VOL. CLXXV NO.93
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Vigil held for Pittsburgh violence
PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH 48 LOW 31
By MARY WINTERS
The Dartmouth Staff
SARAH ALPERT/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
OPINION
ZAMAN: THE MOVIES WE DON’T WATCH PAGE 4
VERBUM ULTIMUM: SAY IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT PAGE 4
ARTS
NEW PODCAST SERIES USES ARTIFACTS TO HIGHLIGHT COLLEGE HISTORY PAGE 7
REVIEW: DIRECTOR DAMIEN CHAZELLE SHINES AGAIN WITH ‘FIRST MAN’ PAGE 7 FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2018 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.
Dartmouth community gathers to remember victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack.
Latinx heritage celebrated By ANDREW CULVER The Dartmouth
October marked Latinx Heritage Month at Dartmouth, a monthlong celebration of Latinx identity that features guest speakers, lectures, art showcases, community social events and a Dia de
los Muertos celebration and which will finish off with the Latinx Heritage Month Gala on Nov. 3. The celebration “seeks to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Latinx people in the U.S. and on Dartmouth’s campus,” according to the website of the
Office and Pluralism and Leadership, which sponsored the events. “At its heart, [Latinx Heritage Month is] really about celebration, awareness and education,” said interim Office of Pluralism and SEE LATINX PAGE 3
While the remnants of Homecoming bonfire still litter the Green, it was ablaze with much smaller fires on Monday when a candlelit vigil was held in remembrance of the victims of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue shooting. The vigil was organized by Dartmouth Hillel and co-sponsored by Chabad. Dartmouth students and Hanover residents gathered at the center of the Green at 7 p.m. Candles were passed out and lit, and the interfaith service began with remarks from Rabbi Meir Goldstein, who focused on the themes of solidarity, unity and healing. “All violence, all killing, is tragic, and the rise of antiSemitism comes in the context of the rise of hate crimes in general,” Goldstein said. “Yet it would be disingenuous to the truth and disrespectful to their memories to ignore the anti-Semitism that motivated the deadly violence.” Following the opening remarks, vigil participants sang “Oseh Shalom,” a Jewish prayer for
peace. Many in attendance joined in song, while those unfamiliar with the lyrics bowed their heads respectfully. Additional remarks were made by Rabbi Mark Melamut, Rabbi Daveen Litwin, Max Pivo ’22 and Jaclyn Eagle ’19. In their individual speeches, they reflected on their own reactions to the attack, their identities as Jews and how they are moving forward in the wake of the tragedy. Additionally, Aadil Islam ’21, a member of Dartmouth’s Muslim Student Association, spoke at the event to demonstrate solidarity with the Dartmouth Jewish community. A prayer for the injured was also offered. Later, attendants said Kaddish, a Jewish prayer said in times of mourning. The vigil also featured Jewish songs in Hebrew and English on the themes of healing and perseverance. It concluded with another rendition of Oseh Shalom. Before the event, Sophia G awe l ’ 2 2 s t re s s e d t h e SEE VIGIL PAGE 5
Smoking in music videos is prevalent
Pulitzer Prize winner Greg Miller discusses Russia probe
The Dartmouth
The Dartmouth
By KYLE MULLINS
Wi t h b i l l i o n s o f collective views, hip-hop, R&B and rap music videos are incredibly popular on YouTube and other online video-streaming services. A recent study by Dartmouth a n d Jo h n s H o p k i n s University researchers aimed to uncover how many of these videos depicted combustible or electronic marijuana or tobacco
products. Among the chief findings are that between 40 and 51 percent of popular hiphop music videos contain “combustible use, electronic use, or smoke or vapor,” and that the appearance of branded products increased significantly between 2013 and 2017. Kristin Knutzen, the study’s lead author and a research project SEE SMOKING PAGE 3
By HANNAH JINKS
Millions of Americans have watched as special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian electoral interference divulges information about foreign involvement in the 2016 election. Greg Miller, national security cor respondent for T he Washington Post and twotime Pulitzer Prize winner, has covered many of the
sur prising developments in Robert Mueller’s probe. He recently won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. O n O c t . 2 5 , M i l l e r visited Dartmouth to talk about his new book, “The Apprentice: Trump, Russia, and the Subversion of American Democracy.” Nearly 125 students, faculty and community members attended the event, which was sponsored by the Rockefeller
Center for Public Policy and the Dickey Center for International Understanding. Miller’s book, released on Oct. 2, has received extremely positive reviews, according to Daniel Benjamin, director of the Dickey Center and head coordinator of the event. The book investigates the Kremlin’s attempts to bolster Trump’s campaign and sabotage Hillary Clinton’s reputation. Miller also covers SEE TRUMP PAGE 2
PAGE 2
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Miller addresses politics and fake news Latinx students celebrate community the dysfunction of our country are all connected,” he said in an Mueller’s widely-publicized probe interview with The Dartmouth. into the Russians, Trump and his “I hope [my readers] come away with an appreciation for what an associates. Many people see Russia’s important period this is for us in meddling in the election as the our country, our society and our greatest violation of popular way of life.” Miller said s ove re i g n t y i n during the American history, “We have had i n t e r v i e w t h at Benjamin said in the climate in an interview with close and bitterly The Dartmouth. contested elections Washington D.C. fuels accusations “The enormity of “fake news” of R u s s i a ’ s before, but we and disorients interference in have never had an Americans. He the 2016 election election in which added that the almost two years institution of the later still defies an outside actor press as a whole description,” he had a profound and is in jeopardy. said when he “Here in the introduced Miller perhaps decisive United States, I at the talk. “We effect on the really worry about have had close and outcome.” rising resentment bitterly contested of the press and the elections before, hostility toward but we have never -GREG MILLER, THE our longstanding had an election role in society,” i n w h i c h a n WASHINGTON POST he said. “T he outside actor had NATIONAL SECURITY Founders vested a profound and CORRESPONDANT the press with perhaps decisive certain freedoms effect on the … in the very First outcome.” However, many Americans are Amendment, and they’re really in unconvinced Russians meddled peril right now.” Miller noted that there is a in the election, according to a recent Ipsos poll. The sharp downward trend in global press divide in opinion closely aligns freedoms. Va n e s s a S m i l ey ’ 2 1 s a i d with party affiliation, with 54 percent of Republicans disagreeing she attended the event to hear Miller speak on and 85 percent the relationship of Democrats between politics a g r e e i n g . “If there is some and the media. According to a hope that we’ll Smiley added that new Washington recover from the she believes it is Post poll, people crucial for people, are even more hyperpartisanship and especially d i v i d e d o n that we see now, Dartmouth whether Mueller students, to engage has uncovered it’s education that with these issues. s u f f i c i e n t will get us to focus “It forces you to e v i d e n c e on science and facts consider multiple to suggest viewpoints and t h e T r u m p rather than opinion.” to consider campaign viewpoints that colluded with contradict your Russians. Miller -BENJAMIN VALENTINO, core beliefs,” she discussed the GOVERNMENT said. “It’s really difficulty of PROFESSOR important to assessing always interrogate divisive issues with objectivity. He said his book your beliefs and confront issues aims not to convince readers of head-on.” Robert Williams ’21 said Trump’s guilt but rather to present he wished more students took unbiased information. “I want to provide people a fuller advantage of the opportunities understanding of how Russia’s offered by the Dickey Center. “A lot of these issues transcend interference, Trump’s election and FROM TRUMP PAGE 1
