VOL. CLXXVI NO. 76
SUNNY HIGH 62 LOW 37
OPINION
BARTLETT: AN UNWORTHY SACRIFICE PAGE 4
BLUM: LESS IS MORE PAGE 4
ARTS
REVIEW: ‘JOKER’ FAILS TO LIVE UP TO ITS ARTISTIC ASPIRATIONS PAGE 7
UCHICAGO PROFESSOR SPEAKS AT HOOD ON INTERSECTION OF ART AND RACE PAGE 8
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Lawsuit alleging 2005 Phishing emails sent to student sexual assault moves to accounts promise high-paying jobs settlement conference B y REILLY OLINGER The Dartmouth
A settlement conference for two Dartmouth alumni embroiled in a legal dispute over an alleged sexual assault in 2005 has been scheduled for Oct. 18. Monica Morrison ’07, a freelance writer, and Rob Langrick Tu’ 06, a head of practice analysis at the CFA Institute and former Bloomberg executive, have filed charges against one another based on a sexual encounter that occurred
while Morrison was a College sophomore and Langrick was a graduate student at the Tuck School of Business. In her original lawsuit filed in November 2018, Morrison alleged that the 2005 encounter was sexual assault, but Langrick denies these accusations and claims that the two shared a consensual encounter, according to counterclaims submitted by Langrick’s counsel. After a decade of silence on the case SEE LAWSUIT PAGE 3
Documentary coproduced by NAS professor wins Emmy B y EMILY ZHANG The Dartmouth
“Dawnland,” a documentary co-produced by Native American studies professor N. Bruce Duthu, recently won the News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Research. “Dawnland” tells the story of indigenous child removal in the United States during the 20th century — when child welfare authorities forced
Native American children to live in non-Native foster care, adoptive homes or boarding schools. The documentary follows the first so-called Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the United States for the contemporary Wabanaki community in Maine. Duthu said that he believes “Dawnland” serves as a cautionary tale about “state SEE DAWNLAND PAGE 5
NAINA BHALLA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Many students have received phishing emails to their Dartmouth accounts soliciting personal information.
B y EMILY LU The Dartmouth
Since the beginning of the ter m, students have reported receiving job offers via phishing emails to their Dartmouth accounts. These emails are sent with the draw of high pay and flexible working hours, but they solicit students’ addresses, full names and phone numbers. The sensitive data obtained could potentially lead to identity theft and financial loss. Phishing emails happen every year and target new students, according to interim senior director of information security Sean McNamara. “The bad guys, the folks
from the outside — they know there are new people coming to campus who may not have as much experience seeing and dealing with these sorts of messages,” McNamara said. Because email directories are public infor mation, anyone can gather lists of Dartmouth students’ email addresses. To target more students, phishing emails are often sent simultaneously to all Dartmouth community members with the same first name. Dartmouth’s new Duo twofactor authentication process — officially implemented over the last few months to secure access to Collegerelated accounts — does not
directly prevent the phishing emails. However, because students are required to verify their identity on a separate device, external parties cannot gain access to accounts for which they know the password. “Because your machine is the one that’s authenticated, if the hacker uses a different machine for Duo, it’s still going to flash,” said chief information officer Mitchel Davis. “And their phone’s not approved — only yours is.” Phishing emails themselves a re re l at i ve l y h a r m l e s s unless students reply with personal infor mation; if they share any information, SEE EMAILS PAGE 5
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Library permanently moves pickup location for reserve books “I’m guessing that besides needing to remember where to go for them, The Dartmouth it’s not a big deal.” Starting this term, Baker-Berry However, Emily Andrews ’22, Library has permanently relocated who also works in access and reserve books and microfilm delivery services, said that while machines from the Orozco Room to she understands the library’s behind the circulation desk in Berry motivations, the new system has Library. While library staff hopes experienced some growing pains. the change will improve service, She explained that employees who some students have found that the work the reserve and hold desks transition process has resulted in have had a hard time adjusting complications. to the new arrangement, and it “The idea behind [the new sometimes takes multiple tries for system] was to improve service by a student to get the right book. creating a single service point for “It might be a little bit annoying students,” said because [library head of access staff] can take all “The idea behind and delivery their books to one services David [the new system] was area, but then they Sturges. have to remember to improve service While in the which ones go to past librarians by creating a single which collection would have to service point for u p t h e re, ” s h e refer students said. “I think that students.” to two different gets a little bit l o c at i o n s t o confusing. If we retrieve library -DAVID STURGES, HEAD still had things the materials — way they had been, t h e r e s e r v e OF ACCESS AND DELIVERY it would be a lot collection in SERVICES more convenient the Orozco for everyone corridor as involved.” well as the A n d r e w s circulation desk on the first floor suggested that possible solutions of Berry — Sturges said that the to some of the library’s current circulation desk will now act as a problems might be to staff the “one-stop shop.” circulation desk with trained Library staffers also hope that librarians and keep most student no longer using the Orozco Room, employees behind the scenes. which closes at midnight while “You’ve added one more thing the rest of the library closes at 2 to the list of things [student a.m., will increase the hours when employees] have to learn in a crash students can retrieve books. Sturges course,” she said. “It makes it a little added that the change was driven bit harder for them to function.” by feedback from students who Sturges said that the library disapproved of the two-location has not heard any feedback from system. students on the new system, as he “[Student] access should be just does not expect any meaningful as easy at the Baker Circulation long-term effect on library users. Desk as it was in the Reserves Harper — who works mostly Corridor,” wrote resource sharing with outside patrons — agreed, assistant Shane Harper in an email. writing that “so far there’s not been
B y Lauren Adler
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
NAINA BHALLA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
The pickup location for reserve books is no longer in the basement floor of Baker library.
