VOL. CLXXVI NO. 83
RAINY HIGH 50 LOW 41
OPINION
LEVY: SAVING OUR SOPHOMORES PAGE 6
ZEHNER: CLAMP DOWN PAGE 6
MALBREAUX: AND TYLER, TOO PAGE 7
ELIAS: THE CAMPUS WITHOUT A VOICE PAGE 7
ARTS
FIRST WOMEN ON CAMPUS FEATURED IN FILM ON COEDUCATION PAGE 8
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Survey finds College’s Former PBS department chair new residential policy David Bucci dies by suicide widely unpopular B y William CHEN and AARON LEE
The Dartmouth Senior Staff
As students arrived on campus this fall, they were greeted by several changes impacting the College. These included the new restrictions on dorm and house center access, the settlement of the sexual misconduct class action lawsuit against the College and the implementation of the new Chosen Name and Identity initiative. Earlier this term, The Dartmouth surveyed the
student body on their opinions regarding these three topics. The following article presents some of the results.
Students firmly oppose new housing changes The new housing restrictions, which prevent students from accessing dorms or house centers outside of their own House, are very unpopular with the student body. Overall, around 80 percent of students strongly oppose the SEE SURVEY PAGE 5
Town hall event held on campus improvements B y CAITLIN MCCARTHY The Dartmouth
Executive vice president and chief financial officer Rick Mills held a town hall in Spaulding Auditorium yesterday, covering topics ranging from the College’s Green Energy Project to the United Way Campaign. The town hall, attended by roughly 90 faculty, staff and community members, also featured a speech and question and answer session from Thayer School of Engineering dean Alexis
Abramson. Mills began by recognizing the recent death by suicide of professor and former department of psychological and brain sciences chair Dave Bucci, urging the attendees to seek out counseling resources provided by the College. He then described the recent rollout of the College’s new sexual and gender-based misconduct policy and called attention to the dates of open
SEE TOWN HALL PAGE 3
COURTESY OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
Bucci served as chair of the psychological and brain sciences department from 2015 to July 2019.
B y THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF Dave Bucci, who recently served as chair of the psychological and brain sciences department, has died by suicide, College President Phil Hanlon and dean of the faculty Elizabeth Smith announced in an email to campus Wednesday morning. Bucci, who first came to the College in 2004 after having worked as a professor at the University of Vermont, was appointed chair of the PBS department in 2015. In 2016, he was appointed the Ralph and Richard Lazarus Professorship in Psychological and Brain Sciences and Human Relations. Bucci served as PBS chair until July 2019, leading the
department through a difficult stretch. Three former PBS professors were forced to resign from their positions in the summer of 2018 following allegations of sexual misconduct, and a lawsuit filed later that year by former Dartmouth students alleged that College officials had turned a blind eye to years of accusations against the former professors. Bucci’s research focused on brain mechanisms underlying learning, memory and attention. His most recent studies involved research into the modern behavioral, chemogenetic, neuroanatomical and biochemical techniques in rodent models. “We will remember Dave as a kind and generous scholar,
teacher, colleague, and community member,” Hanlon and Smith wrote. Bucci is survived by his wife, Katie, and three children. Funeral arrangements have not been announced. A full obituary will be published in the near future. If you would like to share a memory, please contact editor@ thedartmouth.com. Counseling resources for students, faculty and staff are available through the Office of Counseling and Human Development, the College chaplain’s office, the dean on call and the Faculty/ Employee Assistance Program. Assistance can be obtained by calling Safety and Security at 603-646-4000.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Q&A with Republican presidential candidate Bill Weld B y JACOB STRIER The Dartmouth
L a s t T h u r s d a y, f o r m e r Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, one of the few Republicans challenging President Trump for the GOP’s 2020 nomination, spoke at a College Republicans event in Moore Hall. Advertised as a policy talk instead of a campaign event, Weld spoke on his views regarding the need for climate change action and answered a series of questions from the audience. Weld has found himself on both Republican and Libertarian tickets in his political career, running most recently as the vice presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party in 2016 alongside former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson. Before the policy talk, The Dartmouth sat down with the former governor to discuss his platform, which centers around climate action and deficit cuts from a fiscally conservative standpoint. He also elaborated on how his two-term tenure in Massachusetts taught him valuable lessons about bipartisanship and rigorous fiscal conservatism. The crowd tonight at Dartmouth is mostly a young one. What do you believe will be the biggest issues that the next generation is going to face, and if elected, what will you do to address those issues? BW: Well, the one-two punch is climate change and trillion-dollar deficits. Those are both issues in which Gen X-ers and millennials are going to wind up reaping the whirlwind, and it is really unfair as a generational matter if the next president does not tackle those head-on. The deficit is a generational thing. If nothing is done there, your generation can
forget about having Social Security. It’s also a national security issue, because with trillion-dollar deficits, you are relying on other countries to buy off our treasury bills, and we can only rely on China for that for so long. It is completely irresponsible. When I was governor of Massachusetts for two terms, I cut the deficit immediately. I cut spending. I cut taxes. I was ranked the most fiscally conservative governor in the United States by The Wall Street Journal and the Cato Institute. That’s something I associate with the Republican party, being economically conservative — historically.
