The Dartmouth 10/04/18

VOL. CLXXV NO. 75

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

ChromaDex and College file patent complaint

PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH 72 LOW 43

By CHARLES CHEN

The Dartmouth Staff

ALISON ZENG/THE DARTMOUTH

The proposed expansion plan for the Thayer School of Engineering will include a new parking lot.

OPINION

HILL-WELD: BELONGING RESPONSIBLY PAGE 6

ZHAO: BRANDED, BOLD OR BLIND SHEEP? PAGE 6

MALBREAUX: IN DEFENSE OF TESTING PAGE 7

MIZE: VULNERABILITY ON DISPLAY PAGE 7

ARTS

REVIEW: ‘NEGRO SWAN’ IS A PERTINENT, GENRECROSSING MASTERPIECE PAGE 8 FOLLOW US ON

TWITTER @thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2018 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.

College seeks approval for $200 million Thayer expansion

By MICHAELA ARTAVIA-HIGH The Dartmouth

On Tuesday, the College sought approval from the Hanover planning board to move forward with the Thayer School of Engineering’s $200 million donor-funded expansion. Following the hearing, the project will undergo a site review, which is currently scheduled for Oct. 10.

The presentation for the expansion project was led by John Scherding, the College’s vice president of planning, design and construction, and Ellen Arnold, director of real estate and associate general counsel for campus services.

Before the presentation began, Hanover planning board member Paul Simon motioned to approve the College’s application for a

site plan review, which was then unanimously approved.

Scherding commenced with an overview of the planned expansion — the project involves the installation of a new parking lot under Thayer, which is to be excavated from the slope on the west end; the completion of the Channing SEE THAYER PAGE 2

Neukom Institute hosts inaugural award ceremony

By HANNAH JINKS The Dartmouth

On Monday, the College’s Neukom Institute for Computational Science hosted an inaugural award ceremony and panel discussion for the recipients of the 2018 Neukom Literary Arts Award in Speculative Fiction. The event was attended by nearly sixty students, faculty and community members.

Announced in May, Juan Martinez won in the debut speculative fiction

On Sept. 18, Irvine, California basednutraceutical company C h ro m a D e x a n d t h e Trustees of Dartmouth College filed a patent infringement complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Elysium Health, another nutraceutical company and former customer of ChromaDex. The plaintiffs claim that Elysium is misrepresenting its products and using DartmouthChromaDex intellectual property without proper compensation to its owners.

The two patents in dispute were invented

by Charles Brenner, an inter nal medicine and biochemistry professor at the University of Iowa.

Brenner was a faculty member at the Geisel School of Medicine between 2003

and 2009 and worked in the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Lebanon as a biochemist. During his tenure at the College, he said he discovered that a form of the B3 vitamin found in milk, called nicotinamide riboside or “NR,” increased levels of an enzyme referred to as NAD+ in humans. Brenner said he believed the vitamin could have nutritional and therapeutic value.

Following his discovery, Brenner said he obtained two use patents in 2004 with the help of the technology office of entrepreneurship and technology transfer at Dartmouth. One patent was for nutritional, overthe-counter uses of the vitamin, and the other was for therapeutic, prescribed uses of the vitamin. Several years later, the College sold the exclusive license to commercialize the vitamin SEE CHROMADEX PAGE 3

MUSIC FOR THE SOUL

category for his short story collection, “Best Worst American.” Co-winners in the open category included “Central Station,” by Lavie Tidhar, and “On the Edge of Gone,” by Corrine Duyvis. The winners also received a $5,000 honorarium. These writers are the inaugural winners of the award, which will now be given annually.

Each award-winning work differs in style and content. An eclectic SEE AWARDS PAGE 5

LORRAINE LIU/THE DARTMOUTH

Grammy Award winner Fito Páez performed at the Collis Center on Oct. 3.

PAGE 2

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

DAily debriefing The U.S. Navy has drafted a classified proposal for a show of force near China’s territorial waters, according to U.S. defense officials. The plan entails carrying out exercises using ships, aircraft and troops during one week in November to demonstrate that the U.S. is willing and able to counter China’s military actions. The operations, to be executed in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, will aim to display U.S. naval capabilities on several fronts and exhibit the right of free passage in international waters.

Operations of this nature take place routinely, though not usually in the concentrated manner described in the proposal, which suggests carrying out several missions over only a few days. There is no intention of engaging in combat with the Chinese, according to defense officials.

A Sept. 28 earthquake and resulting tsunami has destroyed thousands of homes and killed more than 1,200 people on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Another earthquake followed on Oct. 2. As of Tuesday, 799 people have been injured, over 61,000 have been displaced and 66,000 homes have been destroyed. In total, nearly 2.4 million people have been impacted, many of whom are in need of fuel, food, water and other supplies. Many stores on the island have been destroyed or looted. Thousands of victims continue to wait at the Palu airport, the main airport on the island, hoping to leave the impacted area.

Numerous island roads remain blocked, preventing the delivery of goods to victims. Around 3,500 officials and volunteers, including 900 police and more than 1,000 military personnel, have joined the recovery effort so far.

Many countries have begun to announce aid packages, including the U.S., which has promised $100,000 in initial disaster assistance, according to the State Department.