any feedback pro or con” on the switch. Harper added that while library staff would likely not receive feedback until the system had been in place for a longer period of time, he does not expect the new system
will be an issue. Sturges is receptive to any student opinions on the new system. “I’m certainly open to any feedback … If students have comments they want to submit,
they can certainly submit them to me directly or to anybody at the circulation desk,” he said. “This is the first term [with the new system], and we really want to assess how it’s going. We’re open to that.”
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Lawsuit alleges sexual assault occurred at undergrad society house FROM LAWSUIT PAGE 1
between 2005 and 2016, the two have been involved in a legal back-and-forth. Most recently, the settlement conference originally scheduled for today in federal court in the Eastern District of New York was rescheduled for next week. The alleged incident occurred on the evening of May 7, 2005 and extended into the early morning of the next day when Morrison, then a 19-year-old sophomore at Dartmouth, and Langrick, a 29-year-old graduate student, met at a party at Bones Gate fraternity. Neither party disputes that they met, played pong together and eventually returned to Morrison’s residence at the Panarchy house. In court filings, Morrison claims that Langrick attempted to assault her in her bed while she was unconscious due to incapacitation from alcohol, while Langrick claims that the two of them had a consensual sexual encounter on the cupola of the Panarchy house before returning to Morrison’s room. Morrison, after speaking with a Sexual Assault Peer Advisor a few days after the alleged incident, requested an investigation by the Hanover Police department. After interviewing Morrison, her roommate, her roommate’s boyfriend (both of whom were in the room at the time of the incident), and other residents of the Panarchy house, now-retired Hanover Police captain Frank Moran concluded that there was not evidence to support a sexual assault charge, according to court
filings. On May 31, 2005, four days after Morrison and her father were informed by Moran that no sexual assault charges would be pursued against Langrick, Morrison’s legal counsel sent a letter to Langrick, informing him that Morrison intended to pursue a lawsuit. In the letter, Morrison’s counsel informed Langrick that he wished to “provide [him] with the opportunity to discuss a potential settlement in this case, thereby avoiding the expense and publicity which would be a probable cause of a lawsuit in this manner.” Langrick did not respond to the letter, and neither Morrison nor her counsel followed up with Langrick regarding a lawsuit after the letter was received, according to Langrick’s counterclaims. Morrison alleges no attempt to contact Langrick until 2016, according to a public press statement from Morrison made in November 2018. In the statement, she wrote that she was “inspired by other brave survivors who were confronting their assailants” and therefore attempted to make contact with Langrick. According the counterclaims submitted by Langrick’s counsel, on June 4, 2016, Morrison left a voicemail to Langrick claiming to be a journalist seeking a “press inquiry” for a “story” she was working on. In Morrison’s answer to Langrick’s counterclaims, she “admits that as of June 4, 2016, she was employed by Working Voices, a U.K.-based corporate communications consulting
firm.” Langrick did not respond to the voicemail. On Jan. 2, 2018, Morrison attempted to reach Langrick again. According to Langrick’s counterclaims, she called a representative for global customer support for Langrick’s employer, Bloomberg L.P., but her call was routed to the human resources department, where she stated that Langrick, “attempted to sexually assault [her] in college.” She stated that she reported the incident, but “the police did nothing.” On Jan. 4, 2018, Morrison created an account on the video sharing site Vimeo and created a group titled “rapist,” according to the counterclaims. The only video in the group is one of Langrick giving a presentation in New York City in 2015, on behalf of Bloomberg for Education. The counterclaims also note that on January 19, 2018, Morrison posted a “personal review” on MyLife.com, a site which gives “reputation scores” to people, where she posted anonymously that Langrick “penetrat[ed] and attempt[ed] anal sex with an unconscious woman.” Langrick’s counsel sent a cease and desist letter to Morrison on Feb. 12, 2018, informing her that further
efforts to contact Langrick directly or make accusations about him would result in legal action. He also requested that Morrison sign a nondisclosure agreement and required her to pay Langrick $500,000 in liquidated damages each time she alleged that Langrick had assaulted her. Morrison declined to reach a settlement, citing her right to “truthfully recount the facts of her life,” according documents in her original court filing. According to Morrison’s initial complaint, Morrison claims that she reached out to Bloomberg L.P. out of “concern for protecting further potential victims on college campuses,” after learning from Langrick’s LinkedIn page that he visited campuses for his work. According to the counterclaims submitted by Langrick, “This action caused Mr. Langrick great emotional distress, damaged his professional reputation among his colleagues, and caused him great embarrassment and humiliation at his place of employment.” Shortly thereafter, Morrison and her counsel filed a complaint for declaratory judgment, asking for a declaration that she did not commit
meritorious slander, a declaration that the “settlement agreement” proposed by Langrick and his counsel will not be followed, a declaration of Morrison’s First Amendment right to speak her personal story of abuse and “damages well in excess of $75,000, her attorney’s fees and costs, and any other related relief deemed appropriate by the Court.” Langrick, in his counterclaims, contradicts the factuality of Morrison’s complaint and presenting his own claims against Morrison: slander for the phone call to the Bloomberg Human Resources department, libel for the Vimeo post and libel for the MyLife.com post. He requested that Morrison’s claims be dismissed, that he be awarded damages in excess of $75,000 to be decided at trial, that Morrison be required to delete the Vimeo and MyLife.com posts and that his legal fees be reimbursed. Morrison’s motion to dismiss Langrick’s counterclaims was dismissed on July 29, 2019. Her counsel submitted an answer to these counterclaims on August 29, 2019. There is no sealing order on the court documents, the contents of which can be accessed by the public.
