VOL. CLXXVI NO. 39
CLOUDY HIGH 62 LOW 44
OPINION
OPINION ASKS: GREEN KEY WEEKEND
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019
College announces Dartmouth asks court to deny use four new members of of pseudonyms in PBS lawsuit Board of Trustees B y THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
PAGE 6
BRING: IS THERE A FARM PROBLEM? PAGE 6
MAGANN: WHAT ARE WE DOING? PAGE 7
ADELBERG: THE POWER OF PERCEPTION PAGE 7
ARTS
ALLEN: NATIVES AT THE MUSEUM PAGE 8
FOLLOW US ON
@thedartmouth
COPYRIGHT © 2019 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
A four-time Emmy Award nominee, a managing partner of a private equity firm, the executive chairman of an automotive fleet leasing and management company and the former solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior will be joining the College’s Board of Trustees on July 1. Connie Britton ’89, Daniel Black ’82, James Frank ’65 and Hilary Tompkins ’90 will
be replacing Gail Boudreaux ’82, Bill Burgess ’81, Jim Coulter ’82 and Gregg Engles ’79, each of whom will have completed two four-year terms by June 9. T he board cur rently consists of 26 members. Sixteen of these members are charter trustees, who are elected by the board, and Britton and Frank will serve in this capacity. The remaining eight board members are alumni trustees
MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
SEE BOARD PAGE 2
Jack Duffy ’21 passes away at his home B y THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Jack Duffy ’21, a Dartmouth student, passed away at his home in Horsham, PA on May 9. He was 20. Duffy began his education at Dartmouth in the fall of 2017 before taking time off to travel. He described himself on his personal website as an “entrepreneurial minded individual with a clear purpose: to serve, help, and empower others.” Duffy was withdrawn
from the College after his passing. Prior to enrolling at the College, Duffy graduated from Hatboro-Horsham High School as the president of the school’s National Honor Society and the vice president of his class. “Our thoughts are with Jack’s family and friends as our community mourns the loss of this gifted young man,” college spokesperson Diana SEE DUFFY PAGE 2
The College argues that granting anonymity to some of the plaintiffs will prejudice its ability to defend itself.
B y THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF The College filed a motion in federal court on Tuesday challenging the granting of anonymity to three of the nine plaintiffs in an ongoing $70 million class action lawsuit alleging that College officials were, for over 16 years, aware of and failed to act on allegations of sexual harassment and assault against three former psychological and brain sciences professors. In the filing, the College argues that anonymity would “prejudice” its ability to defend itself in the case, increase its burden in conducting the litigation and create
“unworkable” challenges to all parties in assessing whether the anonymous individuals should be admitted as class representatives in the case. The filing comes in response to a recent development in the lawsuit, Rapuano et. al. v. Trustees of Dartmouth College, which was first brought by several former D a r t m o u t h s t u d e n t s i n November in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire On May 1, two additional former students, under the pseudonyms “Jane Doe 2” and “Jane Doe 3,” were added on as plaintiffs to the suit, bringing forth new allegations of sexual misconduct against former PBS professors Todd Heatherton, William Kelley
and Paul Whalen — all three of whom left Dartmouth after the completion of a College investigation last summer. In the filing, the College asserts that while it did not initially oppose the granting of anonymity to one of the original plaintiffs — “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit — it reserved the right to later object to the use of pseudonyms in the case if it interfered with the College’s defense. The filing asks for the court to deny the anonymous plaintiffs’ ability to use pseudonyms in the case. “The anonymity would prejudice Dartmouth’s ability to defend itself in this case, SEE PSEUDONYMS PAGE 2
PAGE 2
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Brendan Nyhan to return Tompkins believed to be first Native full-time to Dartmouth American Dartmouth trustee
B y THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Brendan Nyhan, a well-known political scientist who taught for seven years at Dartmouth before accepting a position at the University of Michigan last year, will be returning to the College full-time in the fall, he confirmed to The Dartmouth in an email statement. Nyhan had left the College last summer to become a professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at Michigan. He wrote that he was thankful for the opportunity to teach at Michigan and has “nothing but positive things to say” about the school, but that he wanted to come back to Dartmouth. “I’m incredibly lucky to have the choice and ultimately my wife Mary and I decided that Dartmouth and Hanover are the best fit for our family both professionally and personally,” Nyhan wrote. “We missed our wonderful faculty and staff colleagues and the amazing Dartmouth students and our whole family missed the community we had formed in Hanover.” Nyhan, whose research focuses on political misinformation, became an assistant professor of government at Dartmouth in 2011 and then was
promoted to full professor in 2016. He taught a number of popular classes at Dartmouth, including GOVT 30.04, “Political Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories” and GOVT 83.21, “Experiment in Politics.” He has been a regular contributor to the New York Times’ The Upshot blog and is frequently quoted in national political news stories. Nyhan wrote that he will be teaching in the coming winter and spring terms and then will be returning to a full teaching schedule in the 2020-21 academic year. He is currently scheduled to teach GOVT 30.04 in the Winter 2020 term and GOVT 83.21 the following term. In an email statement, government department chair James Muirhead called Nyhan’s return to Dartmouth “fabulous news.” “That Professor Nyhan is returning is a brilliant reflection on Dartmouth’s strengths — as well as [dean of faculty Elizabeth] Smith’s leadership,” Muirhead wrote. “She, along with enthusiastic support from President Hanlon and Provost Helble, made this happen.” Nyhan wrote that his appointment officially begins on July 1.
