VOL. CLXXV NO.10
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Sigma Phi Epsilon under membership review by national
SNOW HIGH 39 LOW 30
By ALEXA GREEN
The Dartmouth Senior Staff
THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
OPINION
MAGANN: SAFETY UNDER THE LAW PAGE 4
VERBUM ULTIMUM: BEYOND TONIGHT PAGE 4
ARTS
YO-YO MA, SILKROAD ENSEMBLE EXCITE SOLDOUT CROWD AT HOP PAGE 7
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity has been suspended by its national organization pending a review.
SPORTS
PAGE 8
FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2016 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.
SEE SIG EP PAGE 3
Acceptance rate hits a record-low 8.7 percent
B y RACHEL PAKIANATHAN The Dartmouth Staff
Dartmouth offered 1,925 students admission to the Class of 2022, accepting a record-low 8.7 percent of the 22,033 students who applied this cycle. The Class of 2022 represents the lowest number of accepted students Dartmouth has seen since the early 1990s, selected from the largest applicant pool of the last five years. The acceptance rate fell from last year’s 10.4 percent
for the Class of 2021 and beat the previous record-low of 9.8 percent for the Class of 2016. Vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid Lee Coffin said the low acceptance rate was due in part to the increase in applicants and to accommodate expectations of a high yield rate. “Every year is predicated on how many applications we receive, and the 10 percent increase from last year to this year set the story in motion,” Coffin said. “Quite literally, 2,000
more people applied.” He added that he expects the yield rate for the Class of 2022 to be similar to the record-high 60 percent yield rate for the Class of 2021. “There was consistency between the Class of 2021 and the Class of 2022 in ter ms of how we recruited, where we went, how we read [applications] and how the committee process played out,” Coffin said. “I’m pretty confident that last year as a starting point makes sense.”
Among accepted students, 97 percent are in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and mean SAT and ACT scores are 1497 and 33, respectively. Fifteen percent of the admitted students are first-generation college students, 11 percent are foreign citizens and nine percent are the children of alumni. Half of the accepted U.S. citizens and permanent residents identify as persons of color. More SEE ADMISSIONS PAGE 5
After short tenure, Title IX coordinator steps down B y GIGI GRIGORIAN The Dartmouth Staff
ONE ON ONE WITH IAN KELSEY ’18
The National Board of Directors of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity voted on March 26 to conduct a membership review of the New Hampshire Alpha chapter, located at Dartmouth. Pending the results of the membership review, all undergraduate members of the chapter have been suspended by the national organization, as has the chapter’s charter, according to an email sent on March 27 by chapter services director Paul Andersen to members of NH Alpha. In response, over 200 Dartmouth Sig Ep alumni have signed a letter sent to the New Hampshire Alpha Alumni and Volunteer
Allison O’Connell stepped down today as the College’s Title IX coordinator and Clery Act compliance officer. Kristi Clemens, assistant dean of student affairs and director of case management, will serve as the interim Title IX coordinator spring term while a search takes place for a permanent replacement. O’Connell’s departure marks the end of a relatively short tenure. O’Connell came to the College in September 2016 as
the Title IX program coordinator. In April 2017, she became interim Title IX coordinator while previous coordinator Heather Lindkvist took a medical leave. She officially became the Title IX coordinate and Clery Act compliance officer in August 2017. O’Connell is stepping down to move to Washington with her partner, who is currently a fourthyear medical student at the Geisel School of Medicine. Her partner was matched last month with a residency in internal medicine at the University of Washington Medical Center, O’Connell said.
“[O’Connell] will be sorely missed,” Title IX program coordinator Mary Lamar Nicholas said. “She has really created so many partnerships across campus and I think that has been vital to the office working well with community members. She has brought heart and empathy to the work in what can be a very difficult job.” While working as the College’s Title IX coordinator, O’Connell said she had two priorities: partnering with campus and community resources and bolstering the Title IX office’s responsiveness to reports it receives.
She said she believed that partnering with other resources such as WISE, the Student Wellness Center and the Office of Residential Life would help her office better serve the College community. O’Connell also worked to improve the Title IX office’s accessibility for both reporting and responding parties, she said. “I knew I wanted to both be responsive and be perceived as responsive,” O’Connell said. “It takes work to build that kind of trust.” According to O’Connell, there has SEE TITLE IX PAGE 5
PAGE 2
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018
DartHub to replace BannerStudent
Authors dispute Trump’s interpretation of Dartmouth study
The Dartmouth Staff
The Dartmouth Staff
on campus from members of the community to the College administration. Cavallaro’s team On April 16, Banner Student was then approached by a group will undergo its first update in a of Dartmouth computer science series of upcoming changes. Banner, students who had the same goal. the College’s student information At the time, Cavallaro said that system, will be renamed DartHub it would be difficult to implement and have a redesigned home page changes to Banner, given its that gives students the option to framework. Roughly six months customize features. After this initial after the initial suggestions for remodel, the College will continue change were made, however, the to redesign the rest of the Banner Banner vendor released a software system. update that allowed the College to DartHub will be customized redesign the system, Cavallaro said. based on the school a student attends “It was perfect timing for what — the College of Arts and Sciences our students were telling us,” he said. or one of Dartmouth’s graduate “This allowed us to spin off a project schools — and include the links that to start addressing the needs.” any given student likely uses most, Even after the launch on April according to student and academic 16, ITC will be seeking student systems director Samuel Cavallaro. feedback, according to College vice A series of guiding videos will president and chief information also be included officer Mitch i n D a r t H u b ’s Davis. launch t o “Banner was “This is only the introduce students implemented at first stage,” Davis to the new design said. “We want a n d f e a t u r e s , Dartmouth in the to know, ‘Is this a c c o r d i n g t o nineties and was the right path?’ If Cavallaro. it isn’t, we hope way overdue to be “Banner was students will give implemented at upgraded.” us some feedback.” Dartmouth in the He added that nineties and was feedback can be -SAMUEL CAVALLARO, way overdue to be given through a upgraded,” said STUDENT AND tab on DartHub or Cavallaro. directly through ACADEMIC SYSTEMS He added emails to Davis or that Dartmouth DIRECTOR the ITC team. Information, Sharidan Russell Technology and ’18 said she had Consulting wanted to provide a seen the publicity for the launch and more modern and usable user hopes the update includes a betterinterface with the update, in addition looking interface, as the current one to incorporating student feedback. seems “outdated.” After seeing the Implemented suggestions include promotional DartHub video, she a calendar feature that can set said it delivers. reminders and the ability to access “I really like the way it’s students’ discretionary spending organized,” Russell said. “It seems fund information on the site. ... easier to navigate and much more Cavallaro said that student input user-friendly. It went beyond what I was key to the upgrade and was was thinking.” sought at every stage of the process. Armando Pulido ’19 said he is fine Once initial versions of DartHub with the current Banner homepage had been created based on student- and does not have any particular created mock-ups, other students hopes for the update. After seeing from all Dartmouth schools were the DartHub video, he identified asked to react and give feedback. trade-offs in the new design. The feedback process shaped “I like that everything’s in one DartHub into the version that will place,” he said. “I think if they’re be released on April 16, according going for simplicity, though, it’s to Cavallaro. a downgrade. I do think it makes In fact, Cavallaro said the task things more accessible, as long as to update Banner began 18 months people know how to use it.” ago when it was suggested by ITC will upgrade Banner Student “Improve Dartmouth,” a student between April 14 at 7a.m. and April group that funnels ideas for change 16 at 8a.m.
B y EILEEN BRADY
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
tracing drug routes was not the primary purpose of the HotSpot study, explaining that the report is During a visit to New Hampshire “not the data source” to answer a on March 16, President Donald question about trafficking. Trump linked sanctuary cities The study was commissioned with the opioid epidemic, citing by the National Institute on Drug a Dartmouth study in which Abuse of the National Institutes sanctuary cities Lawrence and of Health, according to Marsch. It Lowell, Massachusetts surfaced as aimed to explain what has made New local fentanyl distribution centers. Hampshire especially vulnerable to However, Dartmouth researchers, the opioid crisis and understand mayors of sanctuary cities and “the experience of people living in local health center workers alike the crisis of the opioid addiction,” have rejected Marsch said. The this connection. “There are drugs study involved inIn a statement depth interviews all over the entire on March 31, with opioid users, Tr u m p s a i d country. We are one first responders s a n c t u a r y of the hotspots in and stakeholders cities “release across New thousands of this country, but Hampshire. d a n g e r o u s this country has Marsch also c r i m i n a l explained that any a lot of pockets aliens into our local distribution c o m mu n i t i e s, around the whole hub is a small including drug nation that have piece in a complex traffickers, drug trafficking route, d e a l e r s a n d opioid crises.” adding that there vicious gang is evidence that members,” many opioids -CHERYL BARTLETT, and blamed originate in China, sanctuary laws CHIEF EXECUTIVE later traveling f o r a l l o w i n g OFFICER OF THE through Mexico. drug cartels Coming to the to “transfor m GREATER NEW United States, sanctuary cities BEDFORD COMMUNITY there is then a l i k e D e nv e r, “sophisticated L o s A n g e l e s, HEALTH CENTER extension network Chicago and of entry [as well New Yo r k as] distribution,” into major explained Marsch. distribution Gover nment c e n t e r s. ” H e professor Brendan also called on Congress to cut off Nyhan said Trump’s statement funding for sanctuary cities. connecting sanctuary cities and Trump cited the College the opioid epidemic “provides study entitled “HotSpot Report: a symbolic way to acknowledge Understanding Opioid Overdoses the opioid crisis, while promoting in New Hampshire” in his speech, p o l i c i e s h e w o u l d s u p p o r t noting that users participating in regardless.” the study most commonly cited Nyhan added Trump has “been Lawrence as a local distribution hub engaged for a long time in a for opioids, specifically fentanyl. campaign to convince people Lisa Marsch, director of the that immigration is an important Dartmouth Center for Technology cause of violent crime.” Trump and Behavioral Health and a took the opportunity to continue researcher on the HotSpot report, this rhetoric in connection with said that Lawrence is just one of opioids — an issue he has been many cities mentioned in the study. under pressure to respond to. She said that based on qualitative Cheryl Bartlett, chief executive interview data obtained in the study, officer of the Greater New Bedford Lawrence did surface as a location Community Health Center and of regional distribution, but Marsch former Commissioner of Public stressed that Lawrence should not Health in Massachusetts, also took be singled out. issue with Trump’s connection “There are drugs all over the between sanctuary cities and the entire country,” Marsch said. “We opioid crisis. are one of the hotspots in this “[Opioids are] a public health country, but this country has a lot problem across the nation, and to of pockets around the whole nation blame New Hampshire sanctuary that have had opioid crises.” cities seems a little bit shortMarsch also emphasized that sighted,” Bartlett said. “Drugs seem
B y Abby mihaly
to be able to get around pretty easily everywhere.” During his visit to New Hampshire last month, Trump also unveiled his plan to tackle the opioid crisis, emphasizing it was time to “get tough” on drug dealers and manufacturers, specifically mentioning harsh sentences including the death penalty. Professor of psychological and brain sciences Kyle Smith expressed his concerns regarding Trump’s focus on criminal punishment, and apparent failure to consider prevention measures such as drug education. “You can crack down on [the drug market] and reduce it, but it’s going to pop up in other forms, [through] different drugs or spots,” Smith said. “You’re never going to obliterate the America of drugs.” Bartlett said that Trump’s tough law-enforcement based response to opioids reflects a general tendency in the United States to treat a patient rather than prevent illnesses. “We tend to pay for sick care,” Bartlett said. “We wait until people get really sick, versus focusing on health care wellness early on.” She said she believes we should be spending more resources on early intervention and education in schools in order to prevent later drug use and addiction. Bartlett also said the Nixon years taught policy makers that the government’s heavy focus on public safety and law enforcement did not work. “I think we’ve learned over and over again, scare tactics … have not changed public health conditions” Bartlett said. Rather than just law and order tactics, Marsch stressed a need for a “multi-pronged” approach to the opioid crisis, from prevention to treatment. She says many working on the issue, including herself, worry there have not been sufficient resources allocated to the “full spectrum” of necessary solutions. Marsch did say, however, that the recent budget passed by Congress allocates new funds to research in the field, saying the applications of scientific knowledge are vital to solving the opioid epidemic. Smith also stressed the importance of allocating funds for proper opioid-related medical treatment and preventative education, an area he says is widely recognized as underfunded, especially in New Hampshire. “Treatment isn’t locking people up,” Smith said. “You can do it if you like, but that doesn’t address the drug problem.”