On Sept. 28, the Food and Drug Administration conducted a surprise raid of the headquarters of Juul Labs, a prominent e-cigarette maker. The FDA seized over 1,000 of the company’s sales and marketing documents, intending to investigate whether Juul targets minors as customers. The company, which controls 72 percent of the e-cigarette market, is very popular in high schools.

According to Juul’s chief executive officer Kevin Burns, the company had already handed over more than 50,000 pages of documents to the FDA in a response to a request made by the FDA in April. According to the FDA, the raid was a follow-up to that response. Burns said that Juul hopes to be part of the solution in preventing underage use of the product.

Proposed additions include stoplight FROM THAYER PAGE 1

Cox parking lot; the construction of a new joint building that will host both the College’s computer science department and Thayer; and the addition of a west access road to campus.

The new building will be constructed to create a unified courtyard with McLane residences and the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society, according to head architect Samir Srouji.

Scherding added that the long term goal is to make this section of campus exclusively for pedestrians and bikers, improving the safety and environment of the west end of the campus.

The proposed changes include the addition of a stoplight on West Wheelock Street to mitigate traffic congestion and safety concerns.

“You add a signal, that’s a big deal,” Hanover town manager Julia Griffin said in an interview with The Dartmouth. “Anything that’s perceived as stopping traffic more than it already does may generate some controversy.”

According to Hanover resident and the project’s traffic analyst Erica Wygonik, the signal will not impede traffic coming into town and will facilitate left turns onto the access road.

“That traffic signal will make that whole intersection safer, especially for pedestrians,” Griffin said.

The addition of the signal complicates the approval process because it requires additional

permits, along with several others from the proposed construction site, required for the project, Arnold said. said he supports the project, but is “It’s not just the town of Hanover; concerned about how it may impact there are already other agencies that the properties on West Wheelock are involved in getting approval Street. for the permits that we need to go Bill Young, who attended the forward with the project,” she said. hearing on behalf of Hanover’s The hearing also featured Bike and Pedestrian Committee, detailed explanations from the team said he supports the expansion. working on the Thayer expansion. In He added that the changes at the addition to Srouji and Wygonik, the intersection would make the area expansion’s planning team includes safer, particularly for pedestrians. landscape architect Chris Matthews, Young also urged the project architectural lighting designer designers to consider the addition of Carrie Hawley, designated space principal for bikers as biking a c o u s t i c s “Modern buildings on sidewalks is c o n s u l t a n t are very complicated. illegal.

Doug Sturz, Griffin said she It takes a team civil engineer expected these Nik Fiore and of specialists and concerns and contractor Mike engineers and comments from Gallivan. the public. “ M o d e r n designers of all sorts.”

“The Thayer buildings expansion, are very because it abuts -JOHN SCHERDING, complicated,” a residential and Scherding said. VICE PRESIDENT OF traffic corridor, “It takes a team PLANNING, DESIGN, AND may b e mo re of specialists complex in review and engineers CONSTRUCTION and approval than and designers of some Dartmouth all sorts.” projects,” she said.

Since the Thayer expansion is The current schedule plans to such a large undertaking, each factor have the Thayer building completed must be fully attended to, he added. in summer of 2021 and ready for Following presentations on use that fall. each aspect of the project, the “We hope to have approval for planning board heard comments the project by the new year, and and concerns from the public. construction of the parking lot will Kevin Purcell, who owns five then start early in the new year,” residential apartment buildings Scherding said. along West Wheelock Street across

SING YOUR HEART OUT

A potential revision to NAFTA could help dairy farmers in New Hampshire by opening 3.6 percent of the Canadian domestic dairy market to American products, thus increasing the demand for American dairy. As a result, dairy prices in the U.S. will likely increase, thus relieving some of the pressure on dairy farmers due to recently declining milk prices. Although Canadian markets will likely draw products from New York and Wisconsin, New Hampshire and New England dairy suppliers could benefit from the increased prices. For this revision to take effect, President Trump must submit the treaty to Congress.

Then, it will need to be approved by Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Most of the treaty’s provisions will not be implemented until 2020, at the earliest.

-COMPILED BY EILEEN BRADY AND GIGI GRIGORIAN

CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com for corrections.

ARYA KADAKIA/THE DARTMOUTH

Collis Center Common Ground hosted five-time Grammy Award winner Fito Páez yesterday.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018

PAGE 3

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

INTERSECTION OF ACADEMICS AND COMMUNITY

Patent lawsuit newest chapter in legal saga

vice president of communications Whitney Crystal wrote, “Elysium to ChromaDex. The company Health is confident that it does then began supplying the vitamin, not infringe any valid claim of the which it branded Niagen, to patents described in ChromaDex’s other nutraceutical companies most recent baseless lawsuit and in 2013 before later also selling trusts that the court will arrive its own directat the same t o - c o n s u m e r “Elysium’s sales conclusion.” supplement According to c a l l e d achieved a high level both Brenner and TruNiagen. relative to other Fried, after the C h ro m a D ex agreement companies we were supply supplied the between Elysium vitamin to several supplying NR to, and ChromaDex c o m p a n i e s and there began to ended, Elysium i n c l u d i n g found another Elysium Health, be some tension in source of the which sells its own terms of the supply vitamin from NR supplement another company. agreement.” called Basis.