Memorial service for Duffy to be held May 30 FROM DUFFY PAGE 1
Lawrence wrote in an email statement. A memorial service will be held for friends and family on May 30 at the Anton B. Urban Funeral Home in Ambler, PA. Counseling services can be reached through the Counseling and Human
Development office, the College chaplain’s office and the dean on call. 24/7 assistance can be reached by calling Safety and Security at (603) 646-4000. A full obituary will be published in the near future. If you would like to share a memory, please email editor@ thedartmouth.com.
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
FROM BOARD PAGE 1
and are nominated by the College’s alumni before being elected by the board. Black and Tompkins will serve as alumni trustees. The other two board members are College President Phil Hanlon and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R). Tompkins, a government major during her time at the College, is currently a partner at the Washington D.C. law firm Hogan Lovells practicing environmental, energy and Native American law. Before serving as the solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2009 to 2017, Tompkins served as counsel to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) for five years. According to a College press release, Tompkins is believed to become the first Native American trustee in the College’s history following her appointment. Next month, Tompkins will also be awarded with an honorary degree at the Class of 2019 commencement ceremony.
Britton, an Asian studies major during her time at College, has received three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series — two for the television series “Friday Night Lights” and one for the television series “Nashville.” Her other Emmy nomination, for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, was for her work in the television miniseries “American Horror Story.” Apart from her acting career, Britton has served as the 10th goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme since 2014. A government major, lacrosse player and member of Dragon senior society while at the College, Black has been a managing partner of The Wicks Group in New York City since 2003. Black is a member of the 1769 society and was previously on the Dartmouth Alumni Council. He currently serves on the executive board of Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership,
a nonprofit organization that provides urban school students lacrosse training as well as career and admissions counseling. Black has two daughters, one of whom, Danielle, is a member of the Class of 2021. Frank, who obtained an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business after graduating from the College as a philosophy major, has served as the CEO of Wheels, Inc. since 1975. Wheels, Inc. and its partner ALD Automotive manages over one million fleet vehicles worldwide. He has served on the College’s Call to Lead Campaign Executive Committee, the Board of Overseers of the Thayer School of Engineering and the executive committee of the Class of 1965. Last year, Frank, his wife Karen and their two sons — Daniel Frank ’92 and Jordan Frank ’94 — committed $5 million to create a scholarship fund that would allow every Dartmouth undergraduate to participate in a foreign study program.
College asserts that despite anonymity of three plaintiffs, others sought publicity FROM PSEUDONYMS PAGE 1
unfairly increase the burden to the parties and the Court of conducting this litigation, and present unworkable challenges to Dartmouth, to putative class members, and to the Court, in performing a proper assessment of whether these individuals can act as class representatives as they have requested,” the statement asserts. The College also argues that despite the anonymity of one of the original plaintiffs, the other plaintiffs have sought “significant p u bl i c i t y ” t h ro u g h T V a n d newspaper interviews and social
media engagement related to the case. “Indeed, the very public nature of what a class representative is supposed to do — represent and stand in the place of other plaintiffs — is at odds with the request to remain anonymous,” the response alleged. In an email statement to The Dartmouth, College spokesperson Diana Lawrence said that Dartmouth is not defending the three former professors but rather the College itself. “Allowing the new plaintiffs to proceed under pseudonyms limits Dartmouth’s ability to
defend itself,” Lawrence wrote. “It hinders Dartmouth’s investigation of the claims and prevents proper evaluation of whether the new plaintiffs can serve as representatives of a class.” Lawrence added that the College is considering mediation in response to the claims made in the lawsuit. “We remain actively open to a fair resolution of all plaintiffs’ claims through an alternative to the court process and are exploring mediation,” Lawrence wrote. Attorneys for the plaintiffs and the College could not be reached for comment as of press time.
