THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019
VOL. CLXXV NO. 119
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
College celebrates 2019 MLK day
RAINY HIGH 48 LOW 20
B y JENNIE RHODES
The Dartmouth Staff
OPINION
OKUTAN: LET’S TALK ‘BANDERSNATCH’ PAGE 6
SHI: MY MARY OLIVER PAGE 6
HOLZER: THE BEST A MAN CAN GET PAGE 7
ARTS
Q&A: JESSICA HONG, THE NEW GLOBAL CONTEMPORARY ART CURATOR PAGE 8
FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2019 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.
MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Franchesca Ramsey delivered the feature presentation for the College’s 2019 MLK Celebration.
On Monday night, comedian and social justice activist Franchesca Ramsey delivered the keynote address at the College’s 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Feature Presentation. Over the weekend and in the upcoming weeks, Dartmouth held and will hold events ranging from presentations on topics such as mental health and sexual assault to films centered around social justice.
This year, the theme of the social rights and activism celebration is “Beyond the Threshold,” which is meant to operate as a call to action, according to vice president for institutional diversity and equity Evelynn Ellis. Ellis said the theme was inspired by what is occurring in the news today, noting that we are standing at the threshold between human compassion and total indifference. “I don’t think we, as SEE MLK PAGE 3
‘One’ event to highlight Hanover restaurants’ food B y ABBY MIHALY
The Dartmouth Staff
Befuddled diners, rejoice. The mystery of “One” is over. On Jan. 28, the Class of 1953 Commons will host a variety of Hanover restaurants, each of whom will serve one signature dish. Dartmouth Dining Services has been eagerly promoting One since the start of term, posting placards on tables and outfitting their employees with t-shirts,
but until now has declined to comment on what the event will entail. Nine to 11 establishments are currently set to participate in One, according to Jon Plodzik, director of DDS. Morano Gelato, Noodle Station, Pine and Tuk Tuk Thai restaurants confirmed to The Dartmouth that they will be serving food. Plodzik added that DDS is working toward collaborating with two more restaurants and
Hood Museum to partner with classes
B y LUCY TURNIPSEED The Dartmouth
Imagine a place where Dartmouth students can view anything from a Fiji mermaid to avant-garde art and Ancient Roman coins right on campus. That will soon become possible as the Hood Museum of Art reopens on Jan. 26 after a three-year renovation. “Almost any class could come
to the Hood [Museum] and find something to look at as long as they’re open to talking about creativity and developing visual skills,” Hood Museum associate curator of academic programming Amelia Kahl said. “Classes can come to the museum for any number of reasons, those just being two examples.” The Hood Museum has already SEE HOOD PAGE 5
has not heard back from four others. Base Camp Café, Boloco, Lou’s Restaurant & Bakery, My Brigadeiro, Salt Hill Pub and Umpleby’s Bakery & Café have all confirmed that they will not be participating in the event. Candela Tapas Lounge, Jewel of India and Molly’s Restaurant & Bar are currently unsure whether they will participate.
SEAMORE ZHU/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
SEE RESTAURANTS PAGE 3
‘One’ will feature food from Hanover restaurants.
Audrey Geisel remembered for her whimsy and business
B y ELIZABETH JANOWSKI The Dartmouth Staff
Those who knew Audrey Geisel, wife of Theodor Seuss Geisel ’25 and founder of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, remember her as an infectiously warm, “whimsical” presence with a remarkable savvy for business. “She had an incredible sense of fun and a remarkable optimism,” English professor Donald Pease said. “I felt when I spoke with her as if I was engaging with
the head of a parade that began each morning when she awakened and didn’t cease until she went to bed that night. She was literally full of life and full of ideas.” On Dec. 19, Audrey Geisel passed away at her home in La Jolla, California. She was 97. A former nurse, Audrey Stone Dimond married Theodor Geisel in 1968. Geisel’s first wife, Helen, died by suicide a year prior following a long struggle with SEE GEISEL PAGE 2
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Senior Design Challenge Audrey Geisel passes away at age 97 faculty receive award FROM GEISEL PAGE 1
B y HANNAH JINKS The Dartmouth
On Jan. 15, the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning announced that design thinking lecturer Eugene Korsunskiy and Thayer School of Engineering professor Peter Robbie won the 2018 Apgar Award for Innovation in Teaching for their “Senior Design Challenge” course. The new two-term course, Engineering 15.02, “Senior Design Challenge,” provides students with the opportunity to create solutions to real world issues, forge connections in industry and hone professional skills. The Apgar Award for Innovation in Teaching rewards faculty members early in their careers for innovative teaching initiatives and recognizes courses that “cross traditional academic boundaries and that are likely to have practical applications in students’ lives,” according to the DCAL website. “It was a really delightful and pleasant surprise to be recognized in this way for the teaching that we’re doing,” Korsunskiy said. “It’s great to know that Dartmouth values interdisciplinary experiential education of the kind that we strive to provide here at Thayer.” Students who have taken classes with Korsunskiy and Robbie said they appreciate the professors’ dedication to students’ learning. “[Robbie] created this amazing curriculum [in Engineering 12, “Design Thinking,”] that celebrates creativity,” Colleen O’Connor ’19 said. “[Korsunskiy] also empowers his students by granting them autonomy and shifting the focus away from grades [in the “Senior Design Challenge” course.]” Engineering 12, “Design Thinking,” is the prerequisite to the “Senior Design Challenge.” Piloted in 2018, the “Senior Design Challenge” is a capstone course available to seniors of all majors and counts for two credits toward the human-centered design minor. Interdisciplinary teams of students use human-centered design methodology to ideate and prototype a design project, Korsunskiy said. The course was formally approved after its pilot year and is now offered this winter and spring. Student projects are planned in partnership with community organizations across a broad range of industries, according to Korsunskiy. The course collaborates with the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact to establish connections with client organizations. In the past, these