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
STAFF COLUMNIST NICHOLAS BARTLETT ’21
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST MAXWELL BLUM ’23
An Unworthy Sacrifice
Less is More
Dartmouth should resurrect Foco’s “World View” station. As I mill about the beloved Class of ’53 Commons (colloquially adored as “Foco”), I cannot help but stop and reminisce on a somewhat nostalgic cavalcade of bygone pizzas and one-off lobster dinners. It strikes me that this glorious facility — this Sistine Chapel of student sustenance — has proven the backdrop of my most iconic collegiate memories. And perhaps one feature most tickles my ruminatory exuberance: the halcyon days of the “World View” station. This once ineluctable paragon of exotic cuisine once graced the student body’s collective taste buds with a rotating merry-go-round of culinary perfection, oscillating every few weeks between savory German sausages, wondrous sushi and everything — and everywhere — in between. It was, in my eyes, the poster boy of Dartmouth Dining Services. Yet, come the fall of 2018, the magic simply disappeared like a mightily caffeinated beverage down the gullet of a student prepping for an all-nighter. My beloved “World View” was no more. Now, a year removed from the tragedy, I feel it’s safe to presume that this is no mere phase; this is reality. And as such, I think it’s fair to levy some criticism. DDS’s decision to supplant Foco’s “World View” with a stir-fry bar both unjustly and inefficiently robbed our campus of a unique and ambrosial tradition that once embraced the multicultural heritage of our student body — a mistake which they should most definitely rectify. Don’t misunderstand me here: I love stir fry. I can absolutely grasp why some Foco denizens may have been (and still are) elated with the
DEBORA HYEMIN HAN, Editor-in-Chief
opportunity to special order their dishes within the snug confines of our grandiose buffet joint. However, as much as I may liken the issue to my own personal preferences, much of this debacle simply boils down to redundancy. For tantalizing though it may be, stir fry is no novel commodity amidst the campus’s culinary landscape. Far from it — it’s a staple … just not of Foco. Instead, the heralded moniker of stir fry dispensary belonged to its sibling dining facility, Collis Café, which has toiled away for years in the pursuit of an efficient and savory means of made-to-order stir fry. And aside from the equally beloved “Collis pasta,” one could even go so far as to anoint this their signature dish. Pray tell, then: How exactly does the student body benefit when the distinct and oh-so deliciously palatable “World View” segment finds itself deposed by an inefficient facsimile of our already-existing dining hall? Well, say we presume that an insatiable demand for stir fry led to the switcheroo within Foco, is it not fair to question why Collis pasta and Courtyard Café foodstuffs — both of which elicit obscenely potent student demand in their own right — did not receive similar treatment? If three quasi-equitable cases thereby receive vastly disparate treatment, I believe it’s safe to hazard that the common factor, in this case demand, was not the galvanizing factor behind this corpulent culinary conversion. Yes indeed, the dissolution of “World View” was little more than bemusing redundancy. SEE BARTLETT PAGE 6
AIDAN SHEINBERG, Publisher
ALEX FREDMAN, Executive Editor PETER CHARALAMBOUS, Managing Editor
ANTHONY ROBLES, Managing Editor
PRODUCTION EDITORS CAROLINE COOK & EOWYN PAK, Opinion Editors
BUSINESS DIRECTORS JONNY FRIED, JASMINE FU, RAIDEN MEYER,
KYLEE SIBILIA, Mirror Editor LILI STERN & BAILY DEETER, Sports Editors LEX KANG & LAUREN SEGAL, Arts Editors DIVYA KOPALLE, Photo Editor SAMANTHA BURACK & BELLA JACOBY, Design Editors HATTIE NEWTON, Templating Editor JESS CAMPANILE, Multimedia Editor
Advertising & Finance Directors HIMADRI NARASIMHAMURTHY & KAI SHERWIN, Business Development Directors ALBERT CHEN & ELEANOR NIEDERMAYER, Strategy Directors VINAY REDDY & ERIC ZHANG, Marketing, Analytics and Technology Directors
ELIZA JANE SCHAEFFER, Engagement Editor WILLIAM CHEN & AARON LEE, Data Visualization Editors
ISSUE LAYOUT LAUREN ADLER 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.