You say “historically.” What has changed? BW: Nobody in Washington is looking out for the taxpayer. The Democrats want to increase social spending, the Republicans want to increase military spending, and they compromise by raising everything 20 percent, or they don’t compromise at all. What policies, if elected, would you bring to the table to achieve climate change reform and deficit reform? BW: Well, with climate change, I would rejoin the Paris Accords and I would put a price on carbon, probably $40 to $50 a ton for carbon when it is introduced to the atmosphere or the economy. Such a price would be implemented upstream. That means for oil and gas companies it would be at the wellbore, and for mining companies it would be in the mineshaft. People would not feel it at the time; it would be all paid before it gets to the consumer. That results in the temperature not increasing by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, which is the only thing that the UN framework and the Paris Accord requires. This
CORRECTIONS Correction appended (Oct. 15, 2019): The Oct. 15 article “Men’s rush sees 301 bids extended” originally misidentified a source as Nathan Zhang. His last name is Hwang, not Zhang. The online version of the article has been updated to reflect this correction. We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
measure would collect about $200 billion per year and it would be remitted to the taxpayers in payroll tax cuts. You could also repeal other carbon enforcement mechanisms such as the gas and diesel tax. Most proposals have some form of payroll tax cuts, normally targeted toward low-income taxpayers. My plan is tax neutral, while the Democratic plans are all defined by how much they are spending. You have to approach each budget year with a zero-based approach, which means that each appropriation has to start at zero. If a program did a good job last year, it might get an increase. I found in Massachusetts there were a lot of so-called “sacred cows” in the budget that aren’t doing a damn thing. This is because they were the pet projects of some senators. You have to zero those out to find the real savings. I cut dollars in absolute terms year after year as governor — it is how you get ranked as a fiscal conservative.
Many Democratic presidential candidates have offered plans for extensive social benefits, including free health care. As a fiscal conservative, do you disagree with the Democratic candidates’ platforms, and why? BW: It depends on the issue. I think I am the only guy who put forward a plan to help workers who will get displaced by artificial intelligence. My plan is to make available to them, at no cost, the necessary technical education to qualify for replacement jobs. I ran the numbers on what it would cost, and it would be child’s play, just one third of one percent of a state budget. Having been a governor for two terms, I know in my bones that to govern is to choose. I would choose to have the state pick that up, so it would be free — yes “free!” The Bernie Sanders word. But only for displaced workers, not to everybody. One plan that does not pan out is Medicare for All. That suggests an enormous tax increase. If you look at the details of what Senator Sanders and others are proposing, it’s absolutely comprehensive health care coverage with no deductibles, no copays, no nothing. Nobody ever pays
a penny for health care, but health care is a big expense. For many, it is the biggest expense. So, how will it be paid for? 100 percent through the income tax. It would be the biggest tax increase in history.
If elected president, what would the health care system look like under your leadership? BW: I’d build on the Affordable Care Act, not repeal it. We have added 20 million people to the rolls of the insured, and that is a very good thing. But, I would get some of the government directives out of the system. Right now, the government is telling everybody what kind of plan they must have, and I would want that to be more up to individuals and doctors. I am not a big believer in big government; I come from the libertarian side of the Republican Party. I think we should be able to buy prescription drugs in Canada and buy health insurance across state lines. In both those instances, it is the government that is telling us “No, you can’t do that.” It doesn’t make any sense! What would you tell a young person who fears their children will be worse off than they are now? BW: I’d tell them if we don’t stop the trillion-dollar deficits, they will be much worse off. And unless we fix climate change, they might not be alive. You disagree with President Trump on certain key issues, including climate change and his attitude toward the press. Can you share your thoughts on the Trump presidency? BW: Free press is “the enemy of the people:” that is a would-be dictator talking. I think the President goes in the wrong direction on foreign policy by favoring dictatorships such as Russia, North Korea, the Philippines and the alt-right parties of Europe. At the same time, he goes out of his way to insult our allies, including NATO and many European countries. If elected, would you protect
citizens’ voting rights and voting access, which remains a key issue for college students living in New Hampshire? BW: Oh yeah. I am in favor of mobile voting, which would allow you to vote on your cell phone. If you look at my Apple cell phone here, it already recognizes fingerprints and it can recognize the iris. I wish it could happen for the next election. You could just take a selfie of yourself when you vote, and it would get emailed to the people at the voting station. Frankly, that’s more secure than if you walk in and say, “My name is John Jones, I live on Mill St., I’m not going to give you any further information and I want to vote.” They don’t know John Jones. Why are you the candidate that young people, like Dartmouth students, should look to in 2020? BW: My record shows that I reach across the aisle to work with other parties. When I was hiring judges or people for my cabinet, I never asked if they were Republicans or Democrats. I just tried to find the smartest person. And that strategy would be a long, cool drink of water in Washington D.C. People say, “How can you reach across the aisle when Washington is so divided?” You just do it! That’s what I did with the Democrats in Massachusetts. We met once a week for a summit meeting every Monday, just to go over the issues, and we never had a fight. And they still do that in Boston — all the governors since me have pursued it. They still meet at the same time on Monday afternoons. If you meet once a week with somebody, you are less likely to tell the press that they are a loser or stab them in the back on some policy issue. Additionally, I am a strong environmentalist. I am a fiscal conservative, which is good for young people. I have a lot of international experience, which is good for the country. I am calm and comfortable in my own skin, I never fly off the handle and never get angry. Now that would be handy in Washington! This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Student group introduces peer-support mental health program B y JACOB STRIER The Dartmouth
The Dartmouth Mental Health Student Union has introduced “Late Night Solace,” the only current peersupport mental health program on campus. MHU was launched last fall to increase awareness about the importance of mental health on campus and promote accessibility to mental health services. According to president and cofounder Amanda Chen ’21, there were no serious student organizations around mental health when she was a freshman. “Previous organizations had ebbed and flowed and faded,” Chen said. She added that though there were some mental health discussion groups on campus, they were not approved by the Council on Student Organizations. By acquiring COSO’s approval, MHU receives funding and can advertise via the campus-wide emails, according to Chen. Biological sciences professor Lee Witters serves as one of the club’s
advisors. He said that in his 35 years at Dartmouth, and especially in recent years, he has noticed a changing atmosphere regarding mental health on campus. “About three years ago, I was increasingly concerned about mental health issues at Dartmouth,” Witters said. He noted that his students and advisees increasingly mentioned anxiety, depression and stress. Witters reached out to a variety of students to join a student focus group to address the problem. He said the student group soon morphed into the beginnings of MHU. “Amanda, among others, pushed through and organized things,” he said. “We convened meetings with Dick’s House, the Student Wellness Center, and debated pros and cons.” He said that he commends the students for their dedication to the group. “In 35 years, rarely have I found a group of students so committed to an act which will benefit the whole campus,” Witters said.
