THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
VOL. CLXXV NO. 95
RAINY HIGH 51 LOW 43
Janeczek remembered for ability to connect
B y Abby mihaly
The Dartmouth Staff
OPINION
TRUONG: ANGRY VOICES PAGE 6
MIZE: WHO GETS A SPOT AT THE PODIUM? PAGE 6
LEUTZ: DON’T SHUT UP AND RAP PAGE 7
KHANNA: INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS PAGE 7
Loyal friend and family member to many in his community at home and at Dartmouth, Kyle Janeczek, a second-year student at the Geisel School of Medicine, made an impact on everyone who came in contact with him. “He made you feel like you were the most important thing in the world,” said Geisel roommate and friend Brent Bates Med’20. Janeczek, 25, passed away on Oct. 17, in his home in Norwich. The Vermont Medical Examiner’s Office has conducted an autopsy but has not released a cause of death. He was born June 30, 1993 in
Passaic, New Jersey, and grew up in Wall Township, a small beach town nearby. Janeczek was proud of his roots, and remained close with his family and three siblings. He worked as a lifeguard at Bay Head Improvement Association in high school and during the summer in college. In his hometown, Janeczek was what his sister Kyra Janeczek called “a local celebrity.” He attended Wall High School, where he played on both the basketball and football teams. Academically, Janeczek was an honors student and president of the math club. He also won SEE OBITUARY PAGE 5
The Dartmouth
Novack Cafe visitors might be surprised to see a new business selling its products in the café. DEEJ Co., a student-run business selling electronic cigarette accessories including adhesive carrying cases and easy-to-use chargers, will now have a weekly presence in the popular study space. Created by Dhungjoo Kim ’19 in
Booker talk sees more than 200 attendees
ANTHONY ROBLES/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Annie Kuster attended at Get Out the Vote rally on campus.
B y Anthony RobLes
Students start business selling JUUL accessories B y SAVANNAH ELLER
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
March 2018, DEEJ Co. is one of the College’s most recent student entrepreneurial efforts. Kim said he came up with the idea to sell accessories for JUULs, popular e-cigarettes, after talking to some of his friends who used the product. He said observed two problems for JUUL users. First, the e-cigarettes were often lost. “I had friends who were buying SEE JUUL PAGE 3
The Dartmouth Staff
As Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) took selfies and recorded videos with students and community members following a Get Out the Vote rally on Sunday night with Rep. Annie McLane Ku s t e r ( D - N H ) , a young girl approached Booker and told him that he “should run for president.” In response, Booker told her, “If I run, I want you on my team.” Booker is considered by m a n y t o b e a leading contender
for the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2020 presidential elections. On Sunday, Booker also stopped at the University of New Hampshire and headlined a fundraiser in Durham before finishing his day at Dartmouth in his first visit to New Hampshire, which hosts the first primary in the country. When Kuster i n t ro d u c e d B o o k e r in front of a packed audience of over 200 people in Filene Auditorium, she jokingly referred to him as the next Democratic
presidential nominee. During the event’s question and answer period, Booker refused t o s ay wh e t h e r h e planned to run for president in 2020 after a student asked him what that year meant to him, instead replying that “life is about purpose, not position.” Booker added that he had three primary purposes in life: fighting growing levels of economic inequality, combating criminal a n d e nv i ro n m e n t a l injustice, and restoring civility to the nation’s SEE BOOKER PAGE 2
ARTS
AUTHOR TED CHIANG SPEAKS ON ETHICS OF SPECULATIVE TECHNOLOGY PAGE 8 FOLLOW US ON
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“SpeakOut” to provide oral history of queer community B y EMILY SUN The Dartmouth
T he Rauner Special Collections Library has partnered with the Dartmouth LGBTQIA+ Alum Association (DGALA) to launch SpeakOut, an oral history project in which faculty, alumni and students
are interviewed regarding their experiences with the LGBTQIA+ community on campus. The interviews, conducted by a team of approximately 10 students, feature Dartmouth graduates ranging from the 1950s and 1960s to the most recent classes. The first set of SpeakOut
interviews are set to be released to the public in January 2019 as a part of the College’s 250th anniversary c e l e b r at i o n , a n d m o re will follow, according to Birch. There are around 20 interviews in the Rauner archives waiting to be released at this point, though Birch hopes to add more.