We should embrace word limits. Blink, blink, blink. As I stared blankly into the writings are now pressured to become shorter and plain white abyss, the intimidating brigade of shorter, writer’s block grows longer and longer with metronomic blinks seemed to grow louder and the added stress of making every. Single. Word. louder without making a single noise. How could Count. a cursor, an enemy no longer than 20 pixels make But is this added stress necessarily a bad me, a 6-foot-3-inch first-year, feel so defenseless? thing? No. Less is more. With complex ideas My already intense feelings of torment, defeat being condensed into short texts, we can absorb and worry manifested into a single nightmare of information online in a matter of seconds rather emptiness, my fervent and enthusiastic inspirations than on paper in a matter of several hours. The felt as though they had evaporated into thin air. increased efficiency of words — when allotted I was distraught. For every moment my LED- little space to use them — is a marvel I like to call illuminated eyes stared at my blinking nemesis, I the pressure cooker phenomenon. could feel an arrogant cursor staring back at me. In a world of Tinder bios, Snapchat group I’ve been staring at “Write a chats and 280-character caption...” on Instagram for tweets, I continue to see my “The increased five minutes. writer’s block magnify as I efficiency of words — sense a greater demand for After what felt like ages of thinking, writing, revising and complex thoughts in a short when allotted little drafting, I finally decided to amount of words. Likewise, caption my Instagram photo space to use them — is it may feel incredibly difficult with a singular starry-eyed a marvel I like to call to properly introduce emoji. Why? yourself in 500 characters, the pressure cooker While for some, writing communicate with friends phenomenon.” can be a blissful and sweet in 80 characters and publicly literary escape from the express yourself in a matter world around them, for the of 140 words. Nevertheless, majority of us it can be an incredibly daunting and while incredibly difficult, I believe it is the pressure cumbersome process — even in applications as light cooker phenomenon at play that turns these as an Instagram caption. Although my account near-impossible feats into some great works of of attempting to write a caption is embellished, it succinctness. Like that six-word story commonly would be unfair to say that, in one way or another, attributed to Ernst Hemingway: “For sale: baby you haven’t experienced a wicked case of the shoes, never worn.” modern-day writer’s block too, whether it be on So while some may view word limits as voicing the Internet or not. obstacles or even as the distant finish line of a And while I’m not your timely knight rescuing marathon of writing, I believe they should be you from your various writers’ blocks, I suppose viewed more optimistically — as an opportunity I can still be chivalrous by taking you on a to create as much as you can in the space allotted. brief adventure through my perception of our Follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned composition kingdom. century-old six-word story: Next time you go to The way I see it, our online writings and write a 2,000-word essay, remember that it’s okay postings are getting shorter, whether it be Instagram to have nothing written down. You may not have captions, blogs or even YouTube tutorials. While a start, but you already know where you’re going years ago those who captioned their photos with to finish. less than 10 hashtags were social media outcasts, In light of changes in communication moving today I scroll through my feed observing posts towards condensed, small, easily digestible bits with simple captions quite similar to my own, of content, I offer this column — an optimistic like “senior things (:,” “life recently” and “[ghost take on the reaction between humans and the emoji].” Arguably, we are entering an age of online age of information. Simply put, less is more. The brevity. widespread brevity of our internet may encourage According to TIME magazine, we have an us to be more artistic, concise, and creative in attention span of eight seconds, shorter than that our all-around presence. In the end, to convey of a goldfish’s, due to our increasingly digitized something concisely and impactfully is worth lifestyles. In short, it’s unquestionable that in the writer’s block. So, whether it be in college our ever-evolving age of information, it’s more essays, tweets, job applications, or even Instagram important now to convey meaningful information captions, I encourage you to treat every word like in a lesser amount of time than ever before. As it’s your last.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
ITC department working on project to raise awareness of phishing FROM EMAILS PAGE 1
hackers may obtain other forms of communication or sensitive data. McNamara said he warns specifically against providing a cell phone number, as phones generally have less protection than emails. “As soon as you give them a phone number, they’re going to switch to text,” McNamara noted. “They want to get out of band with you. At that point, there’s no spam or phishing protection on your phone with text messages.” Since these emails are disguised as lucrative job opportunities, students may feel a sense of urgency to be the first to respond. They can also be sent out to coincide real events on campus in an attempt to
appear legitimate. “We’re more likely than not dealing with organized crime who have capable people constructing these campaigns,” he said. “There’s certainly some planning and thought that goes into these messages.” Some phishing emails sent to students include attachments, which are especially dangerous because they may bypass the automated s e c u r i t y m e a s u re s t h at s c a n messages. These attachments could include malware or ransomware intended to infect and encrypt the computer. The Information, Technology and Consulting department is currently working on adjusting its threshold for what type of emails students receive, according to
McNamara. It is a delicate balance, as blocking emails sent from faculty or other Dartmouth community members is often more harmful than the consequences of phishing emails. “Really, it’s a matter of looking at data: seeing the number of false positives you’re getting, the number of accurate classifications you’re getting and then making very small adjustments and seeing if that has a positive effect without upsetting people,” McNamara said. The challenge in developing ways to combat phishing emails is continuous. McNamara added that as soon as tools are introduced to protect students’ email addresses, the hackers are able to develop more sophisticated phishing emails
to elude the new measures. These scams seem insignificant in terms of financial gain, yet cyber crimes regularly rake in billions annually, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ website. Because phishing emails are sent en masse at very low costs, hackers only need a fraction of people to respond to their emails in order to profit. “These people are making tons of money — they have tons of resources to throw at this problem,” Davis said. “There’s not as much money to fight it as to exploit it. To fight it, you have to block thousands of points of access; to exploit it, you only need to find one.” However, McNamara emphasized that the best way to protect students
from phishing attacks is through spreading awareness. Miles Harris ’23 said he is already vigilant in these efforts. “Sometimes I’ll post [a screenshot] in the ’23s GroupMe, or generally other people will be showing their friends like, ‘Hey, look at this dumb email I got,’” Harris said. The ITC department is also collaborating with the DALI Lab to develop measures that would raise awareness about phishing emails. McNamara explained their project as a “phishing tournament,” in which students would receive prizes for reporting the scam emails. With this reward structure, he hopes to motivate students to spread the word about phishing. The project intends to launch in mid-2020.