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
subjects, so no matter what subject you study, you can find something relevant,” Williams said. Faculty brought a different perspective to the talk, viewing their students as key players in solving these political issues. “One of the reasons I’m happy to be a professor is that I think hyper-partisanship hasn’t crept into university classrooms, even if it sometimes inflicts us outside of the classroom,” government professor Benjamin Valentino said. “If there is some hope that we’ll recover from the hyper-partisanship that we see now, it’s education that will get us to focus on science and facts rather than opinion. The mission of any university is to struggle for truth and to recognize it’s not always obvious what the right answer is.” Miller emphasized the importance of young people involving themselves in politics and working to bridge gaps between partisan identities. “I do think that [young people] are going to encounter real challenges moving forward and they’re going to have to figure out ways to help the rest of us solve these issues,” he said. However, Miller said he is assured students across the nation will resolve domestic crises despite potential setbacks. “I’m super impressed by the level of political involvement, activity and activism in [the Dartmouth students’] generation,” he said. “It really makes me feel confident for this country’s future.” Smiley is a member of The Dartmouth Staff.
FROM LATINX PAGE 1
Leadership director Dia Draper. The celebratory month served as a chance for Latinx students to “think about self care and just relax after a stressful term or year,” said Emily Martinez ’21, a former Latinx community student coordinator at OPAL who helped plan this year’s heritage month. O PA L L a t i n x p r o g r a m coordinator Edwin Aguilar said that the theme for this year, “diversity in community,” emphasizes “the unity part of community.” Organizers “really wanted to encompass a different idea or approach and make this year different,” Martinez said. Martinez said that this year’s Latinx Heritage Month was more successful compared to past years. “Last year the attendance rate was not that high, so this year there has been a huge step up,” she said. In particular, Martinez noted that the Latinx Late Night event on Oct. 5 enjoyed a fully packed room of attendees. “Turnout has been really good,” Draper said. “For Dartmouth, any time you get students away from their books it’s good.” She noted that in previous years, programming only garnered interest from “certain groups of Latinx, but not really everyone felt included.” This year, Martinez and other planners “really tried to broaden [their] range and approach” to programming, she said, adding that
the desire to increase the inclusivity of LHM was the guiding force behind this year’s event planning. “When putting events together for the full month, we were really cognizant of how to make it as inclusive as we could,” Aguilar said. One event, called Peligrosas y Poderosas, or Powerful and Dangerous, featured speaker Nadia Ruiz, an accomplished 34 year-old runner who has completed 140 marathons. Martinez said Ruiz is one of her inspirations as “someone who has been able to do what she wants and hasn’t been stopped just because she is Latinx.” Martinez added that Ruiz has “become a voice” for members of the Latinx community. Anirudh Udutha ’18 Med’22 said that for him, the events both this year and last year “touched on different challenges of the immigrant experience, issues of intersectionality like gender and sexuality, different economic issues, and really how everyone is able to find moments of resilience through their different experiences and find support, whether it is from family or other created families that people find over time.” “I really think I identified with those kinds of narratives,” Udutha added, noting that the events have been inspiring for him. Aguilar said that he looked forward to the final events of the month. “I think every event has been impactful and powerful,” he said.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 3
Study finds smoking in music videos FROM SMOKING PAGE 1
coordinator at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, said she became interested in the topic after seeing “very obvious brand placement of a vape” in a hip-hop music video. Knutzen said she then found that the vape company had numerous partnerships with hip-hop artists listed on its website. “Under new [Food and Drug Administration] regulation, vapes are considered a covered tobacco product and they are thus supposed to be regulated — and their marketing is supposed to be regulated — the same way as traditional tobacco products, such as cigarettes,” Knutzen said. “When we saw this, we thought, ‘I can’t think of any cigarette brands that are included in music videos, so is this sort of a loophole that the vape companies are exploiting?’” T he study’s methodolog y involved analyzing Billboard magazine’s weekly list of the top 50 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs from 2013 to 2017, watching the music videos for 796 of the songs on YouTube, Vimeo, Title and other video sharing sites and coding them for combustible and electronic product usage or depiction. “We also coded the videos for who is using the product — so is the main or featured artist who is more prominent using the product, or is it an extra in the video?” Knutzen said. “We also looked at popularity of the videos by number of views on YouTube, and we also looked at brand placement in the videos, which was the initial thing we were interested in.” She noted that the study had to refer to it as “brand placement,” because “product placement” implies a monetary agreement between the companies involved. “We cannot say for sure that the musical artist or the label was getting money to have this product in their video,” Knutzen said. “I am guessing that there’s some sort of equal exchange going on here, but for our purposes, we call it brand placement because we see the brand in the video, but we don’t know what other motives are behind that.” According to the study, brand placement increased from zero percent of videos with combustible products in 2013 to 9.9 percent in 2017, and increased from 25 percent in 2013 to 87.5 percent in 2017 for videos with electronic products. Furthermore, according to the study, there was a positive correlation between the number of views a video has and the “prevalence of combustible or electronic product use or exhaled smoke or vapor.” Knutzen noted the important
distinction between correlation and could “crack down” to ensure these causation, however. products are not being marketed to “It’s not like because they have young people. this in them they’re being viewed Martin Gojçaj ’22 said that he more, or because they’re viewed thought brand placement in music more they have them,” she said. videos could help these companies “You can’t really decide what it is, market to young people. but it was notable.” “An artist that I like or listen to, I According to Knutzen, hip-hop watch his videos and see him using was chosen as the genre for the this product and that turns me on to study because of its popularity — using that product myself,” Gojçaj hip-hop is the leading music genre said. in the United States — as well as However, he added that social its diverse audience. circles play a larger role in the “Proportionally, it has more promotion of tobacco and vape minority fans than other genres, products, citing his own experience and particularly growing up in racial and ethnic “An artist that I like or Albania. minorities have “ I t listen to, I watch his been targeted was a big part by big tobacco videos and see him of Albanian with very pointed using this product culture, so a marketing lot of people c a m p a i g n s and that turns me on smoked,” he historically,” she to using that product s ai d . “ E ve n said. “We were t h o u g h myself.” sort of concerned growing up, I that this might be was staunchly a novel avenue for -MARTIN GOJÇAJ ’22 opposed to it them to access ... eventually that market.” I en ded up Katelyn Zeser ’22 said she smoking too.” agreed