In 2017, Elysium The current countered lawsuit between -ROB FRIED, the suits by Elysium Health challenging both and ChromaDex CHROMADEX CEO of Dartmouth is only the most patents in court. recent development in several One of the Dartmouth patents still years of disputes between the two stands, but the review of the second companies. The pair’s business is still ongoing. relationship first soured in 2016 Fried said he took issue with during a dispute over pricing, Elysium claiming the research according to CEO of ChromaDex and development intended for the Rob Fried.

Dartmouth-ChromaDex vitamin “Elysium’s sales achieved a high for their own, different product. level relative to other companies we “They had identified a new way were supplying NR to, and there of making [NR], and they put it began to be some tension in the on the market and marketed it as terms of the supply agreement.” research testing and safety tested Fried said. when any such work was done on ChromaDex alleges that Elysium the ChromaDex product,” Fried then made an order valued at $3 added. million but refused to pay for it The current patent suit was, after delivery, prompting the first according to Fried, prompted by suit by ChromaDex for the value of ChromaDex obtaining evidence the shipment, according to Fried. that its former customer had long ChromaDex also amended its planned to harm ChromaDex. suit to allege misappropriation of “We now believe that we have trade secrets. The company claimed evidence that supports the idea that that two former employees who this was planned by [Elysium] from now work at Elysium — including the beginning,” he said. “So that is former vice president of business why we decided now to finally sue development Mark Morris, who is [Elysium] for patent infringement.” now vice president of research and Fried said that the goal of development the most recent at Elysium — “We now believe that l a w s u i t w a s transmitted to protect the c o n f i d e n t i a l we have evidence interests of its i n f o r m a t i o n that supports the idea s h a r e h o l d e r s from their and prevent former employer that this was planned further abuse t o E l y s i u m by [Elysium] from the of its assets, as before leaving. well as to take beginning.” “ T h e y a stand for the p o a c h e d patent system as employees from -ROB FRIED, a whole. Fried ChromaDex also said he [ w h o ] k n e w CHROMADEX CEO was working to how to make protect research [Niagen], and they passed on safety institutions and universities, such as information about preparation Dartmouth, that would not receive of Niagen to Elysium investors,” royalties from the sale of infringed Brenner said. products like Elysium’s product In an email statement, Elysium Basis.

FROM CHROMADEX PAGE 1

ARYA KADAKIA/THE DARTMOUTH

Silsby Hall, home to the College’s economics department, stands next to the West House residential buildings.

PAGE 4

DARTMOUTHEVENTS

THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018

WE ALL KNOW A CHAD

CAROLINE COOK ’21

TODAY

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Reading and discussion: “Babylon Berlin,” with author Volker Kutscher, Dartmouth Hall 105

5:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.

Roger S. Aaron ‘64 Lecture: “Antislavery Constitutionalism and the Meaning of Freedom,” with University of Toledo professor of law and values Rebecca E. Zietlow, Rockefeller Center 003

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Book discussion: “The Lady in Gold,” sponsored by the Hood Museum of Art, Mayer Room, Howe Library

TOMORROW 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Lecture: “Luxury: The Dadaism of Possession,” with Friedrich Schiller University professor Lambert H. Wiesing, Thornton Hall 103

7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Film: “Crazy Rich Asians,” directed by Jon Chu, Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center

10:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

LatinX Late Night, performance by Cynthia Lee Fontaine, sponsored

by Collis After Dark, Common Ground, Collis Center

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

PAGE 5

Awards honor authors of speculative fiction FROM AWARDS PAGE 1

collection of surrealist short stories, “Best Worst American” tells niche and often bizarre tales to expound universal themes such as identity an d dis plac em en t; “ Cen tral Station” explores a futuristic Tel Aviv, following the emergence of the singularity; and “On the Edge of Gone” offers an apocalyptic Amsterdam, discussing the relative value of humans, especially in the context of disability.

“It was a major surprise because the book came out two years ago, so it’s past the point you would think you would be receiving any good things,” Duyvis said.

Tidhar added, “Just getting a book published is mostly all the recognition [authors] ever get, so winning an award is tremendously exciting.”

Professor Dan Rockmore, the event’s organizer and director of the Neukom Institute, said he hopes that the award highlights the interconnectedness of the arts and sciences, especially computational science.

“I’m a fir m believer that fiction explores more of the possible landscape than science does,” Rockmore said. “It’s really important to get the artistic perspective on what’s possible for the future and the artistic perspective on what’s happening now, and how that intersects with science is a really fascinating nexus for creative thought.”

The panel was chaired by Maria Dahvana Headley, New York Times best-selling author and principal judge of the award. According to Headley, these works emphasize love and connection amidst chaos unlike many techno-thrillers, which focus on the destruction of society.

In her opening remarks, she said, “All of these books had deeply human grounding — in emotion, in longing, in love, in relationships with each other — which is a really interesting place to begin in thinking about this as a speculative fiction prize.”

During the panel, the authors discussed the inspiration behind their pieces and the messages they hoped to convey. Martinez said his collection of short stories in “Best Worst American” all had different “pulses.” The work drew on his experiences of being a Colombian expatriate in the U.S. and of living in Orlando and Las Vegas, he said.

He added that his experiences as a lower-class international student informed his work and inspired him to highlight the potential side effects of rampant economic inequality.

Duyvis was inspired by her personal experiences with autism as well as her hometown, Amsterdam.