Assistant director for health improvement Todd Gibbs, who also advises MHU, said that he is a big believer in peer support. “There’s a certain credibility that comes when a student can receive connection and guidance from another student,” Gibbs said. “They are wellacquainted with the overall system and the situation’s context.” He said that peer support could augment the spectrum of mental health care already available to students on campus, referring to counseling at Dick’s House or programming offered through the Student Wellness Center. “Late Night Solace” began earlier this month and runs from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Thursday and Sunday evenings in Collis 303. The program also offers a phone line open during those hours, but Chen said the phone has been less popular so far than personal drop-ins. The peer supporters, according to Chen, have gone through around 40 hours of training. This training was developed in conjunction with Dick’s House counseling and the Student
Wellness Center. The group also gained inspiration from similar, established models at peer institutions such as Harvard University and Columbia University as well as feedback from a survey sent to the Dartmouth student body on mental health resources. Gibbs said MHU peer leaders first must participate in the Student Support Network training, which equips them to function as “mental health bystanders.” He said such training prepares students to step in and help peers seek help should they sense an issue. Then, they receive more training, including in suicide prevention, before they become peer leaders. Chen said that the MHU is also focusing on collaborating with other groups on campus, including the Dartmouth Outing Club. Chen said that focusing on mental health is key to help students in a college environment. She used the analogy of a paddling duck to highlight Dartmouth’s stressful culture; students are seen floating calmly on the surface, though in reality they are paddling furiously to
stay afloat, she said. “We have a picture of an ideal Dartmouth student who is busy, has it all together and is still cheerful,” Chen said. “A lot of us continue to try to live up to it. No space is left in that image for mental health.” She pointed out that one of the key facets of peer support is simply allowing people to check in with themselves in a safe environment with a truly present listener. She said peer support can be a positive alternative to simply checking in with a friend due to the stigma that surrounds mental health issues. “People feel if they are checking in with a friend, they can’t burden them too much because they are supposed to have a good time together,” she said. Chen added that she helped found the club due to the lack of such an organization on campus but also for personal reasons. “A good friend of mine went through Dartmouth and struggled here,” she said. “When I came here it hit me that I was in a physical space that someone I cared about was sad in for so long.”
Town hall covers Green Energy project, new developments at Thayer FROM TOWN HALL PAGE 1
forums where people may ask questions about the policy. He also announced that open enrollment, where faculty members choose their benefits, will open on Oct. 21. Health and wellness program manager Courtney Rotchford and executive director of the office of the president Mimi Simpson, who are in charge of the United Way campaign this year, spoke about the opportunities for staff and faculty to contribute to the campaign’s goal: fundraising for Upper Valley social service organizations. Simpson said that mental illness, addiction, gender-based violence, educational disparities and a lack of exconvict support systems were problems that need improving in the community, and Rotchford encouraged faculty and staff to make financial contributions or volunteer at a United Way-affiliated organization. The campaign kicks off on Oct. 29.
Director of planning Joanna Whitcomb then spoke about the campus strategic master plan. “[Planning is] not a really sexy topic,” Whitcomb said. “I’m very passionate about it, and we’re doing some incredible work here on campus.” The master plan is a yearlong initiative started last spring that seeks to plan Dartmouth’s future infrastructure several years in advance — the past several months were spent assessing buildings and getting feedback. In early winter, the plan will be available in draft form to garner more feedback before the final version is up for approval in the spring. Whitcomb touted “an open, inclusive engagement process” that involved speaking to the campus and community members. She framed Dartmouth as a “seven-mile spine” which runs through the community from the DartmouthHitchcock Medical Center to the Organic Farm. Vice president for institutional projects Josh Keniston spoke about work
on the Dartmouth Green Energy Project, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, move toward renewable fuel and upgrade aging infrastructure. Keniston focused on the shift of the College’s heating and cooling system from steam power to hot water power, which he said is much more efficient. This shift allows energy to be generated in individual places on campus, in contrast to the more complex steam system. Keniston also brought up the College’s wood biomass plant and the community’s largely negative reaction to the proposal, saying that there will be meetings with a working group and an advisory committee to reach a solution by 2020. In a later question and answer session, local resident Dave Harrison ’92 commented on the biomass plant proposal. “My biggest takeaway from all of this is Dartmouth should try and go to a non-combustion energy source for the heating plant,” Harrison said,
encouraging Dartmouth to “put biomass in the rear-view mirror.” Mills responded that the College wants to move toward a “non-combustion future.” “The question,” Mills said, “is how fast, how hard and how do you balance the cost of that approach with the other things Dartmouth tries to accomplish, like doing research and educating students.” In her remarks, Abramson praised Thayer’s “human-centered engineering approach to education,” citing its focus on group work and a more intimate faculty-student interaction. Abramson said that she is excited about the new building that will consolidate the computer science department, much of Thayer and the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship in one building, as well as its proximity to the new Irving Institute for Energy and Society and Tuck School of Business. Abramson also shared her ideas about increasing the amount of research
completed, focusing on collaborations with companies, foundations and other universities. She also suggested expanding the number of faculty and Ph.D. students. Abramson touted Thayer’s gender parity — roughly 50 percent of its graduates are women — and indicated a desire to improve the ranking of the graduate school and increase support for students who may require additional time to complete the bachelor’s degree in engineering. She also addressed the priority of inclusion and diversity and praised a program called “50 Ways to Fight Bias” that helped educate Thayer’s Board of Advisors. She added that faculty members who focus their impact on creating a company should be accommodated. She also proposed expanding the faculty size or creating a visiting faculty program at the school. The next town hall meeting will take place on Jan. 8, 2020.
