coarse, growling metal singer. The next song is the album’s title track, “I Disagree.” The opening lines are “Watashi wa anata ni dōi shimasen,” roughly translated from Japanese as “I disagree with you,” calling to mind Japanese kawaii metal acts like Babymetal. Musically, this song is the best blend of pop and metal on the album; instead of going back and forth between quiet pop and loud metal, this track features Poppy’s sugary vocals over a consistently metal instrumental. The hook on this song is easily the catchiest on the project and this track is the best representation of the album as a whole. The third track, “BLOODMONEY,” contains the fewest pop elements of any song on the album. Instead, this track contains a combination of killer guitar riffs and a hardcore EDM breakdown. The song also features some of the sharpest lyrics on the project, such as “Your soul can’t be saved from the sins you’ve ignored/ And the devil is well aware he is adored/Never forget the excess of a man/Because the grabbing hands always grab what they can.” These lyrics, as well as the rest of the song, chronicle the hardships that music artists can face and the hypocrisy that is present within the industry.
The following track, “Anything “Nothing I Need” is one of the Like Me,” is the most indicative of strongest tracks on the album and the way the character of Poppy has really stands out against the other changed over time. The title is in songs. direct opposition to one of Poppy’s The next track, “Sit / Stay,” earlier songs, “Everybody Wants to returns to the heavier sound found in be Poppy,” and the lyrics detail how the first half of the album. However, Poppy has coped with fame and her this song is much more complex desire to be unique. The song begins than any other on the project with acoustically, but quickly transitions an irregular time signature, chaotic to abrasive synths and heavy guitars. electronic production and a cyclical With a quiet rage, Poppy sings, guitar line. The chorus contains the “Sorry for what I’ve become/ line “Godspeed to the radio star,” Because I’m becoming someone,” which I interpreted as a reference to before repeatedly growling, “You the Buggles’ 1979 hit single “Video shouldn’t be anything like me” in Killed the Radio Star.” This lyric is the chorus. very fitting, as Poppy got her start The fifth track, “Fill the Crown,” making videos on YouTube. This is the final single and closes out the track also features the most effective first half of the album. This track utilization of the quiet to loud music features the greatest diversity of structure on the album. sounds on the album, alternately The eighth track, “Bite Your containing sections of synth- Teeth,” is perhaps the strangest song pop, electronic on the album; music a n d “Musically, this song sadly, it is also the metal. It is also weakest. While the only track is the best blend of the song is still an to prominently pop and metal on enjoyable listen, feature vocals it is hindered by the album; instead of from someone weak lyrics and o t h e r t h a n going back and forth too much frantic P o p p y ; between quiet pop back and forth in throughout the production. t h e s o n g, a n and loud metal, this Despite the fact u n c r e d i t e d track features Poppy’s that the rest of artist growls the the album uses sugary vocals over lyrics in a deep this technique voice alongside a consistently metal very well in most Poppy’s singing. instrumental.” of the songs, it I, along with comes across as many others on too over the top the Internet, believe this uncredited in “Bite Your Teeth,” with the singer to be Marilyn Manson, as song never really finding a groove. Poppy has made their friendship Luckily, the flaws in this track are a known on social media. As the last result of Poppy being too ambitious of a string of five singles, this song rather than lazy, rendering the song ends the more unified sound of the more of a flawed experiment than album’s first half. an actual bad song. “Nothing I Need” begins the The final two tracks, “Sick of second half of the album with a the Sun” and “Don’t Go Outside,” much-needed breather. It is the are a departure from the style of first non-metal track of the album, the rest of the album. Musically, and with its airy production, soft both are quiet ballads and, lyrically, vocals and quiet drum beat, the they seem to be two sides of the track makes for a relaxing listen. same coin. The lyrics detail the The song also features a synth line depression that Poppy feels, causing that is heavily reminiscent of the her to isolate herself from society. vaporwave music genre, popular “Sick of the Sun” contains a more on the Internet early last decade. pessimistic take on the situation
with Poppy singing in the chorus “I’m sick of the sun/It burns everyone/I want it to go away/I just wanna float away.” These lyrics, alongside the line “Everyone told me that it would get better/But every day feels exactly the same,” spoken in the bridge, convey a crushing sense of hopelessness and loneliness. The reverb-heavy guitars and melancholic synths combine with the depressing lyrics to make a stunning yet haunting song. “Don’t Go Outside,” the final track, contains many of the same lyrical themes as “Sick of the Sun”; however, it contains a much more optimistic take on the situation. While the lines “The TV says we’re out of time/Suck the fear in through your eyes/Everyone is bland and blind/Don’t go outside” are as depressing as anything in the previous track, the repeated refrain of “Everything will be okay” near the end paints a picture of hope. The first verse and chorus are entirely acoustic; after the first chorus, however, an electronic beat appears in the background. After the introduction of a heavy guitar riff, the song ends with a medley of lyrics from the earlier songs on the album. This track is a perfect and satisfying end to the album and makes it feel cohesive. From beginning to end, Poppy’s “I Disagree” is a well produced and experimental project that takes the Poppy character in a compelling direction. Its main flaw is the overuse of the quiet to loud song structure, but the album’s tight track listing of only 10 songs, running for 35 minutes, ensures that the style never overstays its welcome and that none of the tracks feel like filler. In addition, the shift in both musical direction and overall aesthetic is refreshing. The evolution of Poppy’s character is perhaps her greatest strength as an artist, and her refusal to ever remain stagnant keeps her constantly interesting.Originally, Poppy was just a robot who made unsettlingly cheerful pop music. Now, that robot has said the most terrifying thing any robot can say: “I disagree.”
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