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019
PAGE 3
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
New stores coming to downtown Hanover after string of closures B y debora cobon The Dartmouth
Following the recent closures of several businesses in downtown Hanover, new stores will be arriving to the downtown retail scene. The first floor of the space where the Dartmouth Bookstore was formerly located will be shared by the tenants of the three new stores — J. McLaughlin, Still North Books & Bar and Woody’s. Hanover town manager Julia Griffin predicted that the new businesses will be open by the beginning of the upcoming fall term. Following the loss of both the Dartmouth Bookstore and Wheelock Books last year, Allie Levy ’11 will be opening Still North Books & Bar — a space combining a bookstore, cafe and a bar — in the lot that the Dartmouth Bookstore used to occupy. Sharing the remaining space from the Dartmouth Bookstore are two new clothing retailers. J. McLaughlin is a small retail chain with over 140 retail locations nationwide specializing in preppy men’s and women’s clothing that combines sport, work and play, according to their retail website. Located next to J. McLaughlin will be Woody’s, an independent shop owned by Hanover native Suzi Curtis. According to Curtis’ sales agency’s website, Woody’s will be an “upscale, mountain lifestyle store and mercantile featuring apparel, home goods, provisions, gifts and candy.” Although Griffin said she predicts the stores will open by the end of the summer, she added that they may open a bit later due to intensive ongoing
renovation plans. “Anyone who has done intensive renovations knows it’s always a challenge in a busy economy to deliver space on time based on the availability of contracts,” Griffin said. “The goal is to have the spaces ready by the beginning of September.” The building’s owner, Jay Campion, said that the renovations are already well underway and should be complete by July, which will allow the three tenants to start setting up their shops. According to Campion, the renovation process has involved a complete makeover. “We’ll be rebuilding the entire storefront and have basically gutted the building,” Campion said. “We’re re-insulating and replacing the heating and air conditioning systems for this and dividing the space for the three separate tenants on the first floor.” Griffin said she expects these new openings to be very well-received because they are businesses that appeal to the Hanover community. In particular, she said Woody’s will be a very welcome addition because of the owner’s familiarity with the community. “[Woody’s] will be well-positioned to appeal to folks in the area based on the fact that the owner knows what people are looking for,” Griffin said. “Men’s casual and outdoor retail will be appreciated because — other than J. Crew — it’s pretty limited in terms of men’s clothing stores in downtown Hanover.” Most of the retail scene downtown is made up of shops that tailor only to women’s clothing, such as The J List, Indigo and Talbots. However, what the
MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Three stores — J. McLaughlin, Still North Books & Bar and Woody’s — will be opening later this year on Main Street.
current shops and newcomers share is their appeal to the typical Hanover client, according to Campion. “[Hanover] has a highly educated and active customer base — a lot of it associated with the College and the hospital,” Campion said. “‘Preppy’ is part of what Hanover’s identity has been as long as I can remember, and these folks do it well. The retailers we’re talking about fit right in with that.” Another important component of these stores is their curb appeal,
according to Campion. For example, J. McLaughlin’s stores are located in retail environments with “neighborhood feels” and each individual store is “designed to reflect the town’s color, character, and architecture” according to their website. The J List owner Jill Butlersaid that she wants to make shopping a fulfilling experience. “We want people to feel good about themselves when they come into the store, whether they buy something or not,” Butler said. “Shopping for some is
excruciating. We try to have funny cards and items around the store. We just want it to be fun and want [customers] to have a good time.” Butler also said she was excited for the new stores to arrive and sees the stores as an opportunity to make Hanover more appealing to visitors and locals. “I think high water raises all boats,” Butler said. “The more interesting our town is, the more people will turn to it as a place to hang out. Empty storefronts are a bummer.”
PAGE 4
DARTMOUTHEVENTS
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
POST-10A RUSH
Uuganzul Tumurbaatar ’22
TODAY 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Lecture: “PEMM Neuroscience RIP series,” presentation by Faith Anderson, sponsored by the Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Vail Hall, Room 513.
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Seminar: “Symmetry-Based Foundations of Quantum Mechanics,” by Kevin Knuth, sponsored by the Department of Physics, Wilder Hall, Room 115.
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Lecture: “Civic Gifts: Voluntarism and the Making of the American Nation-State,” by Elisabeth S. Clemens, sponsored by the Department of Sociology, Carson Hall, Room L01.
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Film: “Torrey Pines,” sponsored by the Hopkins Center for the Arts, Loew Auditorium.
TOMORROW 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Meditation: “Free Lunch Time Mindfulness Meditation,” sponsored by the Student Wellness Center, Robinson Hall , Room 322.
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Film: “Meeting Gorbachev,” sponsored by the Hopkins Center for the Arts, Loew Auditorium.
FROM BRING PAGE 6
As farming in New England has declined over the decades, farms have not been replaced with polluting factory farms but with dense woods, like those that now envelop Hanover and Norwich. New England was once so deforested for pasture and farmland that in the mid-1800s, the entire region only had a forest cover of 30-40 percent. Now thick woods or forest cover 80 percent of New England’s states. If New Hampshire’s small family farms do fade — and they won’t under the
current administration’s policies — they shall not be supplanted by mechanized slaughterhouses but by forests that truly ring out “with the sounds and colors of spring.” Bring is chairman of the Dartmouth College Republicans. The Dartmouth welcomes guest columns. We request that guest columns be the original work of the submitter. Submissions may be sent to both opinion@thedartmouth.com and editor@thedartmouth.com. Submissions will receive a response within three business days.