When speaking about the absence or devaluation of disabled characters in works of fiction, she added “[it] has always bothered me, and that’s something I’ve always wanted to challenge.”

“I knew I wanted to write about disability in the apocalypse, and I knew I wanted my city to get horrifically destroyed,” she said.

“It’s a rite of passage for any writer.”

At the reception, Tidhar spoke about his past residence in Tel Aviv and how his encounters with the city’s distinctive Central Station inspired his novel. He also discussed technologists in Silicon Valley, who see constructed realities in fantasy books as blueprints for the future — a thought that he said deeply troubles him.

“Part of me wanted to start writing these [dystopian stories] to warn people,” he said.

A l ex a n d e r C h e e, E n g l i s h professor and member of the award’s advisory committee, said he teaches English 87.04, “Imaginary Countries,” which exposes students to reading and writing speculative fiction.

“For me, [this event] is a tremendous resource, and I like that it brings together all these different types of writers,” he said. “It opens up possibilities to students to see how they might become a writer themselves.”

Jenna Gallagher ’21, who attended the event with her creative writing class, said she enjoyed engaging with the speculative fiction genre and believes more students should do the same.

“There are so many issues, especially in today’s world, that are so difficult to digest and comprehend —even the events that happened just this past week,” she said. “I think speculative fiction is a really important way to distill these really complex issues in a way that is beautiful and digestible.”

Ro c k m o r e e x p r e s s e d t h e importance of this event to Dartmouth and its educational mission.

“At the end of the day, an event like this shows us that an artistic sensibility and an imagination are crucial to bear on challenging problems of the day,” Rockmore said. “The goal of a liberal arts education is to create multidimensional students, and so I’d hope that an event like this shows by example that the college and faculty believe in that multidimensional view.”

PERPETUAL MOTION

LORRAINE LIU/THE DARTMOUTH

The Foucault Pendulum in Fairchild Tower demonstrates physics in action.

PAGE 6

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST TEDDY HILL-WELD ’20

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST LILLIAN ZHAO ‘19

Belonging Responsibly

Branded, Bold or Blind Sheep?

On the two sides of Greek life and social spaces at Dartmouth.

As a brother of Bones Gate fraternity, I In addition to the already existing requirement to don’t make a habit of talking to the press, but engage with the fellow members of one’s house, we all make exceptions sometimes. And the rushees are also compelled to consider their role rush process is one such exception. It plays a as creators and generators of Dartmouth’s social crucial role in determining which individuals on spaces. this campus will be endowed with the abilities It’s not “the boys” or “the girls” who are in a and resources to facilitate major social spaces house, but the continued attendance of its visitors at Dartmouth. Granted, across campus there that gives our institutions their power. I doubt is a mixture of rushees who have had varying anyone would agree that an oversimplification opportunities to acquaint themselves with the such as “we come + house pays” accurately full body of the house they are joining. But describes the exchange between hosts and guests. regardless of whether they enter a house after There are so many other dimensions to the terms of building credentials and connections interactions that happen in a house during an onor if they come with none at all, rushing a house night. A person’s experience at a house won’t vary gives every member the privileges of affiliation that much based on the kind of drinks they get — and it is the scope of those privileges that I (for the most part), but it will vary in accordance would like to address. with all the things the house isn’t spending Those reading this could be current members money on. The attitude of the brother or sister of a house, new members on table in their basement or anyone in between, if “It’s not ‘the boys’ reflects not just on themselves, affiliated at all. Regardless of or ‘the girls’ who are but on the house’s overall the amount of time someone in a house, but the demeanor. The availability of has spent in a Greek house, continued attendance information regarding house whether they are a member officers for safety concerns of its visitors that or as a guest, the weight of or a dark crowded basement one’s entitlement to that space gives our institutions with no sober brothers in sight in its function as a social space their power.” supervising can have a huge on Dartmouth’s campus does impact on someone’s ability not increase. For fraternities, to let go and enjoy themselves. being chosen to be a member has to do with Whether someone knows the visitors in their current members of the house assessing both house or not doesn’t change the fact that those your persona and personality by getting to visitors’ comfort matters. Everyone has the exact know you over a long period of time — or so same right to their space and autonomy. And we like to think. It is a validation of the idea this is far from a request to reach out to every that someone in the house wants you, the new face you see. I know Bones Gate wouldn’t human being that you are, to be a part of their be the same without our good old inhospitable community. This is a powerful feeling, one that spookiness, but what I do urge is for members may lead people to believe that they are entitled of Greek houses to be intentional in their to the space they occupy with their brothers. interactions with visitors.

However, that feeling of belonging should not To simply stumble through our social counterbalance the degree of responsibility calendars with no plan or vision for a larger carried with membership. Greek houses do campus and community is a terrible disservice plenty to cultivate that feeling of belonging in to the platform we affiliated students have lucked their members — but they do not do enough our way into. We get to decide, both actively and to cultivate that sense of responsibility. passively, what we want to model for generations Fraternities and sororities are both of Dartmouth students. We spend our time multidimensional spaces, but the aspect I am at Dartmouth learning how to socialize and most concerned with is the space the house is conduct ourselves in explicitly nonprofessional to its visitors. The role of the house as a social environments, and we ought to capitalize on it space, and not simply a private community, rather than let it slip through our hands. It’s now creates a new kind of obligation for members. or never.