“Dawnland” describes indigenous child removal in U.S. in 1900s FROM DAWNLAND PAGE 1
power being misdirected against vulnerable populations.” Currently leading a the Native American Studies Domestic Studies Program in Santa Fe, NM, Duthu said he regretted that he was not able to join his team at the awards ceremony in New York City, but he described the ceremony as “wonderful,” adding that he was later told that many Wabanaki people featured in the documentary were present at the ceremony. Duthu said that his involvement with the project began when he was brought on as a consultant to help the production team with legal and policy aspects of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. Later on, as Duthu continued to help the team with research, fundraising and resource connections, he was invited to become a co-producer. “Dawnland” co-director Adam Mazo said he was introduced to Duthu by Native American studies professor Colin Calloway and expressed his gratitude for having Duthu on the team. “His way of distilling complex ideas into more easily digestible pieces is super helpful for us, as we are not academics,” Mazo said.
According to Duthu and Mazo, one of the most important accomplishments during the production of “Dawnland” was finding the footage of a U.S. Senate hearing on the Indian Child Welfare Act that occurred in the 1970s. At the hearing, Native American witnesses testified that children were abused and forced into foster homes. Duthu said that when the team was reading through the transcript of the hearing, they noticed that a senator asked a witness if the light was too bright. That was when the team realized the hearing had actually been videotaped. Following an extensive effort from many members inside and outside of the film team, they finally were able to discover the footage at a local television station in Boston. “This took a lot of patience from the team, and a lot of hard work,” Duthu said. Mazo said he was inspired to direct “Dawnland” after he first heard about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2013. He added that this commission was “historic,” as it was the first of its kind in the United States sanctioned by the state and tribal governments. He also noted that “Dawnland” was related to a 2010 documentary he directed, “Coexist,”
about forced reconciliation after the 1994 Rwandan genocide. “We also want to acknowledge genocide in this country’s history,” Mazo said. “We hope [‘Dawnland’] is going to put a greater spotlight on the story of the Wabanaki people and the reality of indigenous child removal that continues in this country today.” “Dawnland” senior advisor and cofounder of the Akomawt Educational Initiative Chris Newell described “Dawnland” winning an Emmy as a “surreal experience.” A member of the Wabanaki tribe that “Dawnland” documents, Newell said that he believed it was his responsibility to help the story of his community “to be told correctly.” Newell, who is now involved in multiple educational projects focusing on the education of Native American history, said he valued the opportunity that “Dawnland” provided to tell the story of the Wabanaki people to a larger audience. “I was just part of a team that helps tell the story, but the story belongs to the people that told their truth and they are the ones that this recognition should really reflect,” Newell said. Native Americans at Dartmouth co-president Elsa Armstrong ’20 said she watched some “Dawnland” clips
ELI BURAKIAN/COURTESY OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
Duthu began his involvement with the project as a consultant.
in Duthu’s class NAS 30.3, “Native American Literature and Law” last winter. She said she appreciated that the clips were able to show history from an indigenous perspective. Evan Barton ’20 described Duthu’s teaching as “phenomenal,” saying that Duthu was able to “challenge [students] appropriately” to “inspire creative processes.” Though he has not watched “Dawnland,” Barton said he was really eager to see the film to learn about the impact of child foster care
on indigenous communities. Although Duthu said that he was not a filmmaker and does not currently plan to pursue more filmmaking, he added that he was open to new opportunities. “I never expected to be involved with something as significant as ‘Dawnland,’ so I am always open to opportunities where I might be able to be helpful,” Duthu said. “Dawnland” was screened on campus last October in Loew Auditorium.
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
DARTMOUTHEVENTS
TODAY
3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Exhibition: “OCP Photo Exhibition,” sponsored by the the Guarini Institute for Interntional Education (OCP), Collis Common Ground.