ADVERTISING For advertising infor mation, 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 0199-9931
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019
PAGE 5
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Town hall covers College financials, 20-year master plan B y REBECCA NICOL The Dartmouth
On Tuesday, around 70 community members gathered in Spaulding Auditorium for a town hall to discuss Dartmouth’s 2019 financial report and 2020 financial plan, as well as the College’s strategic master plan for the next 20 years. Following a discussion of finances and an overview of the plan — led by chief financial officer Mike Wagner, executive vice president Rick Mills and vice president of campus services Steve Moore — some community members expressed optimism while others were left uncertain about how the College will address specific concerns. Wagner discussed the last five years of Dartmouth budgets, noting that each budget has had a net surplus since 2014. He also discussed the College’s current financial goals, which include reducing a deficit caused by the operations at the Geisel School of Medicine and generating new revenue for possible deficits that the College might face in the next ten years. Wagner added that in recent years there has been “a negative growth of research funds” at Geisel, which has been caused by a shifting of funds from Geisel to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Wagner also noted that the College’s
Call to Lead capital campaign is one of the current strategies Dartmouth is employing against possible deficits. Another aspect of Dartmouth’s budget that Wagner discussed was tuition rates. Undergraduate tuition rates have increased about four percent in the past two years, placing Dartmouth slightly above the median among its peers in the Ivy League and tier one universities, but the College plans to maintain the current tuition rate, according to Wagner. Moore then introduced the master plan — which is still in its early stages of development — and added that the College plans to announce the completed product to the public this fall. He announced that Dartmouth has partnered with the architectural firm Beyer Blinder Belle, which has completed master plans for other colleges such as Princeton University, Columbia University and Amherst College. The plan is designed to evaluate all of the College’s land holdings, which range from the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge in Warren, NH to the vacant plots of land around DHMC. The project will also include plans for a new dormitory that is to be built on the intersection of Crosby Street and East Wheelock Street, where the tennis courts and House Center A currently exist.
The Hanover Country Club could also be repurposed in the plan, as it is “losing a significant amount of money,” Moore said. He added that the Hanover Country Club will continue to operate as a golf course through 2020. However, its fate after 2020 will be determined by the master plan. Other land that could be repurposed includes Lewiston Lot, an area on the Vermont side of Ledyard Bridge that currently operates as a parking lot. Graduate student housing was also mentioned several times during the town hall. The Rivercrest property, located north of the Hanover Country Club, is one of the areas being considered for future graduate student housing, Moore said. According to Moore, another important priority for the College is to make the campus more “accessible and navigable,” which could include increased signage and renovations to existing buildings. Moore said that a “big priority” for renovation is Dartmouth Hall. Locations like the former Dana Biomedical Library — which is
undergoing renovation that will add faculty offices and a café — and a new Thayer School of Engineering building focused on computer science are also included in the master plan. During the presentation, Moore reminded the audience that the plan is still in its early stages, and that the planning board seeks to “engage all members of the Hanover and Dartmouth communities in developing the plan.” He also said that the plan is designed to function well into the future, adding that the board was “broadly looking at all of the College’s holdings with a 10 to 50-year outlook in mind.” During the question and answer portion of the town hall, some community members voiced concerns that they wanted to see addressed in the plan. Although there were multiple questions about transportation and traffic issues caused by pedestrians, Moore said that Dartmouth currently has no specific plans to address these issues. However, he added that transportation issues will be considered in the master plan.
After the presentation, alumni council member Sue Reed ’81 said that going to the town hall made her feel “more hopeful” about the master plan despite issues that she feels Dartmouth has not yet addressed. Reed said that the planning board should look more closely at deeper issues such as sustainability and institutional history. “It was reassuring to hear that they will be looking closer at issues,” she said, adding, however, that she felt that this discussion was “mostly at surface level.” Reed also added that the master planning team should take into account student wellness and incorporate relaxation areas into the geographical layout of Dartmouth. Baker-Berry Library collections analyst and financial specialist Barbara Sterling said that she felt the financial discussion excluded a discussion of staff wages, and that the current master plan excluded important issues concerning staff, such as parking and transportation issues. Sterling added that she hopes the planning board will seriously consider staff concerns.
PAGE 6
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
THE DARTMOUTH EDITORIAL BOARD
GUEST COLUMNIST DANIEL BRING ’21
Opinion Asks: Green Key Weekend
Is There a Farm Problem?
Opinion writers offer their thoughts on Green Key.