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018
PAGE 3
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
O’Connell steps down as Over 200 Sigma Phi Epsilon alumni Title IX Coordinator voice opposition to national policy FROM TITLE IX PAGE 1
been an increase in the number of individuals accessing the Title IX office “in the way that they want and making choices that are best for them.” She has also noticed an increase in individuals utilizing the office’s resources, including housing and academic accommodations, she said. O’Connell added that she finds this trend “encouraging” because it means that more people are willing to turn to campus resources when they need help. Kotz wrote that the increase in individuals accessing the office is an “indication of the valuable work [O’Connell] and her team have done in supporting those who approach her office.” Prior to arriving at Dartmouth, O’Connell worked as an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, which had similar components to her work in the Title IX office, she said. “I was assisting people in navigating systems at difficult times in their lives [as a prosecutor],” she said. “That’s really consistent with what I do here, and I probably will be looking for something like that in the future.” While she has not yet determined her future employment after leaving Dartmouth, O’Connell said she expects to continue working in higher education or in a public service field. Interim provost David Kotz ’86 wrote in an email statement that appointing Clemens as the interim
Title IX coordinator “ensures ... a seamless transition and no interruption in service.” In her eight years at the College, Clemens said she has collaborated closely with O’Connell to support both reporting and responding undergraduate students working with the Title IX office. Clemens was also a deputy Title IX coordinator at the College during O’Connell’s tenure. In her current position working with the Office of Student Affairs, Clemens noted that she has formed relationships with people “on all sides of the Green,” including faculty, administrators and students. She added that she also has experience working with students “in tricky situations.” These qualities will serve her and the Title IX office well when she is interim Title IX coordinator, Clemens said. “I think the office is working well, and I just hope to continue the good work and support all the folks [who] have been doing that work for some time,” Clemens said. Kotz wrote that the College is currently interviewing candidates fo r O ’ C o n n e l l ’s p e r m a n e n t replacement. According to Clemens, she is a candidate for the permanent position of Title IX coordinator as part of the College’s national search for a replacement for O’Connell. Kotz also noted that the College is “laying plans to expand the staff in the Title IX office in recognition of its important work and increased workload.”
FROM SIG EP PAGE 1
Corporation Board of Trustees, which provides oversight of the chapter’s facility and finances. The letter opposed the membership review and the imposition of a national substance-free policy, as well as the AVC Board’s failure to solicit input from the alumni body at large. As part of the National Board’s membership review, brothers of Dartmouth Sig Ep filled out a questionnaire and provided information regarding their finances, their academic transcript and their College “conduct” records. In addition, a membership review board comprised of Sig Ep alumni, volunteers and Headquarters staff members will conduct an interview with each individual member to “identify chapter members who are committed to living up to Sig Ep’s values.” Andersen wrote that members who are not invited to return to the fraternity following the interview process will either be suspended for a particular period of time, suspended upon condition or expelled permanently. According to his email, Dartmouth Sig Ep members who did not submit the questionnaire to participate in the interviews will automatically remain suspended from the chapter and “will in no way associate with the New Hampshire Alpha chapter moving forward,” though they may also choose to resign. Upon graduation, suspended members will earn alumni status, according to Andersen’s email. The decision comes after concerns from the national board over the chapter’s ability to comply with substance-free regulations, which were passed in August 2017 at a national Sig Ep conference. C o n c e r n s we re r a i s e d i n February at a leadership conference organized by Sig Ep National. At the conference, the National Board of Directors was apprehensive about the chapter’s ability to comply with the organization’s new substancefree regulations, according to a letter from Dartmouth Sig Ep president alumnus David Herrera ’18 sent to the chapter’s alumni. The Board asked members present to draft an implementation plan to address these concerns, according to Herrera’s letter. Five Dartmouth undergraduates we re i n at t e n d a n c e at t h e conference and were funded by the Alumni Volunteer Corporation, a n i n d e p e n d e n t , n o n - p ro f i t corporation which mentors Sig Ep undergraduates and alumni in addition to managing assets and
operations, AVC president JohnDavid “JD” Optekar ’91Th’92 said. The Dartmouth chapter presented an initial plan to the Board, which claimed that the plan did not meet National standards because it lacked accountability, Optekar said. On March 26, National voted to temporarily suspend Dartmouth Sig Ep and conduct a membership review, citing multiple risk management violations, failure to live up to expectations and failure to make changes, according to Andersen’s email. “Sigma Phi Epsilon and its 14,000 undergraduates members are united by our common values. When a member or a chapter fails to act in accordance with these values they must be held accountable,” wrote Sig Ep National’s strategic communications director Andrew Parrish in an email statement to The Dartmouth. “Greek life today needs to change,” he wrote. Interviews with individual members of the fraternity will be held on April 13 and 14, according to Andersen’s email. Herrera’s letter encourages alumni to email Optekar and ask him to cease Dartmouth Sig Ep’s membership review, as well as to email former presidents to discuss the situation and advocate for the