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DARTMOUTHEVENTS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
WHEN IT GETS TO BE TOO MUCH
LAUREL DERNBACH ’22
TODAY 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Lecture: “The Mechanics of Strain, Stationary Points and the Hairy Ball Theorem During Zebrafish Embryo Gastrulation,” with National University of Singapore professor Paul Matsudaira, sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences, Haldeman 41, Kreindler Conference Hall.
4:30pm – 6:00pm
Reading: “All Russians Love Birch Trees,” with playwright Olga Grjasnowa, sponsored by the German Department, Maxwell Kade Center.
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Lecture: “Mathematics and Science: the Abel and Nobel Prizes,” with Bjorn Engquist, sponsored by the Mathematics Department, Life Sciences Center 100 Arvo J. Oopik ‘78 Auditorium.
TOMORROW 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Lecture: “Political Theology as Political Orthodoxy in Contemporary Russia,” with Loyola Marymount University professor Cyril Hovorun, sponsored by the Russian Department, Moore B03.
7:30pm – 8:30pm
Staged Reading: “Bla(n)ck Piranha,” by Stella Asa ’22, sponsored by the Theater Department, Hopkins Center 004 Bentley Theater.
8:00pm – 10:00pm
Viewing: “Public Astronomical Observing,” sponsored by the Physics and Astronomy Department, Shattuck Observatory.
ADVERTISING
FROM LEVY PAGE 6
increasing pressure to have our majors determined and career goals figured out. After all, recruiting begins sophomore summer, and major declarations are due by each student’s fifth term. At the end of the day, Dartmouth can be a scary and stressful place no matter what year you are in. While one might argue that the same level of support is available to upperclassmen if they choose to seek it out (e.g. through meeting with deans and getting to know upper-class UGAs), it is important
that the College continues to advertise resources to sophomores as much as they do for freshmen. Just because students are no longer bright-eyed freshmen does not mean they do not need a reminder every now and then of the help available to them. It is important for the College to remember that sophomores may not have everything figured out yet, and to continue to support their students even after they take their final exams of freshman year.
For advertising infor mation, please call (603) 646-2600 or email info@ thedartmouth.com. The advertising deadline is noon, two days before publication. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Opinions expressed in advertisements do not necessarily reflect those of The Dartmouth, Inc. or its officers, employees and agents. The Dartmouth, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation chartered in the state of New Hampshire. USPS 148-540 ISSN 0199-9931
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
PAGE 5
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Students weigh in on housing policies, recent lawsuit settlement FROM SURVEY PAGE 1
changes and an additional 14 percent somewhat oppose them. Compared to upperclassmen, members of the Class of 2023 feel less strongly about the new changes: Only 68 percent of ’23s strongly oppose the changes, compared to 80 percent or more for each of the remaining classes. The percentage of ’23s that only somewhat oppose the housing restrictions is correspondingly higher at 24 percent. The explanations given by the College for the dorm access restrictions have included: (1) improving security across campus, especially with regard to the racial bias incidents that occurred last fall; and (2) deepening student commitment to the House system. Overall, students have not bought the first argument: 96 percent of students do not feel safer with the new changes, and some students even expressed concerns that these changes actually may have made campus less safe. Moreover, students generally doubt that the changes will adequately address the racial bias incidents that they were designed for: 88 percent of students strongly doubt that the changes will address racism on campus, and a further eight percent somewhat doubt this claim. Students express a little less negativity regarding the second argument. The majority — 64 percent strongly, and an additional 20 percent somewhat — disagree that housing restrictions will promote greater community within individual Houses. However, many students also expressed concerns that the changes may simultaneously harm the Dartmouth community as a whole: 79 percent of students strongly or somewhat agree that the restrictions will harm inter-House relationships. Students indicated that they visit the dorms of friends in other Houses very often: 59 percent of all students visit three or more times a week, while 28 percent visit at least once a week. Overall, the College’s handling of the housing situation has left many students unsatisfied. Over half (55 percent) of students indicated that the dorm and house center restrictions have had a strongly negative impact on their view of the College’s administration,
while a further 36 percent said that the changes had a somewhat negative impact. The Cube remains popular with students of all Houses One common complaint regarding the new dorm access changes is the restriction of access to the house centers based on House affiliation. House Center B (colloquially referred to as “the Cube”), though designed for Allen and School Houses, proves popular among members of the other four Houses as well. Most East Wheelock and West House students — 53 percent and 58 percent, respectively — report visiting the Cube at least once a week, along with 43 percent of North Park students and 35 percent of South House students. Twenty percent of East Wheelock, 20 percent of North Park, 32 percent of South House and 21 percent of West House students report having never visited the Cube, including ’23s. Considering only upperclassmen further reduces these figures to 11 percent (East Wheelock), nine percent (North Park), 22 percent (South House), and seven percent (West House). House Center A (colloquially referred to as “the Onion”) is far less popular than the Cube with students of all houses, including the North Park and South Houses that it is meant to serve. Though not a house center, a similar living space and snack bar in Brace Commons is designated for East Wheelock students. While Brace is highly utilized by East Wheelock students — 84 percent report visiting the space weekly — it enjoys some popularity with other houses as well. Still, with a majority (56 percent) of the student body reporting having never visited the Onion and a similar amount (also 56 percent) for Brace, the Cube remains the most popular space. Access to the Cube seems to be a major factor affecting students’ views on the new policy. Ninety-four percent of students who visit the Cube three or more times a week and 91 percent of students who visit at least once a week also strongly oppose the access restrictions overall; only 71 percent of students who visit the Cube
WILLIAM CHEN AND AARON LEE/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Over half of students report that they visit the Cube multiple times a week.