We asked opinion columnists to talk about their favorite and least favorite parts of Green Key, their thoughts on drinking culture, the concert and other campus traditions tied to this eventful weekend. Although I am a freshman and thus have not yet experienced Green Key weekend, I have already experienced the palpable excitement and energy that accompanies Green Key week at Dartmouth. With exams, essays and projects looming in the all-toonear future, Green Key has provided me with something fun to look forward to before the grueling hours of studying for finals begins. Even before the official festivities begin, small things, like hearing live music randomly playing outside the Choates in the afternoon, have been brightening my days. Perhaps the best part to me, however, is how Green Key is a unique Dartmouth tradition that I now get to take part in. Hearing upperclassmen share their favorite wild Green Key stories has made me excited to share in on all the fun. Of course, I have also heard stories of partying-in-excess gone wrong and been warned by upperclassmen that Green Key is “a marathon and not a sprint” and that there are certain precautions to take as a female in order to stay safe. Taking their cautionary words of advice to heart, I can only hope the positive celebratory nature of Green Key week continues into the start of weekend. -Gabrielle Levy ’22 The phenomenon of Green Key is best
summarized by a little Baudelaire: “You have to be always drunk. That’s all there is to it — it’s the only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually drunk. But on what? Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish. But be drunk.” Beer, Waka Flocka or the sustainable ecstasy of Brewhaha, as you wish. The oftforgotten beauty of Green Key is that there’s no one way to do it, as long as you put aside the travails of typical college life. Engage in all the typical party standbys of Green Key? Sounds good. Reject the debauchery and escape to a cabin or meandering trail? Very Green Key of you. Green Key is the state of being drunk, not necessarily on alcohol, but on the absence of routine. -Steven Chun ’19 I never understood the point of Green Key. At least the other major weekends in Dartmouth’s calendar appear to be purposeful. Homecoming fosters community between generations of Dartmouth students, and Winter Carnival celebrates the campus’ prized location for playing winter sports. But Green Key is nothing more than an excuse for underage day-drinking and booze-filled revelry. Then why does the College allow Green Key to continue? No one could be so clueless to believe that Green Key adds anything of value to this institution. It is a waste of a weekend that promotes harmful behaviors. It ought to be abolished. -Tyler Malbreaux ’20
6175 ROBINSON HALL, HANOVER N.H. 03755 • (603) 646-2600
DEBORA HYEMIN HAN, Editor-in-Chief ALEX FREDMAN, Executive Editor PETER CHARALAMBOUS, Managing Editor PRODUCTION EDITORS TYLER MALBREAUX & MATTHEW MAGANN, Opinion Editors NIKHITA HINGORANI & KYLEE SIBILIA, Mirror Editors LUKE GITTER, JUSTIN KRAMER & LILI STERN, Sports Editors LEX KANG & JORDAN MCDONALD, Arts Editors LILY JOHNSON, Dartbeat Editor DIVYA KOPALLE & MICHAEL LIN, Photo Editors
AIDAN SHEINBERG, Publisher JULIAN NATHAN, Executive Editor ANTHONY ROBLES, Managing Editor BUSINESS DIRECTORS JONNY FRIED & RAIDEN MEYER, Advertising Directors VINAY REDDY, Marketing & Communications Director HIMADRI NARASIMHAMURTHY & KAI SHERWIN, Product Development Directors ALBERT CHEN & ELEANOR NIEDERMAYER, Strategy Directors ERIC ZHANG, Technology Director
SAMANTHA BURACK & BELLA JACOBY, Design Editors HATTIE NEWTON, Templating Editor JESS CAMPANILE, Multimedia Editor
ISSUE CASSANDRA THOMAS 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 President’s policies are not hurting small farmers. If we want to understand the state of small family farming in this country, we need to look beyond partisan fault-finding and demeaning stereotypes of farmers and their operations. Contrary to the suggestions of Thomas Knight ’22 in his May 9 column for The Dartmouth, titled “Trump and the Family Farm,” there are no economic indications that President Trump’s actions are worsening the decline of small family farming in New Hampshire or elsewhere. Let us get a few facts straight about small family farms, based on the 2012 USDA census of farmers. Family farms, of all sizes, constitute 88 percent of all U.S. farmland. Most large farms, including those which use factory farming processes, are still “family farms,” benefitting and owned by one family. Small family farms control 48 percent of farmland and only 20 percent of sales. Midsize and large family farms only controlled 20 percent of the farmland each. Large family farms generate 45 percent of all agriculture sales, a significant plurality. Important to note is that only 16 percent of small family farm owners depended on the farm for the majority of their household income in 2012. The vast majority of “family farms” are owned by retirees or people with a primary occupation other than farming. Of the remaining small farmers, only a minority depended upon their farm income. New Hampshire’s farms are 95 percent small family operations, and many owners of those may not depend on their farm income. They may still receive federal assistance, however. Agricultural subsidies do not harm small farmers; if anything they have kept American agriculture viable for longer than it would have been otherwise. The fact that small family farms, including those of retirees and non-primary occupation, receive 44 percent of government agricultural subsidies while only making up 20 percent of agricultural sales suggests that subsidies benefit small family farms, not large farms, disproportionately. The President’s recent regulatory exemptions, which Knight criticizes in his column, are not limited to large-scale farmers, and the 2018 Farm Bill expanded a subsidy safety net that covers the owners of family farms and their extended families. That’s not the only benefit; the 2018 Farm Bill also made it easier for family farmers to choose the legal structure of ownership that works best for them. It is hard to argue