have included Efficiency Vermont, Upper Valley Haven, The Dartmouth Institute, Peter Sheehan Diabetes Care Foundation and Burton Snowboards. This year, Center for Social Impact associate director Ashley Doolittle helped expand the list of organizations, Korsunskiy said. According to the course website, the output of a team’s project can be anything — possibilities include a physical product, an app, a service, an experience, a brand or a startup. During the winter term, students brainstorm ideas, research their chosen issue and analyze data. Their research includes engaging with their issues’ stakeholders and compiling information from secondary sources. In the spring term, students engage in an iterative cycle of prototyping, receiving feedback and refining. “The fact that it’s two terms allows students to dive deeply into the content [of their project] and become experts,” Jessie Colin ’18 said. “You’re able to develop relationships with the people you’re designing with and the users you’re designing for — and all the while, you’re a student.” Korsunskiy, Ashley Manning ’17 and Robbie worked together to create the class while Manning was still a senior at the College. Manning said her final project in Engineering 12, “Design Thinking,” taught by Robbie, “was the Senior Design Challenge.” “I started wondering why a course like [the “Senior Design Challenge”] doesn’t exist at Dartmouth,” Manning said. “Most of the [experiential learning] elements are already there. It’s just about rearranging what already exists.” Students who took the course in its pilot year conducted an eclectic array of projects. Madison McIlwain ’18 said her team worked with product managers at Burton Snowboards to design a landing page, which helps users navigate the company’s website. “We engaged with real companies and had real constraints that were very practical,” McIlwain said. “It’s very different from the theoretical knowledge you gain in the classroom.” Zoe Thorsland ’18 said her team introduced a feedback loop at the Upper Valley Haven, bridging the gap between service providers and users. “I loved operating in ambiguity,” Thorsland said. “Oftentimes in school, we have this strong framework where you have to solve problems in a certain way, but the solution was more ambiguous [in this class].”
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
Guillain-Barre syndrome. According to Pease, Audrey Geisel helped her husband overcome the rut in his career after his first wife’s death. “It was Audrey who enabled him to recover his relationship with his work that previously had been identified with his relation to Helen by asking him to change the colors with which he created children’s books from primary colors to pastels — lime green, lavender, plum,” Pease said. He added that Audrey Geisel encouraged her husband to tackle global issues in his work, telling him that he should write “not just for children, but for all of humanity.” Shortly after, the Geisels went on a trip to Kenya that served as the inspiration for the Dr. Seuss classic “The Lorax,” which addresses themes of environmentalism and industrialism. Former College president Jim Wright expressed gratitude for Audrey Geisel’s commitment to Dartmouth, which he said endured long past her husband’s death in 1991. In 2012, Dartmouth honored the Geisels for their decades of support and generosity by changing the name
of the College’s medical school to the Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine. Wright recalled paying many visits to the Geisels’ home over the past several decades. “She showed us a closet with all sorts of “Cat in the Hat” hats and other Seussian hats,” Wright said. “She could be almost a Seussian character herself with her wonderful sense of humor and wit. But she was also a very tough administrator of the Seuss legacy.” In 1993, Audrey Geisel established Dr. Seuss Enterprises with the mission to “protect the integrity of the Dr. Seuss books while expanding beyond books into ancillary areas,” according to the company’s website. Pease and Wright both remember Audrey Geisel as a staunch defender of her husband’s creations, as well as a key figure in preserving and adapting his works for new generations. “She was much more than … a grieving widow who maintained his legacy,” Pease said. “She was a muse, a promoter and a very, very savvy entrepreneur who recognized [that Theodor Geisel] needed a foundation … in order for Dr. Seuss to remain the vital inspirational force he continues to be.” U n d e r Au d rey G e i s e l ’s supervision, the Seuss empire
grew to encompass several featurelength Hollywood films, such as the 2000 live-action movie “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” and the Broadway musical “Seussical,” whose plot draws from several different Dr. Seuss stories. More recently, she collaborated with Chris Meledandri ’81, president and CEO of Illumination Entertainment, to produce animated features of “Horton Hears a Who!,” “The Lorax” and “The Grinch.” Dr. Seuss films could not be made without Audrey Geisel’s permission, said Pease. Pease recalled that in his last encounter with Audrey Geisel about two years ago, she was “still as strongwilled and vital” as when he first met her. He said he believes Audrey Geisel will be remembered as “a great force of life and even greater creator.” Wright emphasized the magnitude and long-lasting impact of Audrey Geisel’s work. “I think her legacy is the protection and enhancement of Dr. Seuss’s own cultural, literary and intellectual legacy,” Wright said. “I think there likely will never be anyone else running that enterprise [who] can be as tough-minded, as pleasant and as deeply emotionally committed to the Seussian legacy as Audrey was.”