that advertising in hipTuc k Sch ool of Bus in es s hop music videos could have a marketing professor Lauren Grewal, disproportionate impact on certain who specializes in identity-based groups. consumption, wrote in an email “Tobacco companies target statement that “hip-hop artists may people with low socioeconomic be seen as an aspirational reference status and hip-hop has roots in the group for many consumers,” lower socioeconomic side of society, meaning that the artists demonstrate so I think it’s a very effective and qualities that consumers may want also morally wrong way to target to take on themselves. people who are more vulnerable in Grewal wrote that “one way terms of income and education,” consumers express their identities Zeser said. is through the products they Knutzen added that thanks in purchase and consume and they are part to regulation stemming from accordingly attracted to products the Master Settlement Agreement, and brands that are positively linked a legal accord governing the to their identities.” advertising of cigarettes, “there “Seeing an aspirational reference was not a single cigarette brand in group member smoking, may make any hip-hop music video, because it look like something a consumer clearly they know that this is not a wants to do as well, to be like the type of media that they are allowed person smoking in the video,” she to use as advertising.” wrote in her email. The Master Settlement Hanlin Wang ’21, on the Agreement bars the five largest other hand, downplayed the tobacco companies from directly potential impact of music videos or indirectly targeting youth with on consumption, but gave other advertising in the United States, examples of places where someone according to the Public Health Law might come across advertising for Center. smoking or vape products. “That being said, with the FDA “I don’t really watch a lot of recently covering nicotine products music videos, and a lot of movies and vaporizers under covered today, I don’t think they really tobacco products, they should promote that, but I have seen it a theoretically be regulated and have lot on social media and meme pages their advertising regulated the same and stuff,” Wang said. as traditional tobacco products,” Derek Bai ’21, who listens to Knutzen said. “Also, YouTube is hip-hop and rap, said that he sees owned by Google, and if you read combustible or electronic products Google’s policy, [it] claims that [it] sometimes in music videos, but doesn’t allow this type of advertising dismissed the negative influence. on [its] platforms.” “People hold guns all the time She suggested this could be an in music videos, and I’ve never had issue for state or federal regulators the urge to shoot guns because of to take up, or parent companies it,” Bai said.
PAGE 4
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST RANIYAN ZAMAN ‘22
VERBUM ULTIMUM THE DARTMOUTH EDITORIAL BOARD
The Movies We Don’t Watch
Say It Like You Mean It
Hold yourself accountable for the art you consume.
A few weeks ago, during a class discussion on media portrayals of archaeology, my professor questioned why films so often lacked diverse casts and dismissed a lack of demand as a possible reason, saying something to the effect of “obviously, people want more diverse films.” Certainly, no one could be blamed for believing so. Two of the most popular films this year (and ever) were “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians,” both breakthroughs in terms of on-screen minority representation and deviants from Hollywood’s norm of allor-majority white casts. Both films landed in the sweet spot of being well-received by critics and audiences alike; “Crazy Rich Asians” was the highest-grossing romantic comedy in over a decade, while “Black Panther” has an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to its box office achievements. Victories for minority representation have also been attained on the smaller screen, such as Netflix’s “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.” On its opening weekend, I expected the book-to-film adaptation of “The Hate U Give” to see similar success; maybe not shooting to the top of the list of highest grossing films ever, but surely beating every other movie in its opening weekend in terms of box office numbers. After all, who would want to see “Halloween,” “Venom” or “A Star Is Born” over a raw and poignant exploration of how police brutality affects communities, told from a perspective that isn’t shared enough? (And even that description does a mediocre job of capturing the experience of watching “The Hate U Give.”) As it turns out, a lot of people. “The Hate U Give” finished sixth at the box office this weekend. Now this is no small feat, but it doesn’t quite compare to the spectacular release of “Black Panther.” It doesn’t hold up against the way people told each other that they just had to see “Twelve Years A Slave,” “Selma” or “Hidden Figures,” other significant and popular stories with African/African-American stories at their center. It doesn’t compare to the months of hype both before and after the release of “Crazy Rich Asians.” This could be explained by a host of
factors — “The Hate U Give” didn’t have the Marvel franchise name behind it, it was slanted toward a younger demographic, which may make older people less inclined to watch it; and of course, it’s only been a few weeks since its release and it’s too early to tell (though performance on release weekend is generally a good indicator of overall box office performance). These have all almost certainly played into “The Hate U Give”’s solid-but-not-stellar ticket sales. (And for the record, poor quality definitely did not — major media outlets are arguing that this young adult book-to-movie adaptation should be an Oscar contender.) But it’s more likely that what many thought was a trend of people flocking out in droves to see “diverse films” was really just a trend of people heading to the theaters to consume standard entertainment that allows the audience to see a non-white cast, pat themselves on the back and go home without considering the consequences that they or their actions have on communities of different races or other individuals. This isn’t to say that “Black Panther” or “Crazy Rich Asians” treat race as a mere backdrop to their stories; in contrast, in both stories race, heritage and cultural legacy are front and center, and the very sources of the protagonists’ strength. But Americans also go to see movies that follow similar formulas all the time; superhero action flicks or rom-coms. Popular historical dramas/documentaries such as “Twelve Years A Slave,” “Selma” or “Hidden Figures” are moving and raw, leaving audiences with the rare experience of a transformative cinematic moment. But at their core, they don’t ask audiences to wrestle with anything particularly controversial; only to acknowledge the basic truths that slavery is wrong, the Civil Rights movement required immense amounts of sacrifice and black women experienced unique struggles despite their instrumental contributions to the Space Race. These films allow audiences to divorce racism of the past — presented in its starkest, most blatant forms — from their own present-day realities and selves. Even the closest popular example to a contemporary film confronting racism, “Get SEE ZAMAN PAGE 6
6175 ROBINSON HALL, HANOVER N.H. 03755 • (603) 646-2600
ZACHARY BENJAMIN, Editor-in-Chief IOANA SOLOMON, Executive Editor ALEXA GREEN, Managing Editor PRODUCTION EDITORS MATTHEW BROWN & LUCY LI, Opinion Editors MARIE-CAPUCINE PINEAU-VALENCIENNE & CAROLYN ZHOU, Mirror Editors NATHAN ALBRINCK, MARK CUI & SAMANTHA HUSSEY, Sports Editors JOYCE LEE, Arts Editor LILY JOHNSON & CAROLYN SILVERSTEIN, Dartbeat Editors DIVYA KOPALLE & MICHAEL LIN, Photo Editors
HANTING GUO, Publisher AMANDA ZHOU, Executive Editor SONIA QIN, Managing Editor BUSINESS DIRECTORS BRIAN SCHOENFELD & HEEJU KIM, Advertising Directors SARAH KOVAN & CHRISTINA WULFF, Marketing & Communications Directors VINAY REDDY, Assistant Marketing & Communications Director BRIAN CHEKAL & CAYLA PLOTCH, Product Development Directors BHARATH KATRAGADDA, Strategy Director ERIC ZHANG, Technology Director
JESSICA CAMPANILE, Multimedia Editor JEE SEOB JUNG & MIA ZHANG NACKE, Design Editors HATTIE NEWTON, Templating Editor
ISSUE
Emily Sun
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.