factually that the 2018 Farm Bill, which enjoyed bipartisan support, harmed farmers in any detectable way. Just because something benefits large farmers doesn’t mean it hurts small farmers. It’s more than possible that reform measures taken expressly to benefit the farming industry actually help that industry as whole and not just the richest segments. We must acknowledge the threat posed to small family farms by the fundamental economic realities of the global free market, namely economies of scale and creative destruction. Those concepts explain the perceived decline in small farming relative to large-scale agriculture much more than recent tariffs do. Agricultural regulation and consolidation predate the birth of Donald Trump by decades. Tariffs are hurting American farmers, but they do not affect small farms disproportionately. As stated above, 80 percent of total agricultural sales come not from small farmers but rather from larger farms. There is substantial federal aid, as discussed, that prevents small farmers from declaring bankruptcy. New Hampshire’s farms, the vast majority of which have sales below $50,000 a year, are likely not too susceptible to the caprices of international trade policy or other macroeconomic trends. We must avoid a privileged temptation to romanticize the hard labor of small American farmers and reduce it to a spectacle for tourists or a symbol of Americana, as Knight too often does in his article. Farmers are much more than two-dimensional personifications of “hard work, discipline and living off the land.” Farming, whether conducted in an “antique” New Hampshire barn or a Texas feedlot, is back-breaking work, especially for those whose primary occupation is farming. In terms of machinery and practices, the defining difference between many family-owned operations and large farms is not “rough-hewn fences” but total acreage and assets. Nevertheless, large-scale, “factory farm” agriculture, and its bad image, will never replace New Hampshire’s small farms. There’s no evidence to suggest that this transition might even be a possibility. According to the USDA, between 2012 to 2017, the average size of farms in New Hampshire decreased from 108 to 103 acres, while the number of farms under 10 acres increased by 128. SEE BRING PAGE 4
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019
PAGE 7
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
OPINION EDITOR MATTHEW MAGANN ’21
STAFF COLUMNIST STEVEN ADELBERG ’21
What Are We Doing?
The Power of Perception
A senseless, dangerous slide into war with Iran.
“Only military action . . . can accomplish repressive Middle Eastern regime. Tensions what is required. Time is terribly short, but a escalate, troops are deployed and the regime strike can still succeed.” That’s a direct quote is overthrown. But in Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s from national security advisor John Bolton, overthrow mired the U.S. in a hugely expensive and it’s referencing his preferred method of war, one that cost trillions of dollars and took confronting Iran’s nuclear program. He wrote over 500,000 lives. What’s left to show for it that in 2015 as the United States negotiated to is a fractured state — one the gave rise to curtail the Iranian nuclear program. Bolton’s ISIS and now serves as a breeding ground views stood well outside the foreign policy for Iranian-backed militias. The war in mainstream, and rightly so — after the debacle Iraq failed, and there’s little reason why an of Iraq, who could seriously promote another analogous war in Iran, a country with over invasion? three times the population and land area of But things have changed since 2015. Last Iraq, would fare any better. year, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from The true horror of Iraq was the aftermath the Iran Deal, and John of Saddam’s overthrow, as Bolton now sits as the “Whether or not the American troops struggled President’s national security to retain hold amid a advisor. Unsurprisingly, Trump administration multi-sided civil war and given Bolton’s views, in wants a war, its insurgency. Iran might recent weeks the U.S. has not see so much division, policies towards Iran rapidly escalated tensions since its population is with Tehran. The U.S. invite one.” nearly 90 percent Shi’a. designated Iran’s Islamic Still, I hardly see Iranians Re vo l u t i o n a r y G u a r d greeting the Americans as Corps a terrorist group, liberators. Iran is infamous ramped up sanctions, commissioned plans for calls of “death to America,” and per a for military action and sent a carrier strike 2018 poll, 79.8 percent of Iranians held a group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf region. somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of the On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo United States. sought to defuse concerns, claiming that “we Given the reality of public opinion, even fundamentally do not seek a war with Iran.” opponents of the regime would be reluctant But, he quickly added, “if American interests to support the U.S. post-invasion. An invasion are attacked, we will most certainly respond would thus threaten a protracted insurgency, in an appropriate fashion.” As the Trump one that might spill over in border countries administration continues to prod at Iran, the like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Military odds of an Iranian response — what Pompeo action by the U.S. may topple the Iranian considers grounds for retaliation — grow ever regime, but as the Iraq War demonstrated, larger. And that’s profoundly dangerous, both that’s hardly a victory. As with Iraq, invading to America’s people and to its policy goals. Iran has no realistic endgame, save for years Deterring and containing Iran has long of instability, bloodshed and failure. been a cornerstone of U.S. Middle East policy, The administration’s recent escalation and with good reason. Iran’s foreign policy enhances the security dilemma between undermines U.S. priorities in the region, often the U.S. and Iran, sending the two into a through working intimately with terrorist spiraling cycle of uncertainty, posturing and groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic arms buildup that ratchets up the risk of war. Jihad. The U.S. ought to do all it can to curb Perhaps that’s what John Bolton wants, but it the influence of a rogue actor like the Iranian is by no means in America’s best interest. regime — but war isn’t the answer. Simply Whether or not the Trump administration put, war with Iran will inflict tremendous cost wants a war, its policies towards Iran invite with little to show for it. one. A war will not solve the Iran issue and will Few still defend the decision to go to war almost certainly make it worse. And with each in Iraq in 2003, since that war ended in new provocation, the risk of conflict grows disaster. The parallels between the invasion ever larger. Unless the Trump administration of Iraq and the Iran situation are uncanny: reverses its policy, the situation threatens to Fearing weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. spiral rapidly into an ineffective and massively ramps up pressure on its long-time enemy, a costly war.