“The goal of SpeakOut is to document the history of Dartmouth’s LGBTQIA+ community, and we want that history to be as multiperspective as we can get,” said Caitlin Birch, digital collections and oral history archivist at Rauner. Birch noted that there is a lack of documentation that
represents the experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals in Dartmouth archives to date. She said that SpeakOut is “definitely looking to address some of those gaps in the archives.” “Beyond just providing documentation for the SEE SPEAKOUT PAGE 3
PAGE 2
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
College creates 12 new Booker emphasizes need for unity metered parking spots in the U.S. angered him. Booker said he was frustrated that the political discourse. American public seemed “to be Booker spent much of his speech at peace with higher and higher extolling the value of American levels of injustice.” virtues and emphasizing the need Booker also called for criminal to bring the country together. justice reform and criticized drug Throughout his speech, Booker laws that he said disproportionately alternated between a somber and affected communities of color. serious figure — denouncing The crux of Booker’s speech what he perceived as American rested on the idea that the power injustices — to witty storyteller, to change the country was in the cracking jokes and delivering hands of every individual, with personal anecdotes. Booker stating that the “story of Before Booker and Kuster American history is the story of took the stage, folks like us,” Dartmouth and not a select C o l l e g e “The greatest natural few individuals D e m o c r a t s resource is not coal, oil like Abraham president Max or gas, but the minds La nid n Gc eoo rl g ne Brautigam ’20 and New of the young children Washington. H a m p s h i r e of this country.” H e C o l l e g e praised activists Democrats of all stripes, vice president - SENATOR CORY BOOKER from the leaders G a r r e t t of the women’s (D-NJ) Muscatel ’20 s u f f r a g e delivered m ove m e n t t o brief opening participants in remarks. the Civil Rights Muscatel Movement. will be running Booker added to represent that it was Hanover in the New Hampshire activists and young people who House of Representatives next had helped mold the United States week. Running against Muscatel since its inception. is Republican nominee Baronet Booker said that while he “Webb” Harrington ’20. acknowledges “the genius of the During her time on stage, Kuster Founding Fathers,” he found it listed some of her policy positions, prudent to not “whitewash history” stating that she was dedicated to and to acknowledge the “bigotry fighting sexual assault and ending and hatred” that was a component the opioid epidemic. Kuster is of some the U.S.’s most important running against p o l i t i c a l R e p u b l i c a n “Hope is the active documents. S t at e Re p. cited the conviction that despair He Steve Negron mention of and Libertarian will never have the last “savages” in the c a n d i d a t e word.” Declaration of J u s t i n Independence O’Donnell and the absence in the state’s of women from S e c o n d the Constitution - SENATOR CORY BOOKER Congressional as examples. (D-NJ) District. As his Kuster urged speech drew to students to vote a close, Booker in the New commented on Hampshire the Kavanaugh elections, hearings, adding that expressing his the state offers frustration that same-day voter t h e “ w o r l d ’s registration and that College greatest deliberative body” did personnel would be on hand to not consider all of the evidence provide proof of residence if before it. He said that Christine students live on campus. Blasey Ford, who had accused Following Kuster’s remarks, Kavanaugh of sexual assault, had Booker took the stage. Speaking “told her truth.” only a day after a mass shooting Booker ended his speech by that resulted in 11 deaths at remarking that the actions of the Tree of Life synagogue in the people in the audience would Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Booker “affect the destiny of generations condemned the tragedy and added not yet born.” that the seeming normalization of “Hope is the active conviction mass shootings and other tragedies that despair will never have the FROM BOOKER PAGE 1
B y ANNE GEORGE The Dartmouth
Visitors to the College who have cars might have one less problem to worry about. Dartmouth transportation services established 12 new metered parking spots between McNutt Hall and Robinson Hall early last week. This change occurred after an 18-month pilot program conducted by the department that tested the impact of replacing four short-term parking spaces with metered ones on Cemetery Lane. According to director of transportation services Patrick O’Neill, the pilot program found that metered spots were more effective in holding drivers accountable to the instituted time restrictions on parking. Although only a few new metered parking spaces were created last week, O’Neill said that these spaces will encourage more frequent turnover. “Prior to creating those as metered spaces, they were short-term spots that had a 30-minute or an hourlong limit,” he said. “When we had short-term spaces like this, it was difficult to regulate and we frequently encountered vehicles that would be parked there for a long period of time. With the spaces that were a part of the pilot program, the meters allowed for a greater number of people to have access to parking.” O’Neill added that the new parking spaces will provide improved access to parking in central areas of campus to individuals on short-term business at the College. The department also placed these additional eight parking spots around
campus in areas that experience significant traffic. “Another benefit is that it will allow people here on short-term business to utilize these meters and not have to park in illegal areas,” O’Neill said. Meghan Poth ’20 said it is inconvenient for students to use their cars during the day when the primary parking options are A Lot and Greek houses. “Currently I park my car at a sorority, and sometimes when I am rushing from equestrian team practice and am trying to get to class, being able to park by the library or a metered spot closer to one of the halls would be so much more convenient,” she said. Poth said she believes these metered parking spots will be beneficial to students, but they are not a permanent solution to the issue of finding parking on campus. “I think the College should focus on creating more parking spots that can be rented to students throughout the term because right now, the College doesn’t have any,” she said. “We need a designated spot for students who have cars on campus other than A Lot, which is so far away.” Sue Mohieldin ’19 said that having a car on campus is challenging and she will be taking advantage of these new metered spots. “Dartmouth is a small campus and our options for parking are very limited,” Mohieldin said. “I end up parking my car on the street during the day, but now there’s a lot of construction by the library, so it’s even harder to find parking when I have class.”