chapter’s disaffiliation from Sig Ep National. Herrera cited 12 risk management incidents at the chapter over the past four years as one of Sig Ep National’s justifications for the membership review, but added that “many were taken out of context or out of our control.” He disputed the significance of these incidents, citing as examples an incident when a guest stood on a table without permission and fell off, as well as another incident involving an “unregistered party” when football players and their friends showed up unannounced. “We feel that conducting a membership review will not help us improve, but will rather decimate the house and dismantle the chapter we have all enjoyed participating in,” Herrera wrote in his letter. For mer Dartmouth Sig Ep presidents Eli Derrow ’15, Joseph Clyne ’16, Ellis Guo ’17 and Herrera sent an additional letter to Dartmouth Sig Ep alumni relaying chapter members’ accomplishments since 2014, as well as their leadership and involvement with the College in an effort to demonstrate the “strong brotherhood ... diversity and depth” of the fraternity. “While [the substance-free
policy’s] aim is admirable, it is not suited to the realities and needs of Sig Ep NH Alpha,” the Dartmouth Sig Ep alumni letter stated. “We feel that this shortsighted, naïve policy represents an ineffective approach to mitigating the risks alcohol poses.” In an April 2 email to Dartmouth Sig Ep alumni, AVC vice president of facilities Herb Philpott ’85 said the new substance-free policies aim to implement a model similar to Dartmouth’s Living Learning Communities, featuring a live-in advisor, encouraging strong faculty engagement and disassociating from drinking clubs. The signatories of the Dartmouth Sig Ep alumni letter also supported the undergraduates’ considerations regarding potential disaffiliation from the National fraternity and requested a postponement of the review process. However, the members of the College’s chapter were required to submit their information for review by April 3, multiple sources familiar with the situation said on background. According to Optekar, “going local” is not an option since the chapter is currently on alcohol probation by the College. College spokesperson Diana Lawrence wrote in an email statement that “only organizations in good standing can pursue going local.” After the probation period is over, the fraternity will continue to maintain its suspended status with the national organization, according to Optekar. Philpott’s email stated that since Moving Dartmouth Forward, the College’s administration has had a policy of not recognizing new Greek organizations, especially those with the intention of “avoid[ing] the authority of a National organization.” Lawrence wrote that the College does not have a moratorium on new Greek-letter organizations. Additionally, Philpott’s email pointed out that Sig Ep’s house at 11 Webster Ave. was funded and built in 2011 for a chapter of the Sig Ep fraternity. Lawrence said the College was informed of National’s decision to review its members; however, she wrote in a separate email statement “the College has no role in the process and it is not connected to any internal College processes.” Director of Greek Life Brian Joyce declined to comment, as did multiple Sig Ep affiliates. In his email, Herrera estimated that 60 to 90 percent of the house’s membership could be expelled, based on previous reviews of other Sig Ep chapters across the country.
PAGE 4
STAFF COLUMNIST MATTHEW MAGANN ‘21
THE DARTMOUTH EDITORIAL BOARD VERBUM ULTIMUM
Safety Under the Law
Beyond Tonight
Opposing the 2nd Amendment undermines gun control. For decades, the National Rifle Association has advanced a slippery-slope argument. Give an inch on gun policy, the rhetoric goes, and gun control advocates will take a mile. In 1994, then-NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre termed waiting periods on gun purchases “just one more step in the march toward national disarmament.” The NRA similarly denounces most firearm regulation as part of a broader plan to eliminate Second Amendment rights. That argument is both deceptive and untrue. Far from a conspiracy to seize Americans’ guns, sensible gun restrictions are a widely-supported public safety measure. Reasonable gun reforms do not threaten the right to bear arms. Recent activism in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland, Florida does not target the Second Amendment; it targets military-grade weapons and the ease with which dangerous individuals can obtain them. The movement’s goals in no way threaten the right to own guns. They merely demarcate certain particularly-dangerous weapons as out of bounds, something which, so long as the fundamental components of the right to bear arms remain intact, courts have repeatedly ruled does not violate the Second Amendment. Opposing a few particularly-dangerous varieties of firearm does not make one anti-gun or anti-Second Amendment. Many Americans understand this: a Quinnipiac University poll from last month found that two thirds of respondents support a ban on assault weapons. Gun control advocates must stand up to the NRA, which has consistently mischaracterized them as against opponents of all gun ownership. They must continue to push their principled, common-sense opposition to America’s flawed gun regulations. Last week, however, former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens did the exact opposite. In a New York Times op-ed, he proposed the repeal of the Second Amendment. Without going into much detail, Stevens urged that protesters go beyond semiautomatic weapons bans and universal background checks and instead take on the Second Amendment. I can hardly think of a better way to torpedo gun control. Justice Stevens’ article brought the NRA’s strawman gun-control advocate to life. Stevens treated the repeal of the Second Amendment as the ideal end-goal of gun regulation, with