How our world and our perceptions shape each other. What could be beautiful about a bad day? Last Tuesday seemed about as bad as a bad day could be. I slept through my alarm and stumbled late into class, having slept for only five hours. After learning that I had to redo a project that was due in two days, I met up with a girl I liked for a disastrous lunch date at King Arthur Flour. I didn’t have much time to be upset though, as I had to write an essay before cramming for my microeconomics quiz the next day. So I gave up Tae Kwon Do practice for about 10 hours of studying in Baker-Berry before finally heading home at midnight — only to then find myself caught in the rain without a raincoat. As I opened the front door to my dorm hall, miserable in my cold cotton shirt, I saw a girl who was also caught in the rain after midnight without a raincoat. In a split-second decision, I held the door open for her, and she thanked me. I made a half-hearted joke about the rain being a perfect ending to a perfect day. She laughed and agreed. She in fact loved that rain could be refreshing after a long day. I looked at her as if she was from another planet — how could anyone have a good day after being rained on? But then it hit me that she had a point. There was nothing inherently bad about rain. My day was neither good nor bad until my perspective made it so. The power of perspective, up to this point, had been inexplicable to me. But it was a very well-known phenomenon in the ancient world. Seneca famously posited that “we suffer more in imagination than in reality.” Seneca’s view was that much of our suffering is a construct of our own imagination. Half a world away and centuries earlier, the Buddha asserted that imaginative forces like desire and ignorance lay at the root of all human suffering. By corollary, the Eightfold Path to the end of suffering was mainly an act of reimagination. The sages of old understood the power of perspective as a central component of the human experience, one that had the ability to endow life with its value and meaning. This ancient understanding should not be dismissed as mere superstition. Modern social psychology not only proves the power of perspective but also documents its ability to change observable facts about reality. The practice of behavioral confirmation, for example, is a type of self-fulfilling prophecy whereby people’s social expectations lead them to behave in ways that cause others to confirm their expectations. Northwestern University’s
Kellogg School of Management finds that this effect is particularly powerful in response to social expectations of mistrust: Misplaced fear of the evil in others can create monsters where they otherwise would not exist. But guided carefully, the power of perspective can also be a positive force in the world. Industrial designer Doug Dietz helped children’s hospitals coax their timid patients into intimidating MRI machines by using colorful decals to reframe MRIs as an adventure. The number of patients needing sedation before entering the MRI machines decreased dramatically, hospital staff were happier, patients were happier and one little girl even asked to go again after her scan. Perspective is thus more than just a source of suffering. It is the reference people use to make meaning of their experience and a core determinant of human welfare. When we have this much power to influence not just the meaning and value of our experience but the physical world we experience, we have an obligation to use this power for good. This means trusting the best in people to create self-fulfilling prophecies of virtue. This means understanding our experiences as microcosms of exciting and wonderful life journeys. This means actively searching for the beauty hidden in the difficult times we face. Virtually everyone would agree that we have an obligation to improve virtue, personal meaning and beauty where we can in other areas of life — why not in the realm of our own perceptions? Some might oppose the notion of “seeing what we want to see” in a post-Enlightenment world that worships the power of objectivity to uncover universal truths. I would push back against this fetishization of objectivity by drawing a firm distinction between “truth” and “meaning.” While there is an objective truth about whether or not it is raining, there is no objective significance of rain to my life’s story, the lessons I can learn from rain, the net value of a rainy state of affairs or how walking home in the rain without a raincoat should make me feel. Facts fail when it comes to questions of meaning. While “seeing what we want to see” would be delusional, “seeing as we want to see” is the only way to take responsibility over the meaning we make of the world. This is a responsibility we should embrace with open arms — with power of perspective firmly in our grasp, we can take a time-tested path to worthwhile and meaningful lives.