infrequently and 61 percent of students who have never visited strongly oppose the changes. Students show mixed feelings on sexual misconduct settlement The sexual misconduct class action against the College — which alleged that the College had known about the behavior of former psychological and brain sciences PBS professors Todd Heatherton, Bill Kelley and Paul Whalen, but failed to take action — was recently settled. Though the College has maintained that it did not commit wrongdoing and expressly denied that it broke any law or statute, the majority of students do not agree: 72 percent of the student body believe that Dartmouth is liable, while the remaining 28 percent believe it is not. However, students hold mixed feelings about the settlement between Dartmouth and the plaintiffs. Overall, 26 percent of students feel very or somewhat satisfied with the settlement, and 23 percent of students feel very or somewhat dissatisfied. Indeed, students generally do not feel strongly either way about this topic: only five percent of students feel very satisfied, and six percent of students feel very
unsatisfied. On the other hand, 51 percent of students feel neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the settlement. The College’s attempts to prevent similar situations from occurring again in the future — most notably the Campus Climate and Culture Initiative — are viewed slightly more negatively. Twenty percent of students indicated that Dartmouth has been successful in limiting the power imbalances that allowed the PBS professors’ misconduct to occur, while 37 percent of students believe the College has been unsuccessful in this regard. Again, however, the majority of students do not hold strong opinions on this topic; 43 percent of students replied that the College has neither been successful nor unsuccessful with these initiatives. Chosen Name and Identity initiative received warmly by students One change that has been received positively is the College’s new Chosen Name and Identity initiative, which allows students to change their preferred names, pronouns and gender identity on Darthub. Sixtythree percent of respondents strongly supported the new initiative, with a
further 13 percent of respondents somewhat supporting the policy. A small part of the student body already plans to use the feature: seven percent of students plan on updating their chosen names, six percent of students plan on updating their pronouns and four percent of students plan on updating their gender identities. One potential setback for the policy, however, is that it has arrived with little fanfare: 46 percent of respondents indicated that the College has not adequately explained the new initiative and the process of changing pronouns and preferred names. Methodology Notes: From Sept. 23 to Oct. 5, The Dartmouth conducted an online survey of the Dartmouth student body on their opinions of Dartmouthrelated events. The survey was sent out to 4,517 emails through the CAMPUS-EVENTS listserv. Six hundred and sixty-five responses were recorded, resulting in a 14.7 percent response rate. Using administrative data from the College’s Office of Institutional Research, responses were weighted by class year, gender and race/ethnicity. Weighting was accomplished through iterative proportional fitting (raking). Survey results have a margin of error of +/3.5 percentage points.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST GABRIELLE LEVY ‘22
STAFF COLUMNIST CALLUM ZEHNER ‘21
Saving Our Sophomores
Clamp Down
We should not abandon sophomores when they need support the most. Many college campuses have high rates of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, and Dartmouth is no exception. The College does a lot to attempt to get ahead of these issues at the beginning of freshman year, but things can still be quite challenging for sophomores. Does Dartmouth’s focus on the newest class cause sophomores to fall through the cracks? Upon returning to campus this fall, many of my friends and I discussed how strange it was to come back to school after a long break and jump right back into the swing of things. Freshman year, we were treated to the camaraderie of FirstYear Trips before being led through a week of talks and fun social events. We were told what to expect, how to preempt stress and loneliness and what to focus on in the upcoming weeks. We were given handout after colorful handout of resources and numbers and support groups. In contrast, sophomore year, we went to pick up a key, unpacked and got ready for class the next day. Of course, focusing on supporting freshmen in their transition from high school to college life is standard practice among all colleges. After all, after having been at school for one year, sophomores should have everything fi gured out. Right? Wrong. In fact, sophomore year can be as great a challenge as freshman year for a multitude of reasons. First, freshman-year fl oors are unique compared to the fl oors that Dartmouth students live on every other year: Without set friend groups, most fi rst-year students bond and become close with their fl oormates by hanging out in each
DEBORA HYEMIN HAN, Editor-in-Chief