President Hanlon’s email to campus was anything but supportive. Last Thursday, 11 Jewish congregants were “very fine people.” And he has failed to address murdered and six others were injured as they the Kentucky murders at all. Given this backdrop, worshipped at a Pittsburgh synagogue. The one would hope that President Hanlon would Anti-Defamation League believes it was the be willing to take a forceful stand by calling out deadliest attack on the Jewish community in specific violent actions against the groups Trump U.S. history. Last Wednesday, two black people has marginalized — but apparently that is too were shot and killed in a Kroger grocery store in much to ask for. Kentucky. Authorities are currently investigating Yet the problems with Hanlon’s email go the murders as a hate beyond its half-hearted crime; before the shooting, “Given this backdrop, condemnations. Hanlon the alleged shooter tried declares that “violence, to enter a predominantly one would hope that intolerance, and toxic black church but was unable President Hanlon divisiveness” can only be to get inside. Across last solved through “empathy, would be willing to week, explosive devices were understanding, and open mailed to more than dozen take a forceful stand dialogue.” In general, of prominent individuals and by calling out specific course, the Editorial Board organizations — including supports these principles as former U.S. President violent actions against essential to civic society, and Barack Obama, 2016 the groups Trump has agrees that it is important presidential candidate for people from all sides Hillary Clinton, billionaire marginalized — but of the political spectrum and liberal donor George apparently that is too to hear and understand Soros, and CNN — who much to ask for.” one another. But Hanlon’s have criticized President comment implies that it Donald Trump. These is polarization itself that actions were disgusting examples of hate crimes fueled last week’s violent attacks rather than and politicized violence, and the Editorial Board the atypically destructive actions of deranged stands in solidarity with the victims. individuals. Under this model, nonviolent But you wouldn’t know that any of these things protesters with strong ideologies are held morally had happened from reading the email College equivalent to violent extremists. It is one thing President Phil Hanlon sent to campus Monday to condemn overt anti-Semitism and racist dog morning. whistles that directly or indirectly encourage The email, sent with the subject line “Recent violence. (And it is similarly appropriate to National Events,” is astounding in its vagueness call out liberal extremism, such as when James and passivity. One would assume that the Hodgkinson opened fire on Congressional purpose of such an email would be to condemn Republicans last year.) But blaming polarization the violence of the attacks and provide support for attacks of terror without distinguishing for students who feel threatened or who are in between its different forms is a lazy cop-out that mourning. But if this was Hanlon’s intention, avoids placing blame where it truly belongs: at then he utterly botched the execution. Not once the feet of those who perform violence, and of does his email mention the nature of the attacks or those who incite it. the identities of the victims, or even specify what Even more concerning is the implicit victimevents he is referring to. Instead, he lumps acts of blaming intrinsic to Hanlon’s statement. If violence together, reducing them to “events across polarization as a whole is responsible for the our country this past week targeting people for violence of the modern era, then it logically who they are--their religion, political views, gender follows that both sides bear liability for inciting identity, race, and ethnicity,” and notes that they it. Under this argument, Obama, Clinton and have left “many of us saddened and concerned.” the other bomb recipients might have avoided In an email meant to provide support for “people being targeted if they had simply been nicer to in our community [who] are feeling afraid,” it is their attacker. The 11 dead in Pittsburgh might be disgraceful that Hanlon cannot legitimize these alive if they had just talked with the anti-Semites people’s fears by naming, with specificity, why they who wish them harm and deny their personhood. are afraid. It is disgraceful that the only emotions The two black victims in Kentucky could have he seems to find worth mentioning are sadness evaded harm if they’d had an earnest discussion and concern — not outrage, not disgust, not with their murderer before he became violent. moral indignation. And by calling on Dartmouth to “model” these These remarks would be bad enough at any behaviors, Hanlon implicitly places the onus on time, but they are particularly concerning in the Dartmouth community to reach out to those America’s current political climate. President who might wish them harm as well — even as Trump has failed to consistently condemn the he simultaneously acknowledges that community attempted bomber, instead choosing to accuse members “may be impacted by these harmful the press of creating a hostile atmosphere that led events.” to the attempted attacks. At one point he implied One of the goals of The Call to Lead capital that the bombs were a liberal hoax meant to campaign, which Hanlon has overseen, is for discredit Republicans. While his response to the Dartmouth to train its students to become leaders. shooting in Pittsburgh was slightly stronger, he Perhaps the College should focus on teaching has also fueled an atmosphere of increasing white these lessons at the top, as well. nationalism, one in which anti-Semitic racists The editorial board consists of opinion staff are often allowed to thrive. He even declared columnists, the opinion editors, both executive editors that neo-Nazis in Charlottesville included some and the editor-in-chief.