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ISSUE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

LAYOUT: Anthony Robles COPYEDITING: Hayley Divers

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.

How does 63 percent of the senior class end up in finance, consulting or tech?

On the first day of senior year, the onearmed bro hugs and exclamations of “Oh my god, I haven’t seen you in forever!” punctuated the still Hanover summer. On the second day of senior year, a flood of blazers, suits and skirts marched in and out of the Top of the Hop, home of the annual career fair.

Pivotal moments like these best highlight the peculiarities of the Dartmouth student ego-complex. Lest the old traditions fail, Dartmouth students love ragging on finance and consulting as “selling out.” Ironically, the Dartmouth ego-complex pits students’ desire to be authentically alternative against their tendency to seek mainstream validation from peers.

Some students stride into the career fair, head held high with their resume in hand, ready to give a confident self-introduction followed by a strong handshake. A second type of student slinks about and hides behind cardboard tri-folds, as if afraid to be seen at the career fair. Strategically, they wear an outfit that intentionally falls on the cusp between business casual and casual in order to plausibly claim that they only dropped by. A third type of student alternates between lamenting about “selling their souls” with friends and earnestly networking with recruiters. This contradiction between the kinds of people students claim to be and the kinds of jobs they pursue can often cause them discomfort.

Of course, there are also those who never actually set foot in the career fair. Nonetheless, 63 percent of the Dartmouth senior class has ended up in finance, consulting or tech in recent years. This leads us to the question: what happened to the freshman class that matriculated with dreams of various shapes and sizes?

It’s what happens when the Dartmouth ego-complex dukes it out with reality. Ideally, a strong liberal arts education combined with an Ivy League brand and tight-knit alumni network enables students to follow their true interests with fewer repercussions on their employability. Many of them like to think that they will one day change the world.

Simultaneously, many are concerned about student debt, loans or getting a return on their annual cost of attendance of $74,000. After four years of dear old Dartmouth enabling students to pursue a wide variety of interests, it’s difficult to accept that they may not find their passions or change the world the day they leave college. Given that they are attending an Ivy League institution, some are also concerned with the prestige or image of their post-graduation choices. And many 21-yearolds don’t know what they really want to do.

Careers in finance, consulting and tech (specifically corporate behemoths like Google, Facebook or Amazon) address possible concerns around money, prestige, risk and commitment perfectly. For some, a high starting salary justifies an enormous investment in college better than happiness alone can. On top of that, Ivy League elitism breeds a sinister desire for prestige and exclusivity into many Dartmouth students. From pursuing elite colleges to entrance into exclusive campus

organizations, a stampede of interest toward selective employment naturally follows. Finally, if students fear that their first job will pigeonhole them or if they feel uncertain about what they want to do, well-regarded jobs with a broad set of exit options are an attractive next step.

The problem that these mainstream career choices pose to the alternative Dartmouth ego-complex is that they threaten a sense of self that values staying off the too beaten path.

On the contrary, staying “off the beaten path” sometimes comes with more volatility and risk. Twice, I came back from off-terms to tell my friends about how I loved the impact of the sick startup I worked at, but didn’t feel that there was consistent mentorship, structure or chances to learn when the focus was purely on execution. When my turn to tell summer tales ended, some friends would tell similar gripes about life on the Hill, in nonprofit organizations or in research roles.

Therefore, if students value learning and gravitate toward the path of least resistance, it makes sense to flock to where others are willing to invest heavily in them. For some aspirations, places of learning tend to be larger companies with the budget to spend on new graduates.

This is especially true if the liberal arts path students took did not give them specialized skills that other college students developed. After all, the currency of talent that brand name companies such as McKinsey, Goldman Sachs or Google buy into involves the implicit belief that students who succeed at elite universities will learn fast enough to be trained on the job and catch up.

Yesterday, a senior in the KAF line aptly said, “Over sophomore summer, I thought the half of our class that resume-dropped for corporate recruiting were just sheep blindly following the herd. This fall, I’m not so sure that’s the case.” It’s highly probable that some students applied solely because the Center for Professional Development conveniently brokers opportunities that involve little legwork on their part. Some others could not stand sitting on the sidelines watching friends apply and wondering if they were missing 100 percent of these shots.

However, no one can truly pretend to know the decision-making calculus of their acquaintances and classmates. How much of their decision to recruit for finance, consulting or tech involved a six-figure student debt and the search for a six-figure salary? Do they truly believe that these roles provide the best learning opportunity and path for their personal dreams? In the same way that it is difficult to judge whether other churchgoers truly believe in God, or whether medical school students love saving lives, it is nearly impossible to speak on behalf of individual classmates and label them as sheep and sellouts without understanding their individual stories. At the same time, there is some truth to the sellout taunt. Let’s not pretend or complacently believe that these careers are the best way to impact the world. Applaud those with the courage or privilege to break from the mold come next July, but let what the Class of 2019 is doing in 10 years speak for itself.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018

PAGE 7

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

STAFF COLUMNIST TYLER MALBREAUX ‘20

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST FRANCES MIZE ‘22

In Defense of Testing

Vulnerability on Display

Like many high school students, I too chance in the admissions rat race. hated taking the ACT. Even after I was I initially dismissed Bartlett’s article as accepted into Dartmouth, I felt bummed out obtuse polemic with little grounding in any that my score was not in the top quartile like research. However, after some re-reading the scores of some of my other classmates. and re-thinking, there is in fact some merit I assumed that this indicated I had an to his central claim. inherent disadvantage, destined to have a Originally, “intelligence tests,” similar dismal college transcript follow me around in format to the college entrance exams of after graduation. Yet two years later, I can today, were used to identify children with say that this will probably not be the case. I serious academic talent who would have been barely think about those scores now, nor do otherwise overlooked for school acceptance.