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019
PAGE 3
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Restaurants to feature signature dishes MLK keynote features Franchesca Ramsay FROM ONE PAGE 1
Other restaurants, including Market Table, Murphy’s on the Green and The Skinny Pancake, declined to comment on their participation or could not be reached by press time. While some restaurants will be bringing pre-prepared dishes to ’53 Commons, other restaurants will be assigned a station to prepare their dishes. The dining hall workers who usually work at the associated station will be available to help the chef or chefs from each outside restaurant, said Chris Gale, co-owner of Noodle Station. Gale said that Noodle Station will likely bring 500 servings of their “Asian Persuasion” noodle bowl. Morgan Morano, owner of Morano’s, said that the gelateria will serve three flavors of gelato. Pine’s executive chef Justin Dain said that the restaurant will serve around 800 portions of braised beef short rib with gnocchi and Tuscan kale. Tuk Tuk Thai owner Pannipa Pace said that she plans to bring avocado curry, although this may be subject to change. However, there seems to have been at least one miscommunication regarding serving sizes. Pace said that Tuk Tuk Thai is currently planning to provide a single portion — ”one
dish” — of curry for the event, which said. she estimates will feed one to two Gale said that after participating in people. the farmers’ markets on the Hanover “Well, that would be a problem,” Green this summer, Noodle Station Plodzik said upon hearing the news. “jumped at the opportunity” to However, Plodzik assured The once again connect directly with the Dartmouth that this situation would student body. He said that the One be remedied by Monday. was a great way to advertise, and to “We’ll resolve any “let [students] know confusion. That is a that we’re right here miscommunication,” “We really in town.” enjoy the he said. Gale said that A full menu of One speculation there will be some will be published around reimbursement for 10 a.m. on Monday, we’ve been time and food cost, Plodzik estimated. but that DDS will hearing, and A flyer distributed not be paying the to Hanover restaurants we’ve heard “normal price” of advertised the event the rumors.” the dishes. Plodzik as a way for Hanover added that DDS has restaurants to promote “worked out deals their businesses to -JON PLODZIK, behind the scenes” to students on campus. DIRECTOR OF ensure restaurants do “Come promote your not incur an expense. business, prepare your DARTMOUTH Plodzik, who signature dish, and join DINING SERVICES came up with the in this partnership event idea for the event a for students,” the flyer few years ago, has reads. relished the rumors In preparation for the event, about One. Plodzik and DDS staff dietitian Beth “We really enjoy the speculation Rosenberger went “door to door” to we’ve been hearing, and we’ve heard reach out to the restaurants, Plodizk the rumors,” Plodzik. said. The event will be held on a Monday because that is often the The Dartmouth Senior Staff contributed slowest day for restaurants, Plodzik reporting.
has privilege, and acknowledging our privilege will allow us to empathize Americans, thought we would be with others. She echoed the sentiment living this right now,” Ellis said. that a person accustomed to privilege “We are becoming complacent, can see attempts to equalize as treating bad things as the norm and oppressive. Ramsey then discussed how discussing an event like its a movie. people need to speak out against It is troublesome.” She believes that the government situations that we know are inherently today does not represent the wrong, adding that if one is neutral American democracy the country is in situations of injustice, they have based upon, and that it is Americans’ chosen the side of the oppressor. Tying her speech into the duty to do something about the lack celebration’s theme, Ramsey told of democracy. “We have to vote for our actions,” the audience that everyone can move Ellis added. “We have to vote in any beyond the threshold by trying to election. We have to make choices and make change. “Standing at the threshold means those choices need to signify that we are voting for democracy. That’s not walking the path less traveled,” she where [the country is] right now. It is said. “If it was easy, more people our complacency that troubles me.” would do it. It’s not easy. You might The night began with Chinedum lose friendships, but we are at a time Nwaigwe ’19 speaking about her where we need to speak up. Change Dartmouth experience as a women of is not going to happen overnight. color. Nwaigwe believes Dartmouth Change doesn’t happen by being passive and letting has continuously things go.” failed to address Marina Liot ’21 the needs of “All I can think about said she came to people of color is how long we have the event because it on campus, and is an important day those of women been standing at of remembrance. in particular. the threshold. It is good to take “If in four not enough to stand the“It’s time to honor years I can’t Dr. King’s legacy p i n p o i n t at the threshold and think about progress, how of greatness and ways we can apply can I celebrate [his message] to 250 years of stay there with no everyday life,” she existence?” she progression.” said. “Franchesca asked. R a m s e y ’ s T h e speech was very D a r t m o u t h -CHINEDUM NWAIGWE empowering experience for ’19 because it reminds people of color you that change is one of survival, happens day by according to Nwaigwe. She said she believes that day and over decades monumental to survive, students of color have to change will be made.” Ramsey was chosen as this year’s continuously give things up. “We relinquished the studies of speaker because she has the ability to our culture,” she said. “We have take a serious issue and make people given up learning from people who laugh about it, Ellis said. “We have got to deal with these look like us. We have lost the sense of collectivity. We are focused on the issues and push forward, but we can’t success of the individual. We have lose our joy,” Ellis said. “Once we given up friendship from joy. We now lose our joy — the internal refuge bond from struggle. We have given — someone else has a victory. You up mental health with no chance of have to make good decisions about recovery because of understaffing at how you are going to live in this world and still be happy.” Dick’s House and Collis.” Ellis said that she wants every Now is the time to tip the scales from injustice to justice and seize student to walk away from the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration events change, Nwaigwe said. “All I can think about is how with a sense of purpose. “Every student needs to finish their long we have been standing at the threshold,” she said. “It is not enough degree, take that knowledge and do to stand at the threshold of greatness something truly useful,” she said. and stay there with no progression.” “Our students come out as engaging While Nwaigwe focused on the people. This will allow students to need to make it past the threshold, go out with a mindset beyond just Ramsey spoke about how we can wanting to build their careers. I want them to build a career, but also touch transcend that boundary. Ramsey said that every person people’s lives.” FROM MLK PAGE 1
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DARTMOUTHEVENTS