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
The Roger S. Aaron ’64 Lecture: “Free Them All: Defending the Lives of Criminalized Survivors of Violence,” with Mariame Kaba, Founder and Director of Project NIA, sponsored by the the Rockefeller Center, Dartmouth Lawyers Association, Dartmouth Legal Studies Faculty Group and Dartmouth Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, Filene Auditorium, Moore Hall.
5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Poster Session: “5th Annual Celebration of Biomedical Research at Dartmouth,” sponsored by the Dartmouth Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Life Sciences Center, First Floor.
TOMORROW 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Exhibition: “Richly Coloured and Finely Wrought,” showcasing early 20th-century British craftsmen Sangorski and Sutcliffe’s luxury bookbindings, sponsored by the Dartmouth Library, Rauner Library in Webster Hall.
8:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m.
Exhibition: “Adventuresome Spirit,” celebrating Dartmouth’s 250th Anniversary, sponsored by the Dartmouth Library, Baker Library Main Hall.
FROM BARTLETT PAGE 4
But the quagmire runs far deeper than a mere inefficient allocation of campus-wide resources. For “World View” was more than a chance to devour delicious cuisine — “World View” was a microcosm of our wondrously diverse and multicultural student body. Just this year alone, the vigorous Class of 2023 added their own dash of spice to our campus’s cultural melting pot. You’ll find students who hail from each of America’s 50 states and over 60 different nations; students who adhere to one of 49 distinct religions; students who grew up in a mesmerizing variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Diversity, for all intents and purposes, is Dartmouth. Unrelenting exploration
of disparate and splendiferous beliefs and cultures comes with the territory. “World View,” therefore, emblematized the very nucleus of our culture. It encouraged and allowed us students to bask in inexorably mouthwatering confections from all corners of the world — foodstuffs which, to some, aren’t foreign at all. Thus, by robbing Foco of its once impeccable and multicultural offerings, DDS has swindled the student body out of its chance to share their respective heritages — their stories — in the form of tasty cuisines which may otherwise be tough to procure here in small-town New Hampshire. “World View” was never just about the food; it was simply
a delicious means to an even more delectable end.
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
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Review: ‘Joker’ fails to live up to its artistic aspirations B y sebastian wurzrainer The Dartmouth Staff
“Joker” is not the most boring film I’ve seen all year. Nor is it the most poorly made. Nevertheless, “Joker” is probably the worst film I’ve seen in 2019, or at least the one I despised the most. Indeed, the fact that it is neither boring nor poorly made ultimately ends up highlighting the stark divide between the film’s artistic ambitions and the shallow execution of the story it thinks it’s trying to tell. The film is the first in a series of standalone films meant to reinvent iconic DC Comics characters. Set in 1981, “Joker” follows Arthur Fleck, a former mental patient now living with his mother and working as an impoverished clown-for-hire with aspirations to become a stand-up comedian. However, Fleck’s dreams are hindered by his depression, social awkwardness and a condition causing him to laugh pathologically during uncomfortable moments. Meanwhile, the surrounding urban decay of Gotham City has led the billionaire Thomas Wayne (father of the Joker’s eventual archnemesis, Bruce Wayne/ Batman) to announce a run for mayor, stirring even more societal unrest. Fleck is harassed while in full clown make-up by three Wayne employees during one of his laughing fits and kills them all in cold blood. This accidentally sets off a clown-inspired protest movement against the wealthy one percent wherein Fleck is hailed as a hero. The rest of the film documents Fleck’s further descent into criminality as he comes to adopt the moniker “Joker.” The advertising for “Joker” has not disguised the fact that the elevator pitch for the film was essentially: “What if we mashed together Robert DeNiro’s characters from Martin Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘The King of Comedy’ — but it’s the Joker!” Indeed, the film is also in no hurry to hide this conceit, lavishly recreating the late-’70s or early-’80s aesthetic of Scorsese’s work. Likewise, Robert DeNiro cameos as the talk show host that Fleck idolizes. The difference is that “Taxi Driver” and “The King of
Comedy,” troubling though parts of “Joker” runs into. In fact, it’s telling them might be, are actually good. that the most iconic version of the In fairness, a lot of what doesn’t character’s backstory — Alan Moore’s work about the film is baked into its comic book “Batman: The Killing conceptual DNA. Much has been Joke” — ultimately acknowledges written in the past few weeks about that the sort of person who might whether or not “Joker” is a socially adopt the Joker’s nihilistic worldview irresponsible film given our current is neither sympathetic nor tragic but political environment. These concerns instead utterly pathetic. Nevertheless, sometimes manifest in well-intentioned many fans of the character miss this yet overblown “Think of the children!” point entirely. They misread “The handwringing, but they also raise Dark Knight” and “The Killing a fair question. Do we really need Joke” so that the Joker may continue another film which sympathetically to validate an atrophied worldview explores why a disaffected white by representing an odd admixture man decides to go on a killing spree? of tragic backstory and alpha-male In other words, it’s not really “the posturing. These are the same children” we people who read should think the fight clubs in of, but rather “The fact that it “Fight Club” as the