PAGE 8
Natives at the Museum with Sabena Allen ’20
Natives at the Museum: Repatriation and Reconceptualization in the Museum Space In 2002, the Hood Museum returned a Tlingit Chilkat shirt to southeast Alaska. The shirt, which was said to have been made before the 1880s, had been in possession of Axel Rasmussen, the superintendent of schools in Wrangell, AK. After his death, it found its way into the possession of a New York City art dealer, and when it was not sold, it was donated to Dartmouth in 1959. In 1995, a delegation of Tlingit p eo p le c am e to Dartmouth, recognized the robe and was able to recount the legend about two brothers who inherited a “naaxein” (Chilkat blanket) and cut it in half to create two tunics to share. Since the object has sacred and ceremonial value as well as continued cultural relevance in the Tlingit community, it was returned under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, a law which dictates that if an item can be traced to a particular group of people as the rightful keepers, it must be given back to them. This was an ideal case
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
of repatriation under NAGPRA, but sometimes things are not so clear-cut, especially when international law gets involved. Despite the complications, repatriation of these sorts of items is still feasible for all museums, especially when we rethink museum’s relationships to indigenous communities, objects and artists. Late last year, five ceremonial objects that had previously been in the possession of galleries, auction houses and private collections all over the world were returned to Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. These items, at the discretion of the Acoma Pueblo people, will not be on display and have not been named in press releases because Acoma society restricts ceremonial knowledge to a select few.This is one example of why items like these need to be returned — they are sacred objects that were never meant to be outside of the Pueblo and are not mere aesthetic objects for people outside of the community. However, for most museums, repatriation is a slightly more complicated process. One need only look as far as the labels at the Hood Museum to see that meticulous and accurate records on the origin of an object are often not kept. In the case of objects of Native American heritage, even if it is clear which tribe or region an object came from, the specifics of clan or division are not always clear. As a result, if the origins of a piece are ambiguous, a museum can avoid repatriation by simply leaving questions unanswered. That being said, for smaller museums, repatriation can be nervewracking because it raises the fear of emptying out the museum. To mitigate this fear, digital repatriation is an option that is being used with increasing frequency. For example, some audio recordings of songs and stories important to the
Passamaquody people of Maine, Island. Representatives of the Rapa were held at Harvard’s Peabody Nui have been in discussions with Museum and inaccessible to the the museum on returning this piece tribe until the Library of Congress to them, as they argue that it is very obtained the recordings and sent to spiritually important as an ancestor them to the tribe in 1980. and thus qualifies as ancestral At the time, the recordings were of remains. poor quality, and the Passamaquody The British Museum leadership people had no curatorial agency over maintains that it is important for the recordings. But now, experts at them to feature art from around the the Library of Congress are making globe. In an article in artnet News, the audio much clearer and digitally they argue that they must consider, available to the tribe, as well as as all museums must, the impact giving the tribe of losing a key curatorial rights “No method of piece in their on whether or collection that is not it is available repatriation is perfect one of the most to the public. popular and most — all would likely As such, digital photographed come with backlash repatriation items in their w o r k s w e l l unless there is a collection, w i t h a u d i o reconceptualization of according to files, as there a museum is no physical the museum space in spokesperson. object involved. which we move away H o w e v e r, a n H o w e v e r, indigenous artist from the ideas that for physical from the island, objects, digital old equals ‘authentic’ Benedicto Tuki, repatriation is and that all objects are has offered to limited in that it make another entails returning meant to be seen by statue to replace digitally-created the public.” the one in the 3D models of museum for the object, and free. Thus, the not the original, which may have museum would still have a piece of sacred meaning to the community it the culture to be displayed, but one originally belonged to. This point can that is art and not a sacred ancestor. be overlooked by museums because Naturally, replacing old, sacred the sacred aspect of an object is not objects with contemporary art is a function that a museum typically not always an option, but could values. Additionally, it may be be a feasible solution for museums inappropriate to digitally recreate to maintain the breadth of their some items, such as the private collection while also respecting the sacred items that were returned to communities they are representing the Acoma Pueblo. and financially supporting Another option for repatriation contemporar y Native artists. is returning the original piece and However, a major concern is that replacing it with a new piece by a collections will be greatly reduced contemporary artist. The British in volume and quality if there are Museum has in its collection the no “authentic” pieces left to see. Hoa Hakananai’a, a Moai statue No method of repatriation is from the Rapa Nui people of Easter perfect — all would likely come
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019
with backlash unless there is a reconceptualization of the museum space in which we move away from the ideas that old equals “authentic” and that all objects are meant to be seen by the public. For those looking to see a physical object, contemporary art can be similar to and just as impressive as art made hundreds of years ago. If artists are willing to create new art for museums, as is the case with Tuki, the fear of empty museums can be mitigated, especially if visitors accept that those newer pieces are just as worthy of displaying in a museum. Additionally, any concerns that all cultural objects “need to be seen by the public” is disrespectful to the culture it belongs to in some cases. Just because something exists does not mean that the world has a right to see it. Many indigenous cultures, like the Acoma Pueblo, have specific ways of passing down knowledge that should be respected. Again, the problem is that the public consciousness, in regards to what is “good enough” for a museum, tends to evaluate worthiness by “originality” and “authenticity.” However, if you were to do some background research on many socalled Western masterpieces, visitors might find that the touch of the conservator is even more visible than that of the original artist. Authenticity is as much an illusion as it is a cultural construct. Just because an item is new does not mean that it is not authentic or fails to represent a culture, and in turn, can still be appropriate for a museum. Thus, we must all shift our focus away from the idea that replacing an item means it is a “copy” and simultaneously shift museum culture away from a fascination with old things and the preservation outdated museum practices, and toward the facilitation of cultural respect and active learning.