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
ICE ICE BABY
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019
UUGANZUL TUMURBAATAR ’21
TODAY 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Off Campus Programs Application Workshop, Paganucci Lounge, Class of 1953 Commons
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Hardigg Family Fund Lecture: ”Filled With Meaning: Why Do the Contents of East Asian Statues Matter?,” with Harvard University professor James Robson, Rockefeller Center 002
9:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Thursday Night Live: An Evening of Jazz and Soul Vocalists, with the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble and Dartmouth’s Pop Group, Top of the Hop, Hopkins Center for the Arts
TOMORROW 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Sing-Ins, Paddock Music Library, Hopkins Center for the Arts
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Film: “Reversing Roe,” with live guests Ricki Stern ’87, Annie Sundberg ’90, Dr. Colleen McNicholas and U.S. Senator Wendy Davis, Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts
10:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Collis After Dark: Arcade Night, Common Ground, Collis Center
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
New Hood museum will integrate academic programming FROM HOOD PAGE 1
jumped back into its academic programming. Previously, when the Hood Museum first opened in 1985, the Bernstein Study-Storage Center was created in 1989 to fit a maximum of 20 students into a museum classroom, which was carved out of a storage area. There also used to be another smaller, 10-person classroom in the old museum, but most classes cannot fit in there, according to Katherine Hart, senior curator of collections and curator of academic programming. At the time, Hart was in charge of integrating the museum’s collection into academics at the College, a job she has now shared with Kahl since 2011. The old Bernstein Study-Storage Center could be described as “behind-the-scenes,” “tight,” “hard to navigate” and overall a space that was not especially “conducive” to learning, according to Kahl. The renovated Hood Museum will house the Bernstein Center for Object Study, which will comprise three dedicated study galleries with a flexible design. Each is outfitted with hanging slats on the walls, tables on wheels that can be rolled and locked, chairs, art storage space and screens that can be lowered and then hidden
completely. One of the galleries will contain a document camera. “We talked to faculty a lot and they spoke about how [although] they wanted the technology there ... [they also wanted] it to be able to go away and just let students focus on the art,” Kahl said. There is also a new staging room, which makes it safer for the objects and easier for the museum employees to transport art to and from learning spaces inside the Bernstein Center for Object Study. The Hood Museum has hired three new art handlers who will facilitate bringing objects from storage into the study galleries and assist students in learning from the art. The Hood Museum has four departments it works with regularly — art history, studio art, anthropology and classics — but when it closed for renovation in the spring of 2016, it was working with 35 different academic departments and programs across campus. “So with that activity, that energy, we knew we could do more, but just didn’t have the space,” Kahl said, adding that the renovation was inspired by the need to better support the museum’s work. This term, Art History 62.3, “Japanese Prints,” taught by art history professor Allen Hockley,
meets every class period in the Hood Museum. With the old Hood Museum, it was not possible for any class to consistently meet in the museum because it would then be unable to accommodate visiting classes during those periods. “I’m really excited for [the Hood Museum opening] because other than Carpenter Hall, there’s not really a space where art history people can spend time,” “Japanese Prints” student and art history major Arianna LaBarbiera ’21 said. “There wasn’t really a place in Hanover where I could have art in my life outside of the classroom.” However, LaBarbiera said that in the “Japanese Prints” course, there are opportunities every class to view a couple of prints, either from Hockley’s personal collection or the Hood Museum’s collection. “We get to see art pieces during almost every lecture as opposed to trekking to the Hopkins Center for the Arts three times in the term like it was done previously,” Emmanuel Akosah ’19 said. LaBarbiera said that in the context of art history, it is important to see what is being discussed. “Seeing the vibrancy of color and the dimensions are so crucial and can’t be seen in a textbook,” she said. When learning about hand
scrolls, an extremely long piece of illustrated paper, the class was able to see how someone in the period of the piece’s creation would have actually interacted with the art. “The professor was rolling one side up and rolling the other side out,” LaBarbiera said. “It was really nice because I wouldn’t have thought about it that way if I hadn’t seen it.” Another student in the class, Farid Djamalov ’21, also emphasized the usefulness of interacting with the art in person. Djamalov added that the class is being encouraged to think about how the Hood Museum can expand its collection for academic purposes. “While the Hood Museum already has great works in its collection, there are large gaps in the collection that we hope to fill by proposing to the museum what works to buy,” Djamalov said. Other classes across campus are evolving with the re-opening of the museum. The Writing 5 class “Food for Thought,” is changing its syllabus from previous terms to integrate a future museum visit with the course. According to the syllabus, students in the class will be doing a reading reflection and analyzing artifacts in the museum. “I think it’s really hard to grasp that materiality of [certain things]
until you see the physical items,” Kahl said. She said that the museum’s partnerships with specific classes arise in two ways. Professors can approach the museum with ideas on a possible integration. Alternatively, Hart or Kahl read syllabi and propose ideas to different faculty members. “We talk about what objects we have and about pedagogy,” Kahl said. One of the most unexpected relationships in the past was working with an engineering class looking at comparative technologies from different cultures, Kahl said. Another interesting collaboration was with a psychology class that studied why humans believe what they believe, she added. Artifacts such as a mastodon molar and a bottle of horseradish that was recovered from a failed South Pole expedition were used as discussion points. Students can ask for any object to be brought out for viewing and can get involved in Hood Museum activities through campus engagement coordinator Isadora Italia. “Now [students] know they’re in a good space and they can really just come in and enjoy the art,” Kahl said. LaBarbiera is a member of The Dartmouth staff.
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THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST KATIE SHI ’21
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST EZGI OKUTAN ’22
My Mary Oliver
Let’s Talk ‘Bandersnatch’
Mary Oliver changed my life, and she’ll probably change yours, too.