I think that they were very telling. Indeed, In the early 1900s, Alfred Binet, a French some of the other college students I have psychologist, developed the first “IQ” tests. talked to about this issue are in agreement The French government at the time passed that these tests are inaccurate at predicting laws requiring all French children to attend college success. school. But some students experienced Of course, standardized tests receive scorn difficulty learning new things and therefore for other reasons. Perhaps the most salient would need extra assistance. These first IQ are the well-documented demographic biases tests designed by Binet helped to identify that correlate to tests like the ACT. Whites, those students’ needs for success in the Asian-Americans and the highly affluent classroom. Binet, critically, was careful to typically outscore their black, brown and assert that IQ test results cannot be taken low-income peers. Testing is expensive, and alone, and that they must be balanced against those who can afford to retake them multiple background factors unique to a child that times, buy prep materials and hire tutors could impact their results. can gain higher scores. Meanwhile, other IQ tests and the modern-day college students who could perform just as well on entrance exams are not quite the same. But these tests may simply lack the adequate Sacks points out that their creation stems resources. from an all-too-familiar desire to use a single Author Peter Sacks wrote one of metric to assume an awful lot about ability. the earliest and most comprehensive While Sacks seems to think that abolishing cases undermining these the SAT altogether would tests’ legitimacy. His book “For the majority, be a wonderful idea, I find “Standardized Minds: The tests need to be myself agreeing more with High Price of America’s — that in the real designed to measure Bartlett Testing Culture and What world, such a move would different aptitudes We Can Do to Change make it difficult for those It” indicts the tests from that don’t solely who have limited options to multiple levels of analysis, reward memorization impress a college admissions from how they undermine and a strong c o m m i t t e e. S o - c a l l e d the confidence of students understanding of “small-town prodigies” who don’t perform as well how the test itself need the high scores on tests to how they test for skills works.” because there may not be like memory or logical clubs to co-chair or varsity reasoning, but fail to teams to captain otherwise. measure other key aptitudes Where I may add one like creativity and imagination. qualification to Bartlett’s argument, though, One does not have to exhaust the entire is that the current system is far from body of research on standardized tests to perfect. The underprivileged prodigal form a convincing indictment of them. That’s student who performs above average on why I was surprised this past weekend when these tests is exceptional and rare. For I came across Nicholas Bartlett’s column the majority, tests need to be designed “Legitimacy Lost,” in which he argues that to measure different aptitudes that don’t colleges should keep standardized tests as solely reward memorization and a strong an integral part of the college admissions understanding of how the test itself works. process.

The SAT writing sample is a good start, Bartlett rightly acknowledges the tests’ as it allows for a showcase of a student’s shortcomings: “Judging an individual’s writing prowess, but more must be done. In intellectual self-worth based upon their addition, current efforts to waive testing costs performance on one little test rings as cruel for low-income students should continue, as as it does disingenuous.” Yet to my surprise, well as after-school programs that offer free he continues to launch into a defense of test preparation. testing in the status quo. He says they If the SAT and ACT are here to stay, can be facilitators of “social mobility” for then at the very least College Board ought to underrepresented groups. For those who expand its efforts to make it more accessible attend schools with few “resume padding” and affordable. It should measure the student opportunities, such as extracurricular more holistically and prize more than only activities, strong ACT and SAT scores can a few attributes. Nonetheless, some people help the star student shine even brighter in will still remain “bad test takers.” Not every college applications. In fact, test scores may student will do amazing, but every student be the only way for some to even stand a at least deserves a fair shot.

While it hasn’t been “business as usual” in in those abiding over and involved in American politics, the events of the Senate the proceedings themselves. Minnesotan Judiciary Committee’s hearing for Supreme Democrat Amy Klobuchar asks Kavanaugh Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh this whether or not he has ever drunk so much past week are even farther from the norm. that he “didn’t remember what happened Regardless of what one holds at stake here the night before.” Kavanaugh deflects by — another conservative on responding, “I don’t know, the bench or the very efficacy have you?” Two high ranking of American justice (motives “In the sense that officials question one another at this point abound) — these Thursday’s hearing on their history of blackouts. judicial proceedings have it put unbridled, With the catch of surprise in drudged up levels of emotion human feeling on Klobuchar’s voice when she that transcend personal display, America may then responds with a mention perspective, motive or party of her 90-year-old father’s finally have found delineation. In the sense that Alcoholics Anonymous itself presented Thursday’s hearing it put membership, the probing unbridled, human feeling on with, at least in gets personal. Kavanaugh display, America may finally its essence, the himself, in an obviously have found itself presented apolitical.” complicated display of with, at least in its essence, tearful emotion, quotes his the apolitical.