moderate restrictions merely a compromise. His position fit perfectly with the NRA’s caricature of gun control. Pundits immediately seized on the justice’s op-ed as an example of the gun control movement’s true intentions. Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg, writing in the New York Post, described the piece as proof of what he termed the “reasonable and commonsense suspicion that the real goal [of gun regulation] is to do away with most or all gun rights entirely.” In a Townhall article titled “Yes, They are Coming for Your Guns,” contributor Bruce Bialosky again invoked the specter of an anti-gun conspiracy. He dismissed limited firearms regulation as an attempt to “hide [gun control advocates’] existential goal,” then claimed that “the lid was blown off that charade” by Justice Stevens’ op-ed. Of course, for many gun safety proponents defending the Second Amendment is not a charade. Though a majority of Americans favor stricter gun laws, just 21 percent support the repeal of the Second Amendment. That statistic alone shows that Stevens is not representative of guncontrol supporters. Most proponents of stricter gun laws do not want to take away Americans’ right to bear arms. Many of them are gun owners themselves. Stevens’ op-ed gave a false and dangerous impression of gun control. Arguments like the one made by Justice Stevens feed directly into NRA propaganda, recklessly endangering the movement built up in the wake of Parkland. Advocates for gun reform should give Justice Stevens and his position a wide berth. Even if his point had merit, an attempt to repea l would be futile and politically infeasible. Those bearing true concerns ought not to waste their voice and efforts on unproductive arguments. Thankfully, Justice Stevens does not speak for gun reform advocates. Parkland students, March for Our Lives organizers and others do not intend to repeal the Second Amendment or infringe on Americans’ gun rights. Instead, they ask for simple, common-sense measures –– like universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons –– to reduce the risk of another mass shooting. Responsible gun owners have a place in this movement. Despite what Justice Stevens and the NRA claim, pushing for gun control reforms is not an extreme endeavor to erode constitutional rights. Rather, it is a reasonable, widely-supported movement to end unnecessary violence.
6175 ROBINSON HALL, HANOVER N.H. 03755 • (603) 646-2600
ZACHARY BENJAMIN, Editor-in-Chief IOANA SOLOMON, Executive Editor ALEXA GREEN, Managing Editor PRODUCTION EDITORS MATT BROWN & LUCY LI, Opinion Editors MARIE-CAPUCINE PINEAU-VALENCIENNE & CAROLYN ZHOU Mirror Editors MARK CUI & SAMANTHA HUSSEY, Sports Editors BETTY KIM & EVAN MORGAN, Arts Editors MARGUERITE IREFIN & ALEXA TUCKER, Dartbeat Editors DIVYA KOPALLE & MICHAEL LIN, Photo Editors
HANTING GUO, Publisher AMANDA ZHOU, Executive Editor SONIA QIN, Managing Editor BUSINESS DIRECTORS BRIAN SCHOENFELD & HEEJU KIM, Advertising Directors SARAH KOVAN, Marketing & Communications Director CHRISTINA WULFF, Marketing & Communications Director VINAY REDDY, Assistant Marketing & Communications Director BRIAN CHEKAL & CAYLA PLOTCH, Product Development Directors BHARATH KATRAGADDA, Strategy Director YEONJAE PARK, Technology Director
JESSICA CAMPANILE, Multimedia Editor SAMANTHA BURACK, Design Editors JACLYN EAGLE, Templating Editor
ISSUE
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
LAYOUT: Gabriel Onate
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 Dartmouth community cannot continue to abdicate its values. Tonight, the streets of Dartmouth’s campus will be uncharacteristically quiet. The throngs of students that normally populate Webster Avenue and Wheelock Street will be absent. Instead, various social spaces will hold public and private conversations on their complicity in and perpetuation of a perennial outrage at the College as well as universities across the country: sexual violence and assault. This reckoning is long overdue and all too necessary. Pledges to curtail and prevent sexual violence must not be confined to the month of April. To have any chance of success, Dartmouth must be sincere and relentless in the reformation of its social spaces. As the Dartmouth community acknowledges its historical perpetuation of toxic social spaces, it is worth remembering why these spaces exist in the first place. Such introspection is necessary for designing and working toward a safer, healthier social environment for all: one free of violence and abuse, one in which no one is endangered while searching for community. That closing social spaces serves as a statement at all is evidence of the high value that the Dartmouth community places on them. It also reveals why such spaces are created and endure, and why students are so insistent on reforming systems rife with entrenched challenges: many community members seriously value and enjoy the fellowship and entertainment that social spaces bring. Dartmouth, like most college campuses, is a hotbed of social activity. Unlike most universities, however, the majority of Dartmouth’s social life is institutionalized. Organizations such as the Greek system and the housing system, as well as various programming clubs and teams are responsible for facilitating the vast majority of interactions on a disproportionately small, social campus. Each of these organizations embrace the broader values that Dartmouth promotes. Fellowship, realizing a shared identity and the upholding of tradition are cornerstones of life at Dartmouth. Students and student groups regularly aspire to and exemplify these ideals well. When it comes to issues of sexual violence and assault, however, the community has a disappointing track record of adhering to the ideals it ostensibly advances. When the community fails to properly center victims of assault and sexual violence, students marginalize their most vulnerable in times of need. When community members fail to hold perpetrators of sexual violence accountable, they poison the spaces they hold dear with moral and legal transgressions unbecoming of the College, or any upstanding collective. Dartmouth must do better, principally for the sake of its survivors, but also for the integrity of its social and moral fabric. Acknowledging this history is an important first step in redressing old shortcomings. The present reality of the situation must also be understood if strategies for successfully combatting sexual violence and assault at the College are to be achieved. According to the College’s 2017 Sexual Misconduct Survey, 34.1 percent of women, 26.3 percent