The latest Black Mirror episode raises major questions about fate.
In the past, I had never considered myself do is walk around the woods and write poems. a “poetry person” — not because I disliked it, But I was very, very poor. And I ate a lot of but because I couldn’t seem to understand it. fish. I ate a lot of clams.” In her poetry and I could appreciate a poem only after several essays, Oliver reveals to us the life she had rereads, a critical analysis and perhaps some lived, and the life that she thought everyone outside research to catch any allusions I’d should live: one with patience, responsibility missed. I liked the work behind understanding and thoughtfulness. a poem, but there was never a point when my Oliver is a master of directives, and her enjoyment from poetry came naturally. poetry is at once luminous and didactic. In one Then I read Mary Oliver’s work for the first prose poem, she tells us, “If you suddenly and time. unexpectedly feel joy. don’t hesitate. Give into I don’t know how, but she seems to respond it . . . Joy is not made to be a crumb.” Humans perfectly to how I’m feeling — no matter where are insignificant in the face of nature. What I am — through her writing about the natural are we compared to the passing of seasons or world. With Oliver’s poetry, understanding the tip of a swan’s wing? Even so, the life we comes from the gut. She taught me how to live can be a wondrous thing, as long as we pay find beauty in the mundane, to find love in attention. simplicity. Every poem reads like a revelation. There exists a tradition of ownership from It seems this quality should be inherent in all one artist to another that began, unwittingly, poetry, but it holds particularly true for Oliver’s. with Emily Dickinson. “The look of the By writing so strictly and unabashedly about words as they lay in the print I shall never her personal relationship with nature without forget,” Dickinson wrote to her cousins after trying to be universal, she’d learned of George Oliver manages to do just Eliot’s death in the that. She connects her “She connects her newspaper. “Not their readers through a shared readers through a shared face in the casket could intimacy, freely given yet have had the eternity to intimacy, freely given yet me. Now, my George precious all the same. This subtle paradox precious all the same.” Eliot.” A century later, exists in more than one Susan Howe claimed aspect of Oliver’s writing. Dickinson as her own. She knew her words were merely a record of “Emily Dickinson is my emblematical Concord her observations, yet that knowledge makes the River,” she says in the introduction of her book tangibility of her writing all the more powerful. “My Emily Dickinson.” Echoing Dickinson and “Writing is neither vibrant life nor docile artifact Howe, Siri Hustvedt took ownership of the but a text that would put all its money on the artist Louise Bourgeois. In her essay, Hustvedt hope of suggestion,” she writes in her essay declares, “My Louise Bourgeois is not just what “Upstream.” “Come with me into the field of I make of her works . . . but rather the Louise sunflowers is a better line than anything you Bourgeois who is now part of my bodily self will find here, and the sunflowers themselves far in memory, both conscious and unconscious, more wonderful than any words about them.” who in turn has mutated into the forms of my Her poetry takes readers to the woods, to the own work.” sea, to foxes and turtles and herons. Her identity In this same tradition I now take ownership is nearly inseparable from her environment. of Mary Oliver, with one main difference. It Through her poetry, Oliver encourages isn’t that I’m just a student and not some great readers to join her in what she sees, touches artist, though that is true. It’s the impossibility of and tastes. But her appreciation for nature is claiming Oliver for my own. Yes, her philosophy never a romanticization. In a rare interview influenced how I look at the world; yes, her with Krista Tippett, Oliver says, “Somebody poetry changed my life. But she’s not just my once wrote about me and said I must have a Mary Oliver — she’s also yours, and yours, private grant or something, that all I seem to and yours.
Since it first dropped on Dec. 28, it The 50.2 percent who wanted to rule out the seems like everybody has been talking about agreement exercised their free will by refusing “Bandersnatch,” the interactive “Black terms that they found to be too forgiving, Mirror” episode that allows the audience to and directed the president toward efforts to control the main character Stefan’s actions establish a more feasible peace treaty. On the through mouse controls, which may in turn other hand, Santos’ peace agreement still lead to many possible endings. One of the resulted in a ceasefire, bringing some stability film’s most alluring allusions is the concept of to the region. Amidst all the conflicting forces free will and fate, as Stefan starts to question that affected the conflict, both the president whether his actions are controlled by some and the public were able to exercise their free upper force other than himself. In fact, in will to shape the course of the conflict. It’s one of the endings, Stefan, who himself also noteworthy that Santos was awarded a creates a multiple-choice interactive video Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. game, refers to his audience with a similar Another example would be Malala parallelism: “Now they get the illusion that Yousafzai, a Pakistani girl who advocates they have free will, but for women’s educational really, I decide the end.” rights and whose voice Producer Russel Mclean “History has shown only grew louder when the underscores, “That’s the again and again that Taliban shot her in the head. clever thing that Charlie’s Her war against inequality free will exists, and [the co-creator of Black started with BBC blog posts Mirror] done with this in bounds are bound to and a public talk titled the theme — what is free be broken.” “How dare the Taliban will? What is control? Who take away my basic right is in control? It’s all there to to education?” When outer be looked at and figured out.” forces, namely the Taliban, tried to put her Today, amidst our busy lives as students, in her place, her free will prevailed. Now, days seem to pass in between countless she owns the Malala Fund, which invests in tasks and assignments. I’ve heard the same girls’ education worldwide and supports local phrase from many of my friends: “I don’t activists. Furthermore, the organization not feel like I’m in control of my life.” Sure, only focuses on Pakistan, but it extends to maybe they weren’t referring to the presence India, Brazil, Nigeria, Syria and Afghanistan. of an almighty being like in the case of Now, Malala impacts the lives of many other “Bandersnatch,” but what they stressed was girls, including Huma, who dropped out of the importance of societal norms and status school when she was 12 as there weren’t any quo responsibilities in shaping their choices. middle schools for girls to go to. However, Sometimes, especially if I’m wrestling with the Malala Fund funded the construction of the work that is put on me, I feel as if I’m a new school in Huma’s village and allowed drifting apart while everything is already 1,000 girls to continue their education. So chosen for me: my education, the path I’m while the opponents of the free will theory expected to take, the challenges ahead of state that individuals don’t really have much me, the person I will marry and the legacy control over today’s world, Malala asserts, I will try to create — all of them already “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen bound by societal limits. can change the