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Community gathers to remember victims and mourn anti-Semitic attack history, so there’s a lot of folks in the Jewish community who are feeling importance of the gathering. particularly hurt, and scared, and “I have friends who are from unsafe right now so if you are friends Squirrel Hill, so the fact that this with anyone, reach out and give them could happen a little extra love so close to the and support,” he “I think that it’s people that I said. love was really important to realize Sarah shocking to me, that this event comes Barnett ’21, so I think it’s vice president really important amongst a growing of membership that we stand tide of anti-Semitism of Dartmouth with them,” she H i l l e l , in our country and said. expressed the Following the hate towards groups organization’s event, Goldstein of people in general, desire to help elaborated on Dartmouth some of the and that we need to heal. Bar nett reasons for the acknowledge that said that Hillel, vigil. Chabad and the and work together to “Students greater Jewish expressed a real combat that.” community need to be able stand in to grieve the solidarity to tragedy of the -CAYLA PLOTCH ’19 help people shooting, so it heal in whatever was particularly capacity they important to come together as a need and to honor those who were greater community,” Goldstein said. killed. “It was important to come together Barnett also commented on the as a sign of solidarity, because we’re Oct. 29 email sent out by College all in this together.” President Phil Hanlon. While the Goldstein wanted the Dartmouth vigil was quite specific in its intent, community to know, more generally, the email sent by Hanlon had no that many people across campus are mention of Jews or anti-Semitism. hurting, and expressed hope that “I got the impression that he just students would be compassionate kind of had this layout of an email toward each other. that he sends out whenever there’s a “In particular, I would say, tragedy … it felt kind of cold, and not the synagogue shooting this last sympathetic, and I think he could’ve Saturday was the most significant made just like a little bit more effort act of anti-Semitism in United States and made it personable,” she said. FROM VIGIL PAGE 1
In spite of this, Barnett found the vigil to be beautiful and touching. She emphasized that Hillel is open to the Dartmouth community as students heal. “We’re a very supportive community, and we’re devastated to hear what happened, especially the story of the 97 year-old Holocaust survivor who survived the genocide of the Jews to be killed in 2018 because she was Jewish,” Barnett concluded. Cayla Plotch ’19, a Chabad board member, found the vigil to be a meaningful vehicle for healing. “It was nice to see a large group of both students and faculty and people from town show up and show their support to [the Jewish] community in that way,” she said. Plotch also alluded to the importance of recognizing that this attack was rooted in anti-Semitism. “I think that it’s important to realize that this event comes amongst a growing tide of anti-Semitism in our country and hate toward groups of people in general, and that we need to acknowledge that and work together to combat that,” she said. It was this sentiment that Goldstein articulated in his remarks: “Tonight we stand in solidarity in our tears, in our disbelief, in our numbness, in our anger, and in our grief. Yet although we come as individuals, we stand united as community.” Plotch is a member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff. Eagle is a former member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
SARAH ALPERT/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Vigil attendees sang a prayer for peace and listened to speeches by the rabbis and Dartmouth students.
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
DARTMOUTHEVENTS
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
ALMOST THERE (?)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018
CECILIA MORIN ’21
TODAY
5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Virtual Lecture: “From Bricks to Bytes: The Virtual Basilica of St. Paul in Rome,” with art history professor Nicola Camerlenghi, sponsored by the art history department, Carpenter 13
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Lecture: “From Rescuing Eastern European Jews to the Carter White House to the U.S. Embassy in Romania During the Democratic Transition,” with Ambassador Alfred Moses ’51, sponsored by the Dickey Center for International Understanding, Rockefeller 002
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Film: “Burkinabe Rising,” directed by Iara Lee, sponsored by the Hopkins Center for the Arts, Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center
TOMORROW
4:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Lecture: “The Future of US Trade Policy,” with Chicago Council on Global Affairs senior fellow Phillip Levy and economics professors Doug Irwin and Robert Staiger, Rockefeller 002
6:45 p.m. - 9:30 p.m
Festival: “Latinx of the Living Dead: Night of the Living Dead,” sponsored by the Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean studies program, Rockefeller 003
FROM ZAMAN PAGE 4
Out,” greatly embellishes the racism that the black protagonist must face and adds a supernatural element. These are fantasies that take an ubiquitous and everyday occurrence that people of color face daily and drum it up, and while the effect is dramatic and the point certainly made, it also makes these films more palatable to white American audiences. The dearth of people who turn out to see films that showcase contemporary experiences of communities of color, as well as the far-reaching effects of microaggressions, are not a fluke. Americans can and should go beyond consuming simplistic messages such as slavery is amoral, or the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s was important. A film such as “The Hate U Give” doesn’t shy away from confronting more contentious forms of prejudice. It openly calls out the hypocrisy of high-school students who attend a protest to skip class (and I think we all
know the type), of people with savior complexes who view themselves as speaking out for so-called helpless, voiceless communities when they are really just shouting over them, and of “the white lady who clutches her purse in the elevator” when a black man gets on, as the film’s young protagonist, Starr, accuses one of her peers of becoming. It highlights all-too-familiar examples of racism that even people who think of themselves as liberal may engage in. Films like this may be uncomfortable to watch, and they require a critical self-examination of ourselves, our interactions with others and the deeper implications they hold. But this is why “The Hate U Give” should be an Oscar contender, and it’s also probably exactly why it won’t be. Everyone is completely in control of the art they consume and the art they don’t. This comes with a certain measure of accountability that audiences have yet to display.