of transgender and gender non-confirming individuals and 6.9 percent of men among the undergraduate population have been sexually assaulted in a manner involving physical force or incapacitation. The same study also found that 32 percent of all respondents who have experienced sexual assault met their perpetrator at a party. These statistics represent current Dartmouth students and are indicative of the present crisis campus is experiencing. It is in the interest of every social space on campus to curb incidents of sexual assault and assist in constructing a campus culture that does not tolerate violence in any form. It is encouraging that the campus response to the call to action issued this past Sunday has been positive. Greek organizations, senior societies and College-affiliated programs have issued statements of support for the stance. That said, campus organizations must not be timid in their affirmations, lest they risk cheapening their statements to mere platitudes. It is also important to explicitly state the burden of action on social spaces at the College. Greek organizations, as the dominant facilitators of social life at Dartmouth, hold an outsized responsibility in combatting sexual violence at the College. Organizations should be uncompromising with their membership on this topic, holding their members to high standards for training and education regarding sexual violence, and removing members who commit or facilitate such acts immediately. In the past, Greek organizations have been both commended and criticized while working with the Office of Greek Life and participating in initiatives within the College to find solutions to these issues. Going forward, there is room for improvement in streamlining disciplinary processes and programs. More broadly, Dartmouth organizations must be innovative in reshaping how students at the College socialize. Studies show that the presence or involvement of alcohol increases the risk of sexual assault or violence occurring. This finding was included as a reason for the banning of hard alcohol as part of the Moving Dartmouth Forward Initiative. Decentering the role of alcohol in Dartmouth related relaxation and recreation may be integral to curbing sexual assault and violence at Dartmouth. Eventually, the mild inconvenience felt by some on the Night of Solidarity will fade. Dartmouth students will again revel and enjoy the social spaces they hold dear. Whether the same energy, observance and compassion exhibited on Friday will continue into the future remains an open question. If Dartmouth is to hold fast to its values, if its social spaces are to become the best, most inclusive and upstanding versions possible, sexual violence and assault must be wiped from the community. Dartmouth is better than this, and is also capable of overcoming its challenges. Nothing less than the community’s collective honor and values are at stake should it fail. The editorial board consists of opinion staff columnists, the opinion editors, both executive editors and the editor-in-chief.
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018
PAGE 5
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Class of 2022 sees lowest admissions rate in College history he said. “Colleges like Dartmouth need to be present in parts of than 60 percent of admitted the world where familiarity with students applied a residential for need-based liberal arts “We spent the last financial aid. experience is These statistics 18 months stretching not a norm.” are similar to the beyond Dartmouth’s T h e ones seen last year impact of the for the Class of normal recruitment international 2021. recruitment footprints.” According efforts can be to the College, seen in the t h e C l a s s o f -LEE COFFIN, VICE increase in 2022 comprises PROVOST FOR applications students from from countries a l l 5 0 s t a t e s , ENROLLMENT AND DEAN such as Brazil, W a s h i n g t o n , OF ADMISSIONS AND Coffin said. D.C., American “ I t FINANCIAL AID Samoa, Guam, was exciting Puerto Rico and seeing growth the Mariana in all the I s l a n d s . places we were Inter nationally, hoping to see 65 countries are represented, with more traction for Dartmouth,” the most students hailing from Coffin said. “What we’re seeing Brazil, Canada, China, India and is this connection between the the United Kingdom. College and our applicants, and Coffin added that the College more clarity about what it is that has expanded last year’s focused we represent.” effort to increase the institution’s Arya Kadakia ’22 from Mumbai, presence abroad during this India said he liked Dartmouth admissions cycle. because he felt the school would “We spent the last 18 months challenge him to grow as a person stretching beyond Dartmouth’s and as a student in an environment normal recruitment footprints,” different from his current high FROM ADMISSIONS PAGE 1
school in Mumbai. “[Dartmouth] offer[s] me more than just academics, which I’ve always been focused on,” Kadakia said. “It offer[s] me the chance to grow in the intimate environment of a liberal arts college, which is quite different from my high school.” Living closer to the College, Jasper Meyer ’22 from Lyme, New Hampshire, who currently attends Hanover High School, said that although he has always been familiar with Dartmouth as a school, he is most excited for the opportunity to meet his future classmates. “Even though I’m not moving very far, I’m excited to meet and interact with the different perspectives of my future class and classmates, a diverse subset of all 50 states and several countries,” Meyer said. A m o n g t h e I v y L e a g u e, Dartmouth’s acceptance rate is the second highest. Six other schools in the Ivy League also saw record-low acceptance rates this year. Rounded to the tenth, B ro w n U n i ve r s i t y a c c e p t e d 7.2 percent of its applicants, Columbia University admitted 5.5 percent, Cornell University admitted 10.3 percent, Harvard
University accepted 4.6 percent, Princeton University accepted 5.5 percent and the University of Pennsylvania admitted 8.4 percent. Yale University admitted 6.3 percent of its applicants — while not a record-low, this rate is lower than what Yale saw last year. Coffin said that other schools
in the Ivy League are also making efforts to increase their outreach. “The trend lines are shared,” Coffin said. “We’re not alone in seeing growth and selectivity tighten. The other [Ivy League institutions], like Dartmouth, are present in new and emerging parts of the world, telling our stories and inviting students to consider us.”