world.” I acknowledge that there The “Bandersnatch” are bounds being enforced “In brief, free will is episode raises great questions on my generation by many an empowering, as about the many powers forces such as family, greater than ourselves that educational institutions, well as a startling, shape our destiny, but these social media companies and idea — that we are two examples demonstrate governments, but ultimately just how much our actions powerful enough I also believe in the power of still matter. They matter free will. History has shown to change what we enough to change the again and again that free don’t like about the course of world events. will exists, and bounds are However, are these the only reality we’re in.” bound to be broken. two examples that show Let’s explore some of the the marvels of free will? greatest recent examples On the contrary, if people of free will. In 2016, Juan Manuel Santos look around themselves, they’ll see how signed a peace treaty to end an over others have been shaping their realities, at 50-year-old conflict with the guerilla rebel least to a local degree. Dartmouth students group FARC. Because of the decades-long can volunteer to help eliminate educational conflict, more than 260,000 people died, inequalities, tackle global warming, repair and many others either fled the country or homes and fight hunger. In brief, free will is were internally displaced. However, despite an empowering, as well as a startling, idea the toll, the Colombian public remained — that we are powerful enough to change polarized on the issue and rejected the peace what we don’t like about the reality we’re deal with a referendum. Though this may in. Stefan might be chained to the controls seem counterintuitive to my aim of proving of your mousepad, but you have your own that free will exists, it actually stresses the will — so why not take action and create the importance of the actions of the collective. change you want?
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019
PAGE 7
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST FRANCES MIZE ’22
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST EMORY HOLZER ’22
Monrovia Comes to Hanover
The Best a Man Can Get
Spending my Sunday afternoon in the Hop- about my own reasons, and the reasons of the kins Center for the Arts for a 2 1/2 hour long other audience members, for seeing the movie. documentary about a small town in Indiana There is the moment in a diner when three was a strange decision to make. I couldn’t quite aging men are talking about their respective pinpoint what compelled me to do it, and it felt health problems, with one describing his like everyone in the theater was wondering the struggles recovering after a difficult surgery. same about their fellow audience members: Laughter — assumedly at the trite nature of why and how did you end up here? About an their conversation, as can be expected of three hour into Frederick Wiseman’s “Monrovia, old men in a diner — followed. For me, this Indiana,” more than a few people had gotten reaction raised questions about the nature of up and left the theater — and the elephant in viewership. Wiseman’s films exist to give the the room seemed to grow larger. viewer as unadulterated a glimpse into the Frederick Wiseman is widely regarded as complexities of human life as art can allow. one of the greatest working filmmakers. His When they confront that reality and laugh, documentaries are devoted to the exploration viewers might not be doing their due diligence of American social instituas viewers of those lives. tions, from high schools to Did the audience really “Wiseman’s films exist hospitals, and are distincwant to learn about the tive in their lack of any kind to give the viewer place, or did viewers want of narrative or interview. as unadulterated their own notions of that He creates feature-length place confirmed? Durdocumentaries from what a glimpse into the ing moments in the film is sometimes over 100 complexities of human that they found them to hours of raw footage and be confirmed, was their no voice-over or graphics. life as art can allow.” laughter then one of Instead, Wiseman sees the pleased vindication? creation of a dramatic structure as a product Staying true to his intention to conduct of meticulous editing of that material. In an institutional study, Wiseman focuses a “Monrovia, Indiana,” Wiseman’s collected substantial amount of the film’s attention on material is centered on the daily life of the the industry of Monrovia. There is a sustained titular town. “scene” (but can such a narrative-centered Due to its long length and lack of narra- word be used in reference to a Wiseman docutive, Wiseman’s work, a collection of 45 films, mentary?) of a teenage girl making pizza at often spins into the obscurity of the arty, the delivery store. I had never thought about, niche-centric film world. However, “Monrovia, or thought to look at, the realities of someone Indiana” gained more traction than would be making delivery store pizza. The product expected of a Wiseman film. Its depiction of became humanized as I watched the human small town, rural America at a time when no processes that are required to create it. I had other American entity is so politicized and never really thought about what a veterinarian typified brought the movie to the attention does. Of course I could tell you what they do, of a new kind of audience. This time, those but I had never really envisioned it. Then we watching Wiseman’s movie had deeply rooted, watched as one gently cuts a dog’s tail off, in a preconceived notions of what Wiseman was moment that critic A.O. Scott describes as “a showing them. Rather than relating to the warning to anyone who would try to impose film on an experiential level, as one would a unifying interpretation on the film.” with a documentary about a high school, Wishing for a unifying interpretation, much of this movie’s audifilm critics like Richard ence met it with political Brody and Mike D’Angelo theory, assumption and, “During moments are disappointed by the in some cases, rage. Wise- in the film that they movie’s lack of judgment, man claims that his work and lamented the fact found them to be serves as “an exploration that Wiseman appeared of institutions,” and this confirmed, was their to avoid the political. was an institution that laughter then one of D’Angelo writes that “right people couldn’t stop talknow, even Frederick Wiseing about. A glimpse of it pleased vindication?” man shouldn’t get away was too hard to pass up. with an apolitical look Zipporah Films, the at small-town America,” exclusive distributors of Wiseman’s work, and Brody calls the movie “nothing less than describes “Monrovia, Indiana” as “a complex a work of mourning for the American soul.” and nuanced view of daily life in Monrovia But rather than learning about the people of and provides some understanding of a way of Monrovia, Indiana as statistics or through life whose influence and force have not always brief, politically oriented soundbites, Wiseman been recognized or understood in the big cities inserts viewers into their life — and does not on the east and west coasts of America and in spare any rote, monotonous and, in its own other countries.” The viewer was to watch this kind of Wisemanian way, intimate detail. This movie as a learner encountering something is a rare gift, and should be respected as such. they never could have known themselves. The question then remains: did we go into this Preconceived notions were supposed to be movie ready to learn what it had to teach us, undermined. So when I heard laughing from or did we let our expectations overpower what the audience, I started thinking more seriously we actually got?