ADVERTISING For advertising information, please call (603) 646-2600 or email info@thedartmouth. com. The advertising deadline is noon, two days before publication. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Opinions expressed in advertisements do not necessarily reflect those of The Dartmouth, Inc. or its officers, employees and agents. The Dartmouth, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation chartered in the state of New Hampshire. USPS 148-540 ISSN 0199-9931
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018
PAGE 7
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
Review: Director Damien Chazelle shines again with ‘First Man’ B y WILLEM GERRISH The Dartmouth
Director Damien Chazelle is quickly making a name for himself as the rightful heir to the throne of dramatic cinema. After his mesmerizing 2014 film “Whiplash” set the cinema world abuzz and his 2016 homage to Hollywood artistry and romance “La La Land” made him the youngest-ever recipient of the Academy Award for Best Director, Chazelle has catapulted to the forefront of directorial talent. His next test resides in “First Man,” an intense and engrossing film about astronaut Neil Armstrong and his accomplishment as the first human to walk on the moon. With “First Man,” Chazelle has made another triumphant film that evidences both his innate talent behind the camera as well as his uncanny ability to bring the best out of his on-screen actors. “First Man” begins in tumult. The audience is thrust into discordant fervor as Chazelle plunges right into the action, depicting Armstrong, played by a calculating and restrained Ryan Gosling, as he fights his way through a test flight gone awry. We’re treated to an atmospheric feast full of some remarkable photographic stunts, including one of my favorite directorial methods for capturing any high velocity action sequence: affixing the camera to the outside of a vehicle so that, in a twist on reality, the rocketing hunk of metal remains stationary while the world beyond rushes by. It’s a tactic used
magnificently by Christopher Nolan in 2014’s “Interstellar,” and whether or not Chazelle took direct inspiration from Nolan, his camera work echoes that same astral intensity. In fact, for the first five minutes of the film, the aural and visual treats do almost all of the talking. The camera cuts from shaky interior shots of Gosling’s grimacing face to brilliant vistas of the boundary between earth and space and then back again, using subtle but effective sound editing — the blast of rocket propulsion or the terrifyingly rapid ticking of the altimeter as Armstrong’s plane bounces off the atmosphere — to stir the audience. Chazelle also slips into the first-person perspective, giving us images of what Armstrong is encountering with his own eyes. All of these tricks work brilliantly, and this opening scene serves as an enthralling introduction to the high-risk world of flight. But the real focus of this movie is the man beneath the helmet and goggles, and a quick shift reveals one of the major points in Armstrong’s personal life: the death of his infant daughter Karen following a battle with cancer. Chazelle uses this as a starting point for his investigation into the famously reserved and humble Armstrong, and he tackles the job well by keeping much of the man a mystery. He presents Armstrong as someone who believes he can handle anything and everything thrown his way, and though it keeps him stolid and grounded, it breeds demons too. This is what makes Gosling’s performance
so phenomenal: though it seems a bit lackluster at first, he’s actually playing his part perfectly, letting his quiet words and demeanor feign control while his eyes hint at the tremors beneath. Armstrong tackles many of the momentous occasions in his life with this almost unbelievable serenity and blandness. In a press conference before his flight to the moon, reporters ask him what sort of mementos he’ll be bringing with him, to which Armstrong replies “If I had a choice, I’d take more fuel.” This sort of interaction is indicative of Armstrong’s granite exterior, and throughout the film it plays an integral role in both his professional and family life. Claire Foy is impeccable as Armstrong’s wife, Janet, a woman forced to bear the entire emotional burden of her husband’s remarkable but risky career. As a mother to two living children with Armstrong as well as the departed Karen, Janet serves as both the familial caretaker and honorary worrier for both herself and her husband. There’s a sense of mounting tension as the dangers of Armstrong’s job become more and more evident through dying colleagues and razor-thin survivals of crash landings, and Neil tries to brush these horrors off while Janet reluctantly absorbs them. Eventually, both Armstrong and his wife begin to break down. Neil finds himself incapable of facing the terrifying possibility of his own death, a notion remarkably evident when he
won’t even sit down with his kids to say goodbye before his risky flight to the moon. It’s here that Janet reaches her tipping point, and in a dramatic scene played masterfully by both Gosling and Foy, Janet confronts Neil and forces him to take some emotional initiative, proclaiming “Not me. I’m done.” And yet, even as Neil acquiesces and sits at the kitchen table with his young children, the conversation is more akin to a press conference than a familial gathering. He’s simply a man unequipped to face the harsh realities of loss and emotion. One of the great feats that Chazelle achieves in “First Man” is a balancing act between Armstrong’s strained personal life and his remarkable endeavors at NASA. Each has its own drama and excitement, and in the end it’s hard to say which is more affecting. On the one hand, instances like the aforementioned climax between Janet and Neil pull at the heart, yet the remarkable vehicular set pieces wrench at the gut. Combined, they make for a film that is relentless; Chazelle hardly lets his foot off the gas as he leaps between the worlds of familial strife and physical struggle. Perhaps the best moment of the film is when it blends these two microcosms in the movie’s epic conclusion. After a tumultuous flight and a hair-raising landing, Armstrong finally steps out onto the surface of the moon in a monumental moment for world history. Chazelle’s camera lingers on Armstrong’s face, but it’s obscured by
the mirrored surface of his visor. As I watched on, I was begging to see the look on Armstrong’s face, and just as I was about to give up, Chazelle gave me exactly what I was hoping for: Armstrong raises his visor, revealing a face tight with restraint but clearly overcome with emotion. He holds in his hand what he really brought with him to the moon — not more fuel, but Karen’s childhood bracelet. Dropping the bracelet into a crater, a tear falls from his eye, and Armstrong closes his visor. It’s a perfect culmination of the movie’s internal battle between family and frontier, proving that not even a man as controlled as Neil Armstrong can keep the events of his life from seeping into his greatest achievements. Damien Chazelle can add another resounding success to his résumé with “First Man.” He takes his viewers on a tremendous emotional and physical ride through the life and work of Neil Armstrong, and in the process, he provides a fresh and invigorating perspective on both the man and his enduring feats. From a dramatic perspective, Chazelle serves up all the splendor one could hope for, and with the conclusion of the film, he completes a masterful progression from external stress to inner turmoil. In the final shot, Neil and Janet wear pained expressions as they touch fingers across the glass of a quarantine booth, and then the camera cuts to black: what began in raucous fervor ends in stunned silence.