NATALIE DAMERON/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
A banner welcoming the incoming class was put out on McNutt Hall
PAGE 6
DARTMOUTHEVENTS TODAY
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
FOR THE BIRDS
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018
SUNJU LEE ’18
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Conference: Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Conference, sponsored by Dartmouth Entrepenurial Network and Borealis Ventures, Hanover Inn
8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Open Mic with assistant professor of performing and media arts and latina/o studies at Cornell University Karen Jaime, Occom Commons
9:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Public Astronomical Observing, sponsored by Physics and Astronomy Department, Shattuck Observatory
TOMORROW
9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Conference: “Multi-College Divestment Conference,” with Collis Governing Board, Moore B03
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Film: “BPM (Beats Per Minute),” presented by Hopkins Center for the Arts, Loew Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts
9:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Film: “International Ocean Film Tour,” presented by Hopkins Center for the Arts, Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts
ADVERTISING For advertising information, please call (603) 646-2600 or email info@thedartmouth. com. The advertising deadline is noon, two days before publication. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Opinions expressed in advertisements do not necessarily reflect those of The Dartmouth, Inc. or its officers, employees and agents. The Dartmouth, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation chartered in the state of New Hampshire. USPS 148-540 ISSN 01999931
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018
PAGE 7
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
Yo-Yo Ma, Silkroad Ensemble excite sold-out crowd at Hop By BETTY KIM and EVAN MORGAN The Dartmouth Senior Staff
The Silkroad Ensemble was at its best during the encore of its perfor mance last night at Spaulding Auditorium. Opening with a fiery solo from pipa player Wu Man, the piece turned into a rollicking caper which used every instrument in Silkroad’s arsenal, from the thumping tabla to the breathy shakuhachi. Founder and world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, standing while he played, bobbed up and down with a smile on his face. In other words, it wasn’t your ordinary concert. “It’s more like a party,” Wu said in an interview with The Dartmouth. Silkroad’s performance featured Ma and included Chinese composer Jia Daqun’s “Prospect of Colored Desert II,” which was commissioned by the Hopkins Center for the Arts and saw its premiere at the concert. Yesterday’s concert was a homecoming of sorts for the ensemble, as members said during the performance. During Silkroad’s first few years as an ensemble, they performed concerts of newlycommissioned pieces around the world, the first of which was at Dartmouth in January 2001. With the help of Dartmouth music professor Theodore Levin, Yo-Yo Ma founded the Silkroad ensemble in 1998 with the goal of promoting cultural harmony in the midst of rapid globalization. Ma brought musicians with expertise in their respective traditions to Massachusetts, where they began collaborating in an attempt to create a new musical language. “Music from one or another cultural origin was adapted by composers and arrangers to the unique instrumentation of the ensemble,” Levin wrote in 2016, describing the ensemble’s method.
The general term “Silk Road music” has been used to reference different kinds of cross-cultural musical fusion and hybridity that are presumed to have occurred along the historic Silk Road. From the start, yesterday’s program reflected the ensemble’s dedication to diversity, featuring pieces that represented the musical traditions of different areas of the Silk Road and beyond. The opening suite’s three parts included Arabic dance rhythms, Arab Christian Easter music and work songs of the Tuareg people of West Africa. Silkroad’s multifacetedness was also evident in the diversity of styles and instrumentation. In the second piece, “Tsuru no Ongaeshi” (Repayment from a Crane), composer Kojiro Umezaki ’93 switched from playing shakuhachi — a Japanese end-blown flute — to narrating an adaptation of the eponymous Japanese. Umezaki was inspired to compose this piece after working with students in Lame Deer on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana. The two-hour performance heavily featured the performeras-composer, a comparatively rare figure in Western music. Three of the pieces in the program were composed by members of the ensemble. Wu’s “Night Thoughts” was inspired by a ninth-century Buddhist pipa tune, composed with the intention of returning to the pipa’s regional vernacular. Tabla player Sandeep Das’s “King Ashoka” interpreted the story of King Ashoka, who revived Buddhism after he was taken aback by the horrific violence of a long war. In many ways, Silkroad’s work is valuable for its visionary nature. Levin, who was the ensemble’s first executive director, said Silkroad has been successful in setting a
COURTESY OF HOP OUTREACH
Members of Silkroad visit Theodore Levin’s “Music from the Silk Road” class.
COURTESY OF MAX WHITTAKRE
Pipa player Wu Man (left) and kemancheh player Kayhan Kalhor (right) perform together onstage.
high bar for musical work that fuses cultures and traditions. But its greatest success, in Levin’s eyes, is its contribution to building community. “ T h e mu s i c t h a t ’s b e e n commissioned and performed by this ensemble represents immense achievements in themselves,” Levin said. “But really what that rests on is the deep work of building community, which very much comes from Yo-Yo Ma and his core beliefs about the value of music.” Silkroad’s welcoming, publicfriendly approach makes it easy to engage with the performance. While it is often difficult to feel connected to virtuoso musicians in the highbrow world of classical music, Silkroad is talented in generating chemistry with the audience. “I feel very fortunate to be playing alongside the other cellist in this
ensemble, who shows a great deal of promise,” joked cellist Karen Ouzounian to loud laughter during the performance. Silkroad is also admirable for its building of culture around a kind of music-making that has deeply impacted academic institutions, teacher training and inner city schools. At Dartmouth, some members of the ensemble visited music classes to talk about their work and demonstrate the stylistic elements of their musical traditions. M a g ave a M o n t g o m e r y Fellowship lecture on Wednesday which argued for using the broad concept of “culture” to build trust and understanding between communities. Though Spaulding Auditorium was at capacity and the intention behind his work is undoubtedly inspiring, his words
MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Yo-Yo Ma played parts of Bach’s Cello Suite No.5 during his Wednesday lecture.