other’s rooms, lounging in the hallway or simply brushing their teeth together at night. On upperclass fl oors, on the other hand, many students don’t even know their neighbors, nobody hangs out in hallways and many rooms have their own bathrooms — which makes casual interactions with dorm-mates even less likely. This contrast in living situations can be an adjustment for many students. Despite being content with my current dorm, I felt the loss of my fi rst-year fl oor “family.” Some argue that the College doesn’t have to foster a sense of family for sophomores because they will have already established communities for themselves through extracurriculars like a capella groups or the Dartmouth Outing Club. While this is true for many students, it isn’t true for all. Some would also say that a rush class can fi ll this gap. While I could write an entire column on this topic alone, it is safe to say that the stress of rush can have a large toll on the mental and emotional well-being of students. Students who drop or end up in a house they are unhappy with are faced with a lack of resources and a sense of being shut out of Dartmouth’s seemingly allencompassing, yet exclusive, Greek system. On the other hand, students who do end up with what they want may still feel overwhelmed by the surge of new faces and lack of familiarity. Lastly, sophomore year is the time when push comes to shove academically. Instead of feeling free to explore introductory classes and slowly meander our way through distributive requirements, sophomores are placed under SEE LEVY PAGE 4
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We should remain alert to the extent of China’s influence. The protests that have wracked Hong Kong silenced. Last year, for example, the Marriott since June have been receiving support from a hotel group’s Chinese website was suspended broad range of voices in the West, with everyone after it referred to Macau and Hong Kong as rightly joining in on the feel-good support of countries. Although potentially understandable, democracy against tyranny. However, while concessions of opinion for the sake of profi t are attention has been turned toward the fi ght for nonetheless disappointing. freedom in Hong Kong, the public has largely Standard discourse holds that China’s been distracted from mainland China’s insidious infl uence is mostly contained within its proximal erosion of some of those very same freedoms in areas, such as Central and Southeast Asia. Yet their own countries. China’s growing infl uence its tentacles stretch much further and have over what can and cannot be said is a frightening strong eff ects even on Western liberal bastions. trend. Previously a stringent advocate for human rights, The most recent event to showcase the Chinese the Czech Republic has now become mute incursion into freedom of on the issue of Chinese speech has, surprisingly, human rights abuses as “China cannot directly Chinese fi rms have bought come from a scandal in the NBA. It began with a tweet prevent American firms large stakes in the Czech from Daryl Morey, the head economy. And while it is and organizations from easier for China to strongmanager of the Houston Rockets. The tweet declared arm smaller countries, it untilizing freedom Morey’s support for the evidently has some control of speech, but it can protests in Hong Kong, over the opinions heard remind them that to and ended with a slew of in America nonetheless. NBA offi cials stating their Just as we worry about do so would be very opposition to the message Russian infl uence in the costly.” as well as an apology for 2016 election, we should Morey’s words. Lebron be conscious of the quiet James weighed in two days ago, calling Morey’s undertakings conducted by China. tweet “misinformed.” Even James Harden, the Even out of the big-ticket realms of politics Rockets’ posterboy, apologized and expressed his and business, the PRC’s reach is palpable. As love for China. someone who has worked and would like to In financial terms, these were essential work again in China, even I feel the risks at retractions to make. China is a huge source times. When writing pieces critical of China, I of revenue for the NBA, with the association am always hesitant, keenly aware that each piece expected to make around half a billion dollars could prevent me from getting the necessary visas from China alone this year. The risk of insulting to go back. I would rather that not be the case, China was made clear in the wake of the Morey but each decision to criticize China or its actions tweet, with Chinese state television cutting the is a weighted one. broadcast of Rockets’ games and Chinese fi rms As economies grow, diplomatic clout inevitably ending sponsorships. grows alongside them. In this sense, China’s covert Here we see the idea of “soft power” at its pressure should not be seen as unusual. However, clearest. China cannot directly prevent American it equally should not be treated fl ippantly. With fi rms and organizations from utilizing freedom China increasingly impacting American and of speech, but it can remind them that to do so Western discourse, it will become more important would be very costly. The Rockets are estimated to preserve freedom of speech whenever possible. to lose $10 to $25 million from the fallout of Whether supporting or opposing the protests Morey’s tweet. Any fi rm would be scared to lose in Hong Kong, it is crucial that we retain the access to the vast, growing Chinese market. With ability to express whichever view. This may seem 1.4 billion people, the second-largest economy in an uncontroversial thing to say. Yet, under the the world and an expected middle class of 550 current circumstances, it seems important to million by 2022, China has become an essential clarify. Freedom of speech will always be taken source of consumers and a destination for goods. for granted wherever it exists. But when we have This is the leverage that China exploits. In to contemplate what we should or should not say, this way, discussions on the most controversial and when we fear expressing our views, it should of Chinese topics — such as Tibetan separatism be clear that something is being lost. It is time to and containment camps in Xinjiang — can be pay attention.
THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019
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THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
SENIOR STAFF COLUMNIST TYLER MALBREAUX ‘20
STAFF COLUMNIST CHANTAL ELIAS ‘22
And Tyler,Too
The Campus Without a Voice
Tyler Perry’s entry into the mainstream obscures his past works. It’s hard not to be impressed by the multi-billion-dollar movie empire Tyler Perry has built. Last Saturday, Perry held a gala celebrating the expansion of his studio headquarters in Atlanta, which spans some 330 acres, complete with 12 sound stages and massive complete replica set pieces for his upcoming shows. The studio complex is larger than Paramount’s, Warner Brothers’ and Walt Disney’s Burbank filming lots combined. Yet, for all his success, Perry has repeatedly felt rejected from Hollywood and the larger American film establishment. When asked about critics who pan his work, Perry’s usual refrain is that his films, which appeal primarily to African American audiences, would not be understood by mainstream moviegoers, a sentiment expressed in a recent article in the New York Times.. But Perry seems to forget he is slowly becoming a part of the establishment from which he feels ostracized. For instance, look at some of the names on the guest list for his studio’s grand opening: Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Beyoncé. While all these celebrities are black, they are by no means on the margins of Hollywood or mainstream stardom. And if Perry says “mainstream” to mean “white,” then this may soon be no longer true either. In 2017, Perry made a deal with juggernaut distributor Viacom, which owns Paramount, to develop six of his new shows starting this year. This means Perry’s shows will reach a greater swath of audiences, an expansion that would be constrained at his former, smaller network, OWN. But Perry’s ascent to the mainstream should worry black and white artists and audiences alike. While his studio’s success is a shattering of glass ceilings — Perry is the first African American to own a major film studio outright — its elevation to the mainstream obscures the origins of the mogul’s rise — as a filmmaker who has dealt in socially irresponsible and repugnant representations of blackness. His recycled cast of characters, often one-dimensional and flimsy, are typically played by mostly black characters, such as the lascivious vixen, the religiously overzealous grandmother and the abusive husband and father. The banal conflicts in which his characters are engaged derive from television’s worst soap operas: someone is
cheating, someone is pregnant, someone is on drugs. That describes most movies in Perry’s uber-successful “Madea” franchise alone. And that’s to say nothing of Perry’s most damaging creation: the tough-talking, gun-toting, 6-foot-5 disciplinary matriarch: Madea herself. It’s insulting enough that Perry plays Madea himself in drag, presenting a hyper-masculine form of a black femalebody with a fat suit and makeup. Madea is an exaggerated form of the vindictive and scornful black woman, quick to anger, using violence as an outlet for frustration and often brandishing her gun to intimidate those who cross her. The debate over Madea is a long-standing one, and one that I do not wish to re-litigate. If audiences choose to believe that Madea really is, somehow, a true amalgamation of Perry’s mother and other strong black women from his childhood, as Perry claims she is, then so be it. What is upsetting to me is that no one in black Hollywood has called out Perry’s past. After all, black Hollywood, like those who attended his grand opening, is not Perry’s target audience. They are artists in their own right, many of whom are truly gifted at making socially conscious and beautiful work. I can only think of one person, Spike Lee, an acclaimed filmmaker himself, who ever dared to call out Perry on his work, righly labeling Madea as a racist caricature. But even he disappointingly walked back his comments later and was in attendance at Perry’s studio grand opening last week. Why is there not more backlash? Perhaps it is because Perry has hired and promoted many black actors who otherwise may have been ignored in Hollywood. Little do people remember that, Idris Elba, now one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, received one of his first leading parts in Perry’s 2007 film “Daddy’s Little Girls.” However, in an age when Perry is no longer the loudest black voice in film — Lee Daniels, Issa Rae, Donald Glover, to name a few others — there should be no reason to hold back. Perhaps a historian’s view of Perry will one day lie nested in contrariety. He has been, and continues to be, a force for the promotion of black actors and artists. Yet he has replayed a form of blackness on screen, in forms like Madea, that, quite frankly, we should all be tired of seeing.
Dartmouth must increase its large-scale student activism. “Vox clamantis in deserto,” or, “A voice indicate a wider support for the Vietnam war crying in the wilderness,” is Dartmouth’s motto, from Dartmouth’s administration. Nearly two which takes hold in the hearts of those who decades later, protests against Apartheid and the have graced its campus. Our curricula and our College’s holdings in South African businesses extracurriculars are tailored to help develop — which included constructing shantytowns this strong voice — the same one we should be on the Green — received national attention. using to speak out against injustices and rally Dartmouth has a history of large-scale support for the issues we are passionate about. student activism yet in comparison to other “The Global Week for Future” occurred from campuses, the College falls short. While Sept. 20-27, and the Dartmouth community’s some may blame this on the College’s remote lack of action did not uphold our motto. location, this factor should necessitate more Marches and peaceful protests were held around issue-oriented events held on campus. It is the world, all in the name of joining together as precisely our distance from population centers a unit against climate inaction. Most university that makes Dartmouth a polarizing university campuses participated in this event — McGill choice: When deciding on a university, young University, for example, saw 3,000 students adults want to remain invested in the news joining the 500,000 person Montreal climate and participate in the defining movements of march. As the world lit up in passion and came our century and for this reason, many students together, why did Dartmouth remain silent? If want to be close to metropolitan areas. the College is to remain a top-tier institution and For potential Dartmouth students, a silent attract a global audience, it is essential that we campus on a day when many universities increase large-scale student around the globe marched activism on campus. “Passion for an issue or for climate could be a Large-scale student deterrent to attend or solidarity for a group activism offers us a chance even apply. Dartmouth of people are uniting to take leadership roles students are learning to in issues the Dartmouth make change and the forces.” community cares deeply community should foster about. For example, that growth. Just because Dartmouth students had the opportunity we are isolated does not prevent large-scale to lead a climate march on campus at an student activism from being impactful. environmentally conscious school where our Perhaps most importantly, large-scale student body is engaged in solving a variety of student activism promotes cohesion between the environmental issues. It is even more shocking, student body as well as the larger Dartmouth then, that Dartmouth remained silent amid community. Passion for an issue or solidarity for worldwide climate marches. Was it for fear that a group of people, are uniting forces. Hundreds our voices would not carry beyond the pine of examples from history are a testament this trees? rule: Coming together in times of trial