Review: Michael Myers deserves more in the new ‘Halloween’ B y savannah miller The Dartmouth Staff
Whenonethinksof thequintessential film serial killers, several names come to mind: Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kreuger, Leatherface, etc. However, one name that definitively has secured a place among the great horror movie characters is Michael Myers, “The Shape,” who returned to the big screen in September in this year’s reboot of the 1978 horror movie classic “Halloween.” In 2018’s “Halloween,” Michael Myers escapes forty years after he was imprisoned for the mass murder of teenage babysitters on Halloween night, locates his infamous white face mask and returns to Haddonfield, Illinois to finish what he started — namely, killing Laurie Strode, the only one of his targets to escape in 1978. Laurie and her family find themselves under attack once more, but this time, Laurie’s knowledge of how Michael acts might just give them a fighting chance. The new “Halloween” was directed by David Gordon Green, known for “Pineapple Express” and “Our Brand is Crisis.” Green’s history with comedies is evident throughout “Halloween,” as there are several funny moments
that act as catharsis within the slasher movie. He utilizes several 1970s horror movie stock characters with tact and self-awareness: the dimwitted boyfriend, the oblivious father, the cheater. These character tropes are both familiar and lovable, and they add a well-needed break from the gore of the film. Green is able to ensure the viewer is never without something to look at or someone for whom to root, making it easy to remain invested in the 104-minute-long movie. Yet, even Green’s directorial tact has problems compensating for a script that tries too hard to be both original and true to the 1978 film at once. Green, Jeff Fradley and Danny McBride obviously wrote the script paying homage to what was so iconic of the first film: there are several murders that are almost carbon copies of Michael’s killings in 1978, and there is persistent reference to the Boogeyman that little Tommy Doyle saw the night Laurie babysat him. If the film remained this true to the original “Halloween” — a movie that was made so scary by its realism and subtlety — the entire film could have been a successful and terrifying cinematic experience. However, Green, Fradley and McBride made several choices that deviate from the original story that
took me out of the world of Michael Myers and negatively impacted the film as a whole. For instance, the “twist” of “Halloween” was evident to me before the opening credits began. By the time the big reveal occurred, there was no surprise value. Green must have been aware of this because he attempted to make up for it with a subsequent gory murder. This is a trend of 2018 “Halloween”: whenever the movie is losing momentum, there is a quick cutaway to a dead body, mutilated in a way that is overly gruesome, even by Michael Myers’ standards. To me, this seems lazy. You cannot make up for lackluster writing with shock value — at least not easily. “Halloween” also disregards the mythology and lore established in the franchise by previous films, using only the first film as any sort of reference to inform the plot of the 2018 sequel. For example, Laurie Strode, who had been established as the long-lost sister of Myers in “Halloween II,” is of no relation to the serial killer in the new film. This choice was a tactical one made by the writers, who spoke last year about how the familial connection between Myers and Strode made the killer less scary. In many ways, this decision works for the new “Halloween:” the timeline and extraneous developments to the
franchise added by the 10 follow-up films are removed, and the story could have been streamlined. However, in many other ways, the choice removes part of what was so beloved about the “Halloween” franchise. For people like myself who grew up watching the “Halloween” movies every fall, Laurie Strode will always be the sister of Michael Myers, the practically superhuman killer who came back every October 31st to terrorize the town of Haddonfield, Illinois. It is difficult to forget this mythology when watching the new “Halloween,” and the movie has some trouble distancing itself from other sequels. Jamie Lee Curtis has no trouble resuming the role of Laurie Strode, and she is somehow able to substantiate the lackluster script. In the 2018 “Halloween,” Laurie suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, the result of Michael Myers’ 1978 attack. It is evident that Michael’s attack has completely defined her life: she has built her house into a “cage,” lost connection with her daughter and has devolved into alcoholism. Now that Myers has escaped from prison, Laurie is ready to fight back. Curtis plays this role well and without exaggeration. She is a no-nonsense woman who has had her life commandeered by a man, and she
wants it back by any means necessary. There is no doubt that Curtis is the true star of “Halloween,” a fact that makes it somewhat difficult to pay attention to the storylines that do not focus on her. Andi Matichak does a great job as Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson, struggling to make sense of her family history and connect with Laurie, but storylines involving Allyson’s disloyal boyfriend and his perpetually third-wheeling friend seem extraneous and unnecessary. The film also spends a lot of time focusing on Karen, Allyson’s mother, played by Judy Greer. Greer and Matichak are both amazing in their roles, but Laurie Strode reclaiming the life she metaphorically lost to Michael Myers in 1978 is a much more interesting and empowering story than the somewhat tired mother-daughter relationship drama that occurs between both Karen and Laurie and Allyson and Karen. Overall, the new “Halloween” suffers from an internalized confusion: the desire to return to its old glory yet reestablish itself in a new century. Curtis’ acting and Green’s directing skills manage to keep the film afloat; however, the legacy of Michael Myers deserved more focus and attention, something that will hopefully be corrected in the event of another sequel.
PAGE 8
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
New podcast series uses artifacts to highlight College history B y FLORIDA HUFF The Dartmouth
In anticipation of the College’s 250th anniversary, a group of Dartmouth faculty and students has teamed up to create “Hindsight is 20/19,” a 26-episode podcast series celebrating Dartmouth’s history. “It’s kind of coming out of the 250th, but also just out of a desire we’ve had for a long time to more widely share the cool stories that come out of Dartmouth,” head of Special Collections at Rauner Library Jay Satterfield said. College archivist Peter Carini said the idea for the series originated from a British Museum podcast that centered each episode around a historical artifact. “That’s a great idea, to do that with objects ... allowing [artifacts] to become the doorway or entryway into a bigger picture,” he said. Employing that method, the team selected 25 objects, one per decade, to craft each episode’s narrative. “What we’re trying to do is use those objects as a catalyst ... to create a picture of what Dartmouth was like on some aspect [at] some time,” Satterfield said. Carini said that the podcast will intentionally cover a broad variety of topics, ranging from the serious to the amusing. Episodes will detail the role of slavery in the construction of the campus, the effects of World War I and World War II on the College, student life, Dartmouth’s connection with the outdoors, the history of diversity on campus, Dartmouth’s
relationship with its alumni trustees and broad administrative changes over the College’s history, said Carini. “We made sure we were covering a variety of things,” Barrett said. “We weren’t only focusing on [a single] aspect of student life, or we weren’t only focusing on inventions and innovations that came out of Dartmouth, but we were getting a really good mix of a whole range of aspects of Dartmouth’s history.” In choosing podcasts as a medium, the team was forced to reshape the way they convey narratives. “We work with students, faculty and researchers all the time to help create narratives out of primary sources,” Satterfield said. “We’re professionals at analyzing documents … But we’re amateurs at podcasting.” According to Katie Carithers ’20, a student who contributed one of the episodes of “Hindsight is 20/19,” podcasts restructure the relationship between narrator and listener in a way that is “different from fiction or prose writing.” “It allows, I think, a little informality that opens up a space for us to say we don’t really know what fully happened, we can’t perfectly construct it,” Carithers said. “But here is what we seem to know from the archive, here are our inferences, you can take them and you can also make your own ... I think they’re an extremely exciting narrative.” “A lot of what determined my podcast for the 1920s was which [artifact] not only would allow a