10-year-old daughter, in Despite the additional allegations of reference to Dr. Ford, as saying, “We should sexual misconduct against Judge Kavanaugh pray for the woman.” Lindsey Graham made by additional women since Dr. descends into a kind of enraged hysterics, Christine Blasey Ford first spoke up, the wide-eyed and asking Kavanaugh, “Would current investigation remains focused on you say you’ve been through hell?,” and then a single night from the summer of 1982. noting, “This is hell.” What is this catharsis Because this one night experienced by unfolding on C-Span?

Ford, and allegedly by Kavanaugh, is so At a time when the lines that encircle individual and personal, the hyperfocus of an politics and politicians have become entire country is aimed at its minutiae, both so definitive, the facades required to immediate and auxiliary. There’s Dr. Ford’s maintain these rigid definitions seem to one-piece bathing suit that gave Kavanaugh be melting away. In the presence of such a “hard time” as he allegedly attempted to an unhampered, visceral account, those remove her clothing. There’s the fact that a listening become unhampered themselves.

17-year-old Brett Kavanaugh had an English People complain about the absence of paper due June 2, 1982, as is displayed for decorum in contemporary politics. They see the entire country on his now infamous, and derisive, acerbic name calling and hounding for some damning, calendar. There’s the as the unfortunate replacements of propriety. question of Mark Judge’s job at Safeway; In the hearing of Brett Kavanaugh, the an innocuous summer occupation over 30 absence of decorum has absolutely conceded years ago that could now prove detrimental to this behavior, but it has also resulted in a to the outcome of a detrimental case. virulent kind of emotional authenticity on In the face of words both sides of the aisle. like “Deep State” and “I am not referring It is not my intention “the Resistance” — these to the questionable to respond dismissively conspiratorial, impersonal authenticity or the toward the instances of t e r m s t h at h ave b e e n truth of the words political malpractice and hounding the country for opportunism that have spoken on that the past few years — America colored these events from stand, but rather is now met with the most the beginning. I am not minute, intimate details. the authentic confureferring to the questionable And regardless of what he sion, heartbreak and authenticity or the truth claims happened, standing profound anger with of the words spoken on at the top of the pile is the which they were that stand, but rather unshakable image of a young, spoken.” the authentic confusion, drunk Brett Kavanaugh heartbreak and profound half-suffocating and forcibly anger with which they were groping Christine Blasey spoken. Brett Kavanaugh Ford 36 years ago. may very well be lying, but there is a certain The sterile severity of the political arena kind of veracity in his outrage. My mother now meets the very human. This case does not turned off his testimony halfway through, involve shifting through bureaucratic stacks as the pain and embarrassment in his voice of paper and dense policy to determine the was too much; palpable even through the outcome that will alter the architecture and radio. Revealed in the gesticulating pointing future of our country. Instead, this case peels and reddening face of Lindsey Graham, in apart the layers of a life, allowing anecdotal the shaking voice of Christine Blasey Ford evidence to wield executive power. hiding behind her hair and glasses, is real life There is very little precedent for how to — raw and unfiltered. Along with Dr. Ford, go about this, and this lack of a blueprint the leaders of our nation are inadvertently has brought out a parallel kind of rawness slipping off their masks.

College entrance exams can be fair if they are reformed.

Emotions dominate the stand at the Kavanaugh hearing.

PAGE 8

gallery Walk

By COURTNEY MCKEE The Dartmouth

Nan Darham is a graduate student in Dartmouth’s Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program whose artwork was most recently exhibited in the Nearburg Gallery of the Black Family Visual Arts Center. Darham’s paintings are a colorful celebration of her life in Bozeman, Montana. Using oil pastel on paper and acrylic on canvas, Darham skillfully illustrated the peculiarities of the places we call home, and how those places are made so much more significant through those who inhabit them with us. In her work, Darham emphasizes the innate connection between human beings and natural rhythms — a connection that is easily remembered in the untouched majesty of Montana, with its backdrop of snowy peaks, glacial valleys and alpine forests. Her subjects range from a buffalo silhouetted by the Montana highlands to a portrait of her daughter baking in the kitchen as the family dog stands guard behind her. The informal warmth and vibrancy of her paintings temper the clean lines of the voluminous entryway to the gallery.

“I would like people to feel welcomed

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018

THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

into the space,” Darham said.

Interspersed throughout her artworks are excerpts from the creative writing pieces she has completed while in the MALS program. Beneath a painting of a white wolf confronting the viewer with yellow eyes, her caption reads, “Overriding everything else, denying all and forgetting home, nothing can be held back in pursuit of the scent.”

Each painting, or set of paintings, is complementedbyashortaccompanying paragraph, rich in the small details that enliven such vignettes.

“I am integrating my visual arts into creative writing, and developing my thesis on creativity and innovation,” Darham said. “This exhibition spans many years of my development as an artist and is also a new integration into the MALS program.”

MALS, a graduate program offered at Dartmouth, encourages such interdisciplinary exploration, while adhering to the framework provided by the choice of one of four concentrations: creative writing, cultural studies, globalization studies or general liberal studies. Students are allowed to pursue their particular interests as they design their own degree,

Graduate student exhibits artwork at BVAC

one that involves both taking classes and independent research.

Barbara Kreiger, chair of the creative writing concentration, said,“MALS is by definition interdisciplinary, going back to its origins in the 1960s.