joins When we do not engage in global events, such people together and can be a source of great as the Global Week for Future, we are creating healing and encouragement. Why face strife a student body that is passionate toward these alone? issues but apathetic in practice. Our distance A push for large-scale student activism from policymakers and from hubs of political should not undermine the work that many action and issue-oriented protest can make Dartmouth students are doing to change the us feel like campus protests on the Green are world. We are all issue-oriented in our own insignificant. But if that is the attitude we take way, and Dartmouth students do truly care. on, we will become desensitized to others’ pain, But we must remember that, while we and we will forget that many of the current are tucked away in the middle of the New crises affect a large segment of our campus Hampshire woods, the world is watching. population. Dartmouth has a reputation as a globally Dartmouth students have previously connected and forward-thinking institution. demonstrated solidarity with world events We cannot risk hypocrisy by remaining silent and crises. In the spring of 1969, students as the world raises its voice. In increasing our occupied Parkhust Hall, the office of the large-scale student activism, our student body College’s president, in protest of Dartmouth’s will learn to lead, and we will become closer ROTC program, which students believed to in solidarity.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
First women on campus featured in film on coeducation
B y Mia Russo and lauren segal The Dartmouth
It is not a well-known fact that Dartmouth hosted a small cohort of women exchange students starting in 1968 before its official inception as a coeducational institution in the fall of 1972. In recent years, Dartmouth has nearly equal numbers of women and men, a norm that is in part due to these trailblazers who made the first incursions onto Dartmouth’s all-male campus and shaped Dartmouth into the school it is today. Last Friday at 4 p.m. in Filene Auditorium, the documentary “Early Daughters of Dartmouth — Blazing the Trail to Coeducation” premiered to a full crowd. The film, which is composed of interviews with the female exchange students, details the stories and experiences of the first women to enroll at Dartmouth. The energy in the room was palpable as alumni— ma ny of whom attended the College during the time period in which the film focuses—anticipated the screening. Producer and director Bill Aydelott ’72 talked about the hectic road to the premiere, citing last-minute 3 a.m. edits to accommodate the lastminute addition of Connie Britton ’89’s voiceover. In spite of the frenzied production process, Aydelott expressed satisfaction with finally screening the film to the public. “You get very close to a project of this nature, so you almost lose some of your perspective on how certain things are going to play,” Aydelott said. “But I was very gratified that the audience reacted at the right
places. They laughed when I was looking to get a chuckle, and frankly at the end, there was quite a bit of emotion. It was emotional for me.” Aydelott said he felt comfortable being critical of the College as the film was funded independently. According to executive producer Katherine Rines ’71, around $30,000 was raised from private donations given by female and male students from the classes of 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and the Leslie Center for the Humanities. In 1968, Rines said, seven women enrolled at Dartmouth through the theater department, which asked the administration to ease the burden of looking to Hanover residents to fill the female roles in theater productions. The succeeding two years saw 75 female students enrolled at Dartmouth — a number that jumped to 150 women in the year preceding Dartmouth’s move to coeducation. Overwhelmingly, the women in the film expressed positive and loving recollections of their time at Dartmouth. Many said they felt like full members of the community. Joan Rachlin ’71, who participated in the exchange program, described her experience at Dartmouth as one that was undeniably memorable. “It was overall extraordinary,” she said. “And within that very broad umbrella there were times that were terrifying, times that were challenging, times that were a little crazy-making and certainly times that were absolutely the stuff of which the peak adventures in life were made.” Despite the fond memories these women associate with their Dartmouth experiences, they also mentioned the incessant pressure to succeed on behalf of their gender.
“I understood full well my role as a guinea pig in the fact that if we did anything wrong, we could hurt the whole case for coeducation,” Rachlin said. “We were the crucible on which coeducation was going to be judged.” In addition to the stress of representing women to encourage the College to consider coeducation, these students were navigating the minefield that was being one of few women on a campus traditionally dominated by men. According to Rines, although she felt accepted by the campus, she at times felt alienated by students and alumni who strongly believed that Dartmouth should remain an all-male institution. “You never knew what you were going to get when you walked across that Green,” Rines said. “This really young kid walked towards me very purposefully. I thought, ‘Oh, he’s going to say “Welcome.”’ And then he just looked at me and he said, ‘Why are you ruining my school?’” The film describes how the social scene on weekends was difficult for the exchange students, as the men brought up dates from all-girls colleges. One of the only black exchange students said that the men of the African American Society asked the other black exchange students and her to cook dinner for their dates. The exchange students’ account of the enthusiastic “no” she and her friends gave the men was recalled with both disbelief and glee. Rines said she felt that certain areas of campus offered welcome respite from the constant surveillance by male students and alumni. “You just carved out your friendships in welcoming areas,”
Rines said. I t i s t h i s s e n t i m e n t a l ye t complicated affection that makes the distance Dartmouth kept from its first class of women all the more saddening, according to Rines. The women who were interviewed in the film loved Dartmouth; many cited their exchange terms at the school as some of the happiest, most formative times in their lives, but the College severed ties with them once their time on campus ended. One woman in the film quipped about her surprise that the College’s alumni network had found her by saying, “Not even my college boyfriend could find me!” The last scene of the film features an exchange student recounting the following story: She recently walked up to a current male Dartmouth student and asked, “Did you know that Dartmouth used to be singlesex?” The current student replied, “No!” The exchange student then humorously said, “Can you believe it took Dartmouth so long to admit
men?” The film pieces together parts of a story that had been buried in time and memory. For Rines, the film was an opportunity to paint a picture of her time at Dartmouth. “To see the whole story told in a linear fashion was really exciting,” Rachlin said. “In a sense, the film was reclaiming our role in coeducation or at least shining a light on it, which had never been shown before.” Rachlin also said she sees the film as a necessary artifact of Dartmouth history. It is appropriate that such a film was a part of the College’s Homecoming weekend activities and was listed on Dartmouth’s official online schedule because the film marks the first real push to illuminate the stories of these trailblazing women. By having their stories told in the film, the women can finally come home to Dartmouth as recognized members of our collective history.
COURTESY OF BILL AYDELOTT
The first women at Dartmouth were participants in a 1968 exchange program.