were somewhat underwhelming. The lecture seemed to accomplish little, mostly consisting of generalizations to the tune of cultural understanding and improving the world. The lack of depth in Ma’s lecture spoke to the need for reconsideration regarding the performance of music that includes “non-Western” elements. Cultural products that derive inspiration from societies viewed as exotic by its Western audiences require continual, sensitive discourse on the part of not only artists like Ma and Silkroad, but also listeners and fans. Though the concert and the Silkroad’s mission is inspiring, it should be taken “a beginning for new listeners, not an end,” as New York Times music critic John Rockwell wrote in 2002. Rockwell rightly raises questions regarding “the culinary sampling aspect of the offerings, and the production values that exacerbate the sense of being an imperialist wanderer in a field of gorgeous but mystifying blossoms.” Silkroad’s work might not be imperialist, but to progress efficiently and ethically in the world of crosscultural music making, it would only be responsible to continue discussing and working out such concerns. In any case, the work of Silkroad and similar ensembles like Kronos Quartet and Brooklyn Rider is undoubtedly essential, and is done with the highest quality of musicianship. Silkroad also continues to move forward in its artistic mission — last fall, the group announced a three-part vision that involves increasing diversity and inclusion for all people involved in the project, a series of U.S.-based residencies, and a new series of commissions.
PAGE 8
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018
SPORTS
TODAY’S LINEUP
M TENNIS VS. YALE 1 P.M.
ONE ON ONE
with Ian Kelsey ’18
By SABA NEJAD The Dartmouth Staff
Ian Kelsey ’18, captain of the men’s golf team and one of two seniors on the team, has helped lead a surging Big Green golf team as they look ahead to the upcoming Ivy League Championship in late April. The tournament will be held at Stonewall Orchard, a course just outside of Philadelphia. He claimed his first collegiate title this past weekend at the Cornell Spring Invitational in Florida; it was the first tournament win by a Big Green golfer in nearly two years. Previously, Kelsey has been named First Team All-Ivy and finished second at the Ivy League Championship as a sophomore. He is pursuing an economic major at the College.
I started focusing on that a lot more toward the end of my high school career, and I ended up at Dartmouth. Do you feel ready for the team to be going to the Ivy League Championship? I.K.: Yeah, I think we’re getting there. This year we have three really great freshmen who are definitely going to help us. After the winter when we have to practice inside, we have a two-week spring trip to shake off the rust. The first few winter tournaments are to help us prepare for the Ivy league championship, so I think we’re definitely getting there right about now. W ho is your biggest competitor? I . K . : Ya l e U n i ve r s i t y a n d Princeton University are the two teams that are on top of the league right now. Harvard University has won it the last two years. It’s always kind of hard to tell with golf, but they don’t seem to be doing as well this year. Especially with golf, it’s more about how we play. If we play our best, we definitely have a chance to win.
How do you feel about being a senior? I.K.: It’s been a great four years. My golf game has definitely gotten much better. I’d say the program has gotten much more serious and the recruits have gotten much better, and hopefully that’ll show in this last stretch. For me, I know it’ll be a little sad because “We have great What is your I’ve spent a lot typical preof time with freshmen this year round routine? t h e s e g u y s. who have continued I.K.: We usually Hopefully we’ll end on to improve throughout have a 36-hole day for the first a high note. the year. They will ro u n d o f t h e Our coach has defi nitely help us tournament. never won an That means we’ll I v y L e a g u e compete this year.” leave the hotel Title before. around 6 a.m. H e ’s c o m e IAN KELSEY ’18 and get breakfast pretty close. at the cour se. We c a m e We’ll warm up second my for an hour by sophomore hitting some year but it’d be nice to get him a championship. putts and doing some short and long game work. It really depends for each player on how they go How did you get into golf ? I.K.: I’ve been playing since I through their pre-round routine. was 10. My first tournament was I like to start with some putting, when I was about 13. My dad is then hit balls at my range just the one that got me into it. I played moving throughout my bag, then football, basketball and baseball some chipping and finish with a in high school but I realized that couple more putts before I tee off. I was more competitive when it came to golf and I would get a How would you describe the chance to play at a college level. team chemistry? Does the
COURTESY OF IAN KELSEY
Ian Kelsey ’18 finished first at the Cornell Spring Invitational with an impressive four-under 140.
team have any specific team bonding events? I.K.: We’re a very close-knit team because we spend a ton of time together on the road. Especially being one of the smaller teams at Dartmouth, we get to know each other pretty well. Considering that we travel so much during the season, everyone gets to know each other very well. I think that helps us when we play because even though golf is an individual sport, we end up playing for each other a little bit more. What are some things to look out for in the Irish C re e k I n t e rc o l l eg i a t e i n North Carolina this weekend? Are you guys doing anything drastically dif ferent to prepare? I.K.: It’s a great field this year
with several of the top teams in the nation. We’re just going to try to play our own games and see how we stack up. We treat this tournament as a great opportunity to prepare ourselves for the home stretch of the season. Ultimately, we hope to peak at the Ivy League Championship, so each tournament is a great chance to continue to improve toward that goal. How have you guys done previously at the Ivy League Championship? How do you think this year will be dif ferent and what could make it better? I.K.: We have great freshmen this year who have continued to improve throughout the year. They will definitely help us compete this year. Two years ago, we
finished second behind Harvard by only four strokes, which has definitely provided motivation for the team. I feel like we have had a good schedule of events this spring that have helped us work on our games to the point where we should be peaking at the right time. Hopefully we’ll get all the right bounces and play well enough to take home the title. Are you going to do anything with golf after college? I.K.: I don’t have any plans on playing professionally, but definitely still playing competitively at amateur events, local golf associations and that kind of thing. I’ll be working for a real estate private equity firm in Connecticut. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.