alt-right, is neither boring aspirational. men’s rights Of course, it isn’t activist or incel nor poorly made exactly the fault types who have ultimately ends up of “Joker” that so always latched many of the Joker’s highlighting the onto characters fans utilize him in like the Joker as stark divide between reprehensible ways. validation for the film’s artistic But the decision their repugnant to make the film a ideologies and ambitions and the sympathetic origin actions. story suggests an shallow execution of The Joker is ignorance of, or the story it thinks it’s a legitimately willful complicity in, c o m p e l l i n g trying to tell.” this phenomenon c h a r a c t e r , on the part of but one that’s the filmmakers. also really easy to misinterpret or Moreover, if this is a story that misconstrue. Consider, for instance, someone felt needed to be told, surely Heath Ledger’s iconic interpretation there were better ways to go about it. of the character in “The Dark Whereas the better interpretations Knight.” Part of what makes that of the character present the Joker performance great is that the Joker as either pathetic or inhumanely in that film isn’t presented as a three- heartless, “Joker” leans hard into dimensional character, but instead the notion that people who struggle as a force of nature — a diabolical, with mental health are inherently nihilistic clown meant to represent dangerous to society. Not only is this an everything Batman is not. The film offensive message on its own terms, but explicitly mocks any effort to provide it’s all the more frustrating when you the character with a sympathetic realize that the filmmakers are using backstory by having him tell several Fleck’s mental illness as justification different backstories, all of which seem for portraying the character in a equally unlikely. semi-sympathetic light, even when his “The Dark Knight,” for all of its actions are at their most unforgivable. flaws, understands that the Joker is Some fans will undoubtedly insist that really only interesting if you don’t the film is not sympathetic toward know why he is the way he is, because Fleck but rather portrays his actions otherwise it necessitates that you have with honesty and authenticity. And to explore the origins of a mass shooter yet the cinematography, lighting, — which is exactly the problem that sound design, music, editing and
performances all favor Fleck’s point of the day, it’s far more interested in of view, even when they occasionally gesturing at real-world issues than acknowledge that his actions are actually doing anything with them. monstrous. And lest you think this makes the What’s worse is that “Joker” film “ambiguous” and thus somehow actually sets up a much better “deep,” it doesn’t. It just makes it lazy. alternative thematic plotline on which The film’s director, Todd Phillips, it utterly fails to follow through. Fleck recently described his desire to “sneak is clearly living below the poverty a real movie into the studio system line and suffers at the expense of under the guise of a comic book billionaire capitalists like Thomas film.” This comment is exasperating Wayne. Thus, conceptually, the precisely because trying to do film suggests that Fleck’s decision to experimental work within the comic confront his own class oppression by book or superhero genre is laudable. killing the three Wayne employees After all, if this genre is to remain at spawns his self-actualization as the the apex of Hollywood blockbuster Joker. While that could make for a filmmaking for the foreseeable future, no less problematic story, it’s also a directors need to have the space to do conceptually interesting place to start, offbeat and exciting work within that and it doesn’t pin Fleck’s actions on his template. But Phillips’ comment reeks mental health. In practice, however, of condescension that carries over Fleck is never explicitly motivated by into the film; “Joker” is imbued with his poverty, and the film never bothers a bizarre sense of elitism, insisting to explore the systemic problems that with every passing minute that it is a plague Fleck and all the protesters. “real movie” without putting in any “Joker” almost of the legwork boldly suggests “The result is a film that makes that Thomas supposedly real that has contempt Wayne’s wealth movies “real.” and privilege for the upper class “Joker” a r e d i r e c t l y but refuses to truly w a n t s t o b e responsible for thought of as a Fleck’s financial condemn it — film that thinks plight and thus thereby inadvertently deep thoughts, indirectly caused but it’s made portraying the the initial three by filmmakers killings, but as opressed working who lack any soon as the film class as rabble rousers real conviction. introduces this T he films of proposition, it making a big fuss over well-respected backs away just nothing.” directors such as as quickly. Ingmar Bergman, The result is Federico Fellini a film that has contempt for the and David Lynch may be a touch upper class but refuses to truly pretentious, but at least you feel like condemn it — thereby inadvertently those directors actually had something portraying the oppressed working they wanted to say. Certainly, the class as rabble rousers making a big audience is expected to participate fuss over nothing. Indeed, “Joker” in the process of meaning- making, unintenionally implies that Fleck’s but at least it feels like there might be descent into darkness has less to do something rewarding and productive with his financial woes and more to do about trying to make sense of “8 with the women in his life not being ½” or “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk sufficiently concerned with catering With Me.” By contrast, Phillips to all of his emotional needs. displaces any real thinking onto the “Joker” certainly thinks it has audience, utilizing the signifiers of something to say about systemic independent art cinema as a cover for inequality and the way society treats his own philosophical and ideological the disenfranchised. But at the end cowardice.