lot of different parts of the story to be brought in, but could also be condensed into 10 to 20 minutes of history at Dartmouth,” Carithers said. According to Carithers, the artifact she selected was a letter, an article from former College President Hopkins to psychologist Dr. Bing Croft, addressing the rampant paranoia regarding homosexuality and homosocial relations between Dartmouth men, especially student soldiers and those unaffiliated with the Greek system. On the other hand, Carini expressed that podcasts are a unique medium with advantageous features. According to Carini, employing podcasts as a medium also broadens the team’s audience, as listeners can engage with the narratives while participating in other tasks. “People who might not have time to read our blog [posts], even though [they’re] short, or who don’t have time to come in and look at [the artifact], be told about it, or read up the history of it, they can listen to [a podcast] while they’re driving, or washing the dishes, or while they’re out running,” Carini said. “So I think [a podcast] has that advantage.” Since the episodes are fairly bitesized, around 10 to 25 minutes each, they are also easier for students to listen to, Satterfield said. Carini and director of education and outreach at Dartmouth Library Laura Barrett, both avid podcast listeners, brought their personal experience
with podcasts to the table in shaping “Hindsight is 20/19.” “I wanted to make sure that we brought in other voices and that we had a broad spectrum of voices, so it wasn’t just one person all the time, which most podcasts I listen to are,” Carini said. “We did some things that were kind of fun, like an interview.” Barrett agreed, emphasizing that she wanted to “play around with having different voices to [sustain] interest and to offer different perspectives, while still having it stay clear and interesting and comfortable, not chaotic to listen to.” Barrett added that she enjoys podcasts that foster connections between the listener and the story, transcending a simple overview of the topic. “I learn a lot more that way,” Barrett said. “I knew that I wanted to take that kind of approach, to really help people make personal connections with different parts of Dartmouth’s history through these different objects.” Carini added that although the core team for “Hindsight is 20/19” is comprised of Dartmouth faculty, the podcast will also feature a few student voices. Among these is Carithers, who said her archival research on the Dartmouth Players, a formerly existing student acting troupe, as a student research fellow at Rauner provided a unique insight into the 1920s as a decade, unearthing connections between the arts, Greek life and World War I at Dartmouth. “Up until the 1920s, like the College, [the Dartmouth Players]
consisted of only men who were the students and the actors in it,” Carithers said. However, Carithers added that paranoia about male actors becoming homosexual due to playing female roles led the Dartmouth Players into becoming co-ed by recruiting local women, several decades before the College itself would admit women. Carithers said that in uncovering documents hidden in Dartmouth’s archive, “Hindsight is 20/19” sheds light on aspects of Dartmouth’s history that either lack information or have been censored over the years. “We have this archive that we can also use to hold the College accountable and to recognize its history, both the good and the bad,” Carithers said. “In cultivating that understanding of where we’ve come from and where … issues on this campus [have] started from, we can continue to create change.” Satterfield said the “Hindsight is 20/19” team intends to release the first four podcast episodes this upcoming January, followed by weekly releases of the remaining episodes throughout the year. “I hope that it’s fun for people to listen to,” Barrett said. “It’s just really, really fun, and I hope that comes across [to the audience].” Satterfield agreed, adding that “it’s fun to try out new ways of telling stories that are often stories you’ve told before … bringing [stories] to a new medium has just been a really fun experience.”
‘Dartmouth Sings!’ event highlighted inclusion and acceptance B y mia nelson The Dartmouth
An hour before the Dartmouth College Gospel Choir’s performance “Dartmouth Sings!” commenced in Spaulding Auditorium this past Saturday, the eclectic group of students and community members that comprise the choir were passing around brightly colored scarves and laughing. According to seventh-year choir member and commmunity member Mary Ann Stanford, the ensemble is the most “loving family you will ever find.” Directed by Walter Cunningham, the Gospel Choir is a large, non-audition group that is open to both local residents and Dartmouth students. Choir member Shayla Goldberg ’22 said that “[Cunningham] makes
it very clear: everyone is welcome here.” Goldberg, who is Jewish, says that although the group sometimes incorporates Christian theology into their sets, “the messages overall are about unity and acceptance, and those are values I am happy to represent.” The set list for the performance reflected a similar diversity. An arrangement of Nina Simone’s “Four Women” highlighted the black female experience, and tribute was paid to both Leonard Bernstein and Aretha Franklin. The Bernstein arrangement was performed by the theater department and the Dartmouth Rockapellas, and featured West Side Story’s “I Feel Pretty” mashed-up with the song “Unpretty” by TLC. Aretha Franklin was honored at two points
in the performance, first with the Pop Group’s performance of a mash-up of some of Franklin’s hits,“Chain of Fools,” “Respect” and “You Made Me Love You,” and later with a performance of “Natural Woman” and “Wholy Holy” by the Gospel Choir, recognizing Franklin’s indelible legacy on Gospel music. Other songs performed included “Smack Dab in the Middle,” “Oh Happy Day” and “Let Your Spirit Fall Upon Me.” The choir’s energetic and unapologetically jubilant approach to music moved audience members to clapping, snapping and dancing. The palpable excitement of the group imbued the crowd with a sense of freedom and contagious gaiety. According to choir member Brandy Zhang ’22 , the feeling produced by
the choir was “a spiritual experience in a non-religious way.” Indeed, the choir brings the best aspects of spirituality to their songs: celebration of love, exuberant joy and kindness to self and others. Cunningham has intentionally crafted a space to praise what is good, to lift spirits and hearts. A particularly moving moment occurred during “Stand by Me” when choir member Alexander Cotnoir ’19, whose parents were in the crowd, soloed for the first time to the ardent praise of Cunningham, who emphasized that everyone has a special talent to offer to the world, if they are brave enough to show it. Cunningham simply makes people feel happy, whether it be through his high-spirited arrangements or frequent asides to the audience. At
one point, Cunningham addressed the crowd with “you are not damaged goods. You were created wonderfully unique.” T he show ended with a performance of “This is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” with lyrics emphasizing the beauty of individuality and the importance of self-love. Cunningham says that the mission of the Gospel Choir is to “[celebrate] diversity and artistic expression with a purpose.” His message was one that resonated with the community; attendee Joan Marable ’76 said she most admired “the fact that Walt is able to bring all kinds of people together.” And together the crowd was, as we rose to give Cunningham and his choir the standing ovation they so rightly deserved.