NAINA BHALLA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
New parking spots have been added between McNutt and Robinson Halls.
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
last word,” Booker said. “We’ve got to have the last word.” After Booker’s speech, he and Kuster answered questions from the audience. Booker emphasized the importance of compensating teachers, who he said had been “devalued,” through a “massive infusion of tax breaks.” Kuster said that making college more affordable was important and emphasized the “need to reinvest in public education.” “The greatest natural resource is not coal, oil or gas, but the minds of the young children of this country,” Booker said. Michael Parsons ’20, a member of the Dartmouth College Democrats’ executive board, said that students could expect more speakers like Booker after the midterm elections. “While I don’t have specifics for exactly who’s going to be coming up here, I would imagine that Dartmouth College is going to be a hotbed of potential candidates and people exploring the idea of a presidential run in the nearfuture,” Parsons said. “I think that a lot of people are going to be making the trip up to New Hampshire,” he added. However, Parsons also noted that the main focus right now is on the midterm elections and “trying to mobilize as many people [to vote] as possible.” “Even if you don’t think that you’re political, if there’s one issue that you believe in or that you can think about, vote on that issue,” Parsons said. “If you don’t know who to vote for, vote for who you believe will stand up for the issues that you care about.” In an interview with The D a r t m o u t h a f t e r t h e eve n t , Brautigam said the midter m elections will could potentially impact New Hampshire voting laws, citing recent state laws such as Senate Bill 3, which will tighten the proof of residency requirements for voters who choose to register same-day, and House Bill 1264, which requires students and other part-time residents of the state to become permanent New Hampshire residents if they want to vote. While SB3 will take effect for the midterm elections, HB 1264 will not take effect until July 1, 2019. Both bills were signed into law by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. “If voting is important to you and you think people should have a voice in government — which hopefully anyone believes — then you’ll support the Democrats this year,” Brautigam said. “We’re the group working to make sure that people have continued access to voting rights.”
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Project to honor queer experiences at College FROM SPEAKOUT PAGE 1
College archives, we’re definitely trying to help [the LGBTQIA+] alumni community to remember the history that they lived at the College and to give them a foundation to go from in the future,” Birch said. T he idea for this project originated from the president of DGALA, Brendan Connell Jr. ’87, who was inspired after hearing about Rauner’s oral archives surrounding the Vietnam War. “I realized that many of my colleagues were passing away without their stories being told,” Connell said. Connell noted that SpeakOut is unique in the sense that it is not only a bridge between alumni and current students, but is also a form of reconciliation for some of alumni who once vowed to never have anything to do with the College again. Caroline Casey ’21 is one of the student interviewers for SpeakOut. After being trained in oral history, Casey and the other students involved were assigned to conduct roughly one interview per term; other responsibilities include researching the background information of the interviewees and the College’s history. “I personally got involved because I care,” Casey said. “I just think it’s really important to tell stories of people at Dartmouth
who have definitely not always been heard.” Birch said that the project also details the progression of the LGBTQIA+ community at the College as the pressure to live a closeted life decreases and students, faculty and staff make the campus a more inclusive place. However, she also added that there is much more to be worked on. While SpeakOut does show how far Dartmouth has come, Casey said there is still room to grow. “Dartmouth arguably is still a problematic place for a lot of people, [but] the further