Earlier this month, I received an email Gillette, who had little involvement with the from my mom instructing me to watch the movement, to gain recognition and sales by new Gillette commercial, which she declared associating itself with it now. “was so good it made me cry.” Despite her Ultimately, Gillette, a profit-motivated strong emotional response, my expectations corporation, published the ad campaign with were not particularly high — commercials the intention of increasing sales. However, are known to elicit tearful reactions from if the result is positive, does the intention my mother. But regardless, I clicked the ultimately matter? If more companies create link and watched the two-minute video. advertisements like these, holding men The seemingly well-meaning ad harkens accountable for their behavior, encouraging on bullying, the #MeToo movement, toxic men to act morally and exposing children to masculinity and violence against women to positive behaviors, maybe this world could be argue that the behavior of men must change. a little better. Maybe fewer children would The ad did not provoke the same emotional face cyberbullying. Maybe there would be response from me as it did for my mother, less sexual assault on college campuses. but it struck me as relevant and interesting. There are also those who argue that By the day’s end, though, the commercial corporations must only engage in charitable had left my thoughts. actions that pertain to their sector. Many A week later, the advertisement reappeared think Gillette’s engagement with #MeToo in my conscious, spurred by mounting in this advertisement is ingenuine, as the controversy surrounding Gillette and the movement has little to do with shaving. campaign. Like many public uproars today, Instead, they argue, Gillette should focus the response was swift and coordinated from its charitable efforts on causes more related both supporters and the opposition. Yet to their business. what makes this response different is that the This, though, could not be further grievances are not sorted into just two camps. from the truth. Gillette’s products relate The issues surrounding only to men’s grooming t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t , “But shaving, for in a literal sense. But much like those in the shaving, for many men, many men, represents campaign itself, are represents an evolution much more complex, an evolution into into adulthood, a bearing with multiple camps of adulthood, a bearing of of greater responsibility opposition that don’t fall and a higher moral code. into traditional partisan greater responsibility Gillette seemingly seeks lines. Conservatives and a higher moral code. to incentivize positive and liberals share in to accompany Gillette seemingly seeks behavior championing the ad as this evolution. Not only well as opposing it, albeit to incentivize positive does their commercial for different reasons. behavior to accompany attempt to change the Some argue that the behavior of men today, advertisement is unfair this evolution.” but it also drives positive to men. They claim the behavior in the men of campaign uses broad tomorrow. strokes to paint men in a harsh negative And finally, there are many who do support light. If Gillette’s goal is to increase sales, the campaign as an especially poignant and the opposition argues, why do they take such moving plea for changes in men’s behavior. an accusatory tone? Problems of bullying However, all of this controversy has clouded and harassment are not limited to just men. the intended message of the advertisement. Rather, many feel that these impact society The commercial encourages men to act as a whole. Some men felt attacked by the positively. The ad that made my mom cry advertisement, accused of behaviors in which doesn’t argue that all men are bad nor that they feel they do not engage. problems in society only exist because of However, the advertisement makes it men. clear that not all men engage in damaging Society should move past debating the behavior. In fact, the ad explicitly says “some merits and failures of the advertisement. men already are… act[ing] the right way.” With such outrage stemming from Further, although problems of damaging the advertisement — highlighted by behavior are not exclusive to men, Gillette overwhelming calls for a boycott and dislikes understands that its consumer base is men nearly doubling likes on YouTube — more — Gillette’s women’s shaving products are controversy will only hinder future advocacy. marketed separately through the Venus It will only ensure that fewer companies, brand. For Gillette, a razor and shaving fewer public figures and fewer politicians products company, to make a plea to women will take a stand against toxic masculinity. would defy reason and engrain the message Instead, this advertisement should be seen as as disingenuous. an opportunity to raise the next generation Many others claim that Gillette sought in a better light. The conversation around to profit off of the suffering of victims and Gillette’s advertisement should center around the arduous work of many women to bolster means to create change. “The boys watching the #MeToo movement. They argue that today will be the men of tomorrow,” and the motivation driving the commercial creating the change to build this tomorrow was purely profit, and it is insincere for starts today.
Viewership entails its own set of responsibilities.
Controversy swarms Gillette’s newest advertisement.