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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019
UChicago professor speaks at Hood on intersection of art and race B y Kendall Milender and macy toppan The Dartmouth
What is contemporary art? For some, it’s Pollocks and Picassos and Poliakoffs. For others, it is the senseless combination of shape and color. For University of Chicago art history professor Darby English, it’s a conversation. Last Thursday, students, faculty and members of the Hanover community gathered to hear English speak in the Hood Museum of Art’s Gilman Auditorium for the annual Dr. Allen Root Contemporary Art Distinguished Lectureship, a forum established in 2004 that focuses on celebrating and educating the community about modern art through a variety of lenses. Like his forerunners, English is a pillar of the art community. Currently the Carl Darling Buck professor of art history and director of the Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture at the University of Chicago, English’s work focuses on the facilitation of cultural change through art. “To Describe a Life: Notes from the Intersection of Art and Race Terror” exemplifies this by discussing the role of art in the recent period of race-related police brutality. This topic served as the basis for English’s lecture at the Hood. The lecture, constructed as an indepth visual analysis and study of a piece, revolved around Kerry James Marshall’s “Untitled (policeman),” a 5-by-5 foot acrylic painting on smooth PVC panel with a plexiglass frame. In “Untitled (policeman),” Marshall paints an impactful image: a black policeman perched on the hood of his Chevy squad car, bathed in a blue and waning light of high-pole municipal lamps and observed from a lowered
eyeline similar to that of a child. asserted that “Untitled (policeman)” According to English, Marshall’s was not a response to any specific work was created in 2015 in the wake instance of police brutality. According of the police shooting of Michael to English, Marshall —who has Brown in Ferguson, MO and quickly evolved a distinctive style within became a source of controversy for its painting, sculpture and collage depiction of a black police officer. throughout his career to capture the English recalled his expectations essence of black identity in the United upon viewing the in-progress piece, States — rather used his medium to which at the time consisted of police- inspire simultaneity with blackness related imagery and the police without the figure force. “Marshall’s piece of the police According officer, as well as is less a portrait or to English, his surprise at the response to specific Marshall’s work officer depicted is not motivated in the finished recent shootings by a political product. stance in the way and events than it “I walked into we think it may is a philosophical the studio and saw be. The goal of a painting quite reflection upon the the artwork is unlike the one mindsets of black not so much to I had expected “weaponize moral him to make, communities toward conviction,” as which I realized the police and English said, but on subsequent rather, to open thinking,” English the need for selfup a reflective said. “There was determination.” dialogue between a painting that the viewer and the I’d wanted him to painting. paint, a painting of a police officer that “What the picture seems to affect is I needed from Kerry James Marshall, the expression of a wish that the viewer that is not the painting that Kerry might herself perform the separation made.” between the work’s topical suggestions In depicting a black man who … and the painting,” English said. is a police officer, the image is one The Hood Museum’s associate of multiplicity. English, addressing curator of global contemporary art topics from the geometric integrity Jessica Hong helps to locate and invite of light to the Black Lives Matter speakers like English to participate in movement, said that Marshall’s piece this lecture series. is less a portrait or response to specific “It’s incredibly broad,” Hong said, recent shootings and events than it referring to the unifying subject matter is a philosophical reflection upon of the lectureship. “Past lecturers the mindsets of black communities included art historians and other toward the police and the need for scholars, but also artists and other self-determination. curators: individuals that really are Throughout the lecture, English making an important cultural mark, recalled several conversations he not just on the arts but on the broader had with Marshall in which the artist socio-cultural ecosystems.”
Hong said English’s novel “To like that of English and applauds the Describe a Life: Notes from the Hood and the art department for Intersection of Art and Race Terror” providing accessible, inclusive access drew her attention to him and led her to these experiences. to choose English to serve as the 2019 “I think it’s a really great thing when lecturer. The book presents English’s the art department brings these artists thought processes and approaches in in,” Maheen said. “These people a unique manner are sometimes emblematic not hard to reach if o n l y o f t h e “The principle effort you’re not in this purpose of the was to produce kind of space. lectureship, Making it free, a presence. The but also of the making sure that presence produced museum itself. everybody can “What I think slows perception go, having a little is so unique and reception after distinct in how nearly to a crawl. In it — I love it, I he approaches order to apprehend, think it’s great.” any type of work Hong agreed, we must be willing to is him diving into stating that the the difficulties reflect.” Hood’s public and ambiguity prog ramming and nuance,” encourages Hong said. “That -DARBY ENGLISH, important is actually how I UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO and active see the museum dialogues within ART HISTORY PROFESSOR space: as one the typically that is not one or passive viewing the other. It’s an experience of the ambiguous space in which we can museum. have exploration.” “I always wish that there’s more E n g l i s h ’s d i s c u s s i o n a n d conversation that could happen, but i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f “ U n t i t l e d of course we also want as many people (policeman)” helped Saba Maheen to come to the lectures as possible,” ’20, a studio art major who attended Hong said. “In addition to it being the lecture, to see the piece in a new for Dartmouth students, the faculty light. and the community at the College, “I think having professors from it’s really for everybody.” different schools in general and English’s closing statement different schools of thought is really summed up not only the intentions of interesting,” Maheen said. “Especially the painting, but also of the dialogue the piece that English was talking that the Hood’s lectureship hopes to about today — it’s a super beautiful create. piece that I’d seen before, but having “The principle effort was to someone talk about it who is an produce a presence,” English said. outsider, not just the artist, is also quite “The presence produced slows interesting.” perception nearly to a crawl. In order Maheen said she values the to apprehend, we must be willing to opportunities presented by lectures reflect.”