Students are required to engage in cross-disciplinary work, and in fact have chosen MALS over discipline-specific [Master’s] programs because of their commitment to the ‘cross-fertilization’ process.”

In this way, the MALS program is a continuation of a liberal arts education, extended into the professional realm.

Darham’s work, with her blend of prose and visual art, exemplifies the ethos of the program. Along with creative writing, Darham plans to incorporate her other MALS pursuits, such as cultural and gender studies, into her artwork.

“In her prose evocation of the Montana landscape, she’s interested in conveying motion and tactility,” Krieger said. “But she’s also attentive to stillness, when sensory expectations are suspended. I see this process in a lot of her art, and when she writes, she’s not trying to translate the visual to prose but is discovering another way to speak.”

NAINA BHALLA/THE DARTMOUTH

Art by Nan Darham in the Nearburg Gallery, Black Family Visual Arts Center.

Review: ‘Negro Swan’ is a pertinent, genre-crossing masterpiece

By MADISON WILSON The Dartmouth

Is it indie pop? Techno? R&B? Hip-hop? Blood Orange’s new album “Negro Swan” revives Devonté Hynes’s genre-transcending sound with an earnest meditation on the state of those existing on the fringes of society.

Hynes calls the album a meditation on “black depression.” He extends this idea to queer folks as well, creating a central theme based on exclusion and identity. Hynes discusses not only physical exclusion, but also the mental damage that alienation and body-soul dissociation can cause.

The work begins with a discussion of social issues at large. “Orlando,” the opening track, features street sounds that blend easily into a synth and bass-heavy loop, placing the listener in a state of limbo — this will continue, on and off, for the remainder of the record — that an alarm noise rudely interrupts. The refrain, “First kiss was the floor,” loops throughout, evoking an incident of bullying from Hynes’s childhood

that illustrates his feelings on social politics at large.

Alarms and sirens continue throughout the work. They are, as narrator Janet Mock later explains in “Runnin,’” a symbol of waking up to internalized oppression and marginalization. Mock, a transgender rights activist, journalist and author, narrates throughout “Negro Swan.”

Her presence is very intentional –— as a trans woman, Mock has dealt with exclusion and displacement from a very young age. Her insight grounds the work and transports it from a place of ethereal meditation to reality. She specifically focuses on the characteristics of physical and mental space, saying that we are able to create spaces that reflect our identity and feel safe, especially as public spaces continue to become more and more divisive.

“Take Your Time” is the thesis of the work. Here, Hynes expands on themes of identity, external exclusion, internal feelings of dissociation and how these themes all interplay to create “black depression” and separated society. He laments, “You

can’t keep placing yourself above,” begging the listener to ignore outward voices and maintain their identity.

His words stand out against a looping, deep space-like synth, again conflating the urgency of his message with the constancy of unequal social conditions.

Pre-released singles “Jewelry” and “Charcoal Baby” are the most mainstream tracks on the work, reflecting a Frank Ocean-esque usage of Auto-Tune and chant-rap that still maintains Hynes’ ethereal sound.

“Charcoal Baby” explains the symbol of “Negro Swan” with surprising clarity, as “no one wants to be the odd one out at times/No one wants to be the negro swan.” The image of the negro swan is one of duality — as Pitchfork explains in their review, the black swan is a creature of impressive beauty but also lives on the fringe, loved by indigenous Australians but despised by European colonizers. The modern take on this symbol is fairly clear — not much has changed.

A disquieting opener for “Holy Will” resets the tone after the fairly flat “Chewing Gum,” starting with a

vortex-like conglomeration of white noise that suddenly stops to introduce something of an upbeat R&B hymn — a beautiful prayer asking for blessings. Again, Hynes refuses generic description, switching from electro-pop to hypnotic harmony with grace.

Sometimes, inclusion and exclusion in a space goes beyond the rational. “Nappy Wonder” says, “Feelings never had no ethics/ feelings never have been ethical” — the rational cannot explain feelings of exclusion, and these feelings are valid regardless of whether there is physical cause. An experimental piano riff throughout goes beyond boundaries of rhythm and melody, further emphasizing the irrational nature of human feelings, which does not make them any less real or damaging.

“Runnin’’’ rounds out the theme. It comments on feelings of displacement and internal separation, as the oppressed must change themselves to fit into increasingly exclusive spaces. Featured artist Georgia Anne Muldrow says, “You and your soul

are never not one,” emphasizing that identity in the body and identity in the soul are intrinsically connected.

Mock discusses the buzzer motif here as well, comparing it to an alarm reminding her to “stop pretending.”

The exceedingly rhythmic “Out of Your League” again stands out compared to the wandering nature of “Runnin,’” but as we’ve seen, Hynes navigates the world of contradiction quite deftly.

Overall, the message of “Negro Swan” rings loud and clear. It’ll take a few listens to sink in — at first, the style is quite jarring — but perhaps this is what Hynes intends.

The feeling of discomfort draws listeners in, forcing them to pay close attention to what Hynes is saying.

“Negro Swan” will make you feel lost, confused but deeply immersed.

Topically, it’s a genre-crossing masterpiece, but thematically, the work leaves a carefully crafted and lasting impression. Ultimately, as the semi-acoustic ending track “Smoke” illustrates, “Negro Swan” is exceedingly honest, and this is what draws us in.