PAGE 8
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
Q&A: Jessica Hong, the new global contemporary art curator publics that were part of the museum. understand the Hood museum and As much as I love museums, they have its surrounding community. The Dartmouth Staff a complicated history. The history of This Saturday, the Hood museum the modern museum has strong ties How do you plan on reaching will finally reopen after being closed to colonialism, and especially in the out and engaging with the for extensive renovations, but the last few years, there has been a lot of community? modern architectural design isn’t the critical dialogue around institutional JH: It is really just a matter of going only thing that’s new. As part of the spaces. I think it is really important out and talking to as many people as I museum’s transition, the Hood has to have those discussions, and I can. I think that curators are no longer created the new position of Global think spaces like in these ivory towers. In my role as a Contemporary the Hood, which curator, one of my big responsibilities A r t C u r a t o r “As much as I love has such a long is to engage with the community t o p r o m o t e museums, they have standing and around me. I am not a singular entity. b r i n g i n g a really robust I am part of a larger community and t h o u g h t - a complicated history. e n c yc l o p e d i c am always collaborating with other provoking works The history of the c o l l e c t i o n , people and departments through my to campus. is really the work. My goal is to try and talk to as N e w c o m e r modern museum perfect place many people as possible and luckily, Jessica Hong has strong ties to to have those it’s a small enough community that discusses her role colonialism, and discussions. I feel like that task is a little more at the Hood and feasible compared to the larger cities how she hopes to especially in the last What kinds of I’ve worked in before. make an impact few years, there has dialogues are on campus. you hoping From your first impressions, been a lot of critical students will what is unique about the How d i d dialogue around engage with at Dartmouth community? Why you end up the Hood? did you decide to come work institutional spaces.” p u rs u i n g a JH: I think that at the Hood? career as an what is important JH: There were many reasons. First arts curator? a c r o s s t h e of all, this is a very exciting time to be -JESSICA HONG, GLOBAL JH: Spring board is making here. I joke that my career trajectory s e m e s t e r my CONTEMPORARY ART sure that both has always been one of transition, s o p h o m o r e CURATOR c o m m u n i t i e s because all of the spaces I’ve worked year at Barnard that h a v e at have been in sort of transition. For College, I was o n c e b e e n example, when I was at PS1, it was at debating between a language class marginalized and discourses that a time where they were in-between and an art history class to fulfill a have once been marginalized are art directors and had not officially requirement. I ended up taking the now being brought to the fore been incorporated into the Museum art history class, and it totally changed — not necessarily of Modern my life moving forward. What I really i n a d d i t i o n t o “I think I’m just drawn Art. I was at was struck by was that the arts are a kind of canon, the Whitney essentially a new way of looking at but rather seen as to spaces that are Museum of the world. I was drawn to how the arts equally important. undergoing transitions American are integrated into our broader social, For me, whenever I Ar t when and change because cultural and political spheres. It is not look at exhibitions they were relegated to a separate realm only for or collections or that is the most about to a certain kind of constituency. It has programming, I am exciting time to be move to their this power to bring people together always asking myself: downtown and to have these really difficult what is not being there.” s p a c e . discussions. I really saw the arts as shown? What is not And then this great vehicle to have those really being discussed? I moved to -JESSICA HONG, GLOBAL difficult dialogues and engagement. I think it’s really a sculpture My first experience with museums important for me CONTEMPORARY ART center in was when I interned for MoMA to understand the CURATOR Long Island PS1, and I thought the museum community here. I City that was space really brought in so many want to get a sense undergoing different publics. The programming of the different a big capital aspect was very exciting, especially groups and conversations that are campaign to expand their space as the discussions we were having already happening on campus well. After grad school, I ended up interdepartmentally and with visitors. and potentially expand on what is going to the Harvard Art Museums I thought that it was a great space to already being discussed or bring right before they reopened after have these engagements. I decided to in things that aren’t being tended a six-year hiatus for renovations. be an arts curator because I’d have a to. Right now, I am seeing my first After that, I went to the Institute of critical part in producing the spaces few weeks or even months here as Contemporary Art in Boston where for those kinds of dialogues through an exploratory process, because I there was an entirely new curatorial exhibitions and bringing in artists and want to make sure that I do get to team. So, I think I’m just drawn to promoting artists to engage with the know the community here and also spaces that are undergoing transitions
B y Elizabeth garrison
PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSICA HONG
Jessica Hong is the newest member of the Hood Museum’s curatorial staff.
and change because that is the most exciting time to be there. You can really help build it almost from the ground up. Granted, the Hood has such a great established and long history, but I think this juncture of expansion, renovation and openness is something that really drew me to the Hood specifically. Also, my position as global contemporary curator is new, and it was a really exciting prospect to fulfill this role that had never been inhabited before and helping shape what that role could look like in the future. It was a really exciting moment to be at the Hood. What is global contemporary art? JH: I feel like when people say “global,” they often think of it as anything that is non-western, which for me still creates these problematic segmentations and further establishes these arbitrary socio-geopolitical borders. “Global” is also usually associated with globalization. I think the big
markers are often cited as the Cold War or 1989, where there was this further expansion of “opening borders,” so to speak, and ... different geographies and cultures could intersect. This was the hope of globalization. “Global” has also exploded with the Internet age and the rise of new technologies. A lot of people talk about how the Inter net and new media technologies are supposed to bridge these connections between different people. Again, this is a hope, and as we’ve seen in recent years, it doesn’t necessarily work that way all the time. For me, the term “global contemporary” is undefinable and is a concept that I will continue to develop and evolve during my time here, but I do see it as one that is open, expansive, inclusive and evershifting. Again, through dialogue and discourse, defining that term is a collaborative process, and I can’t wait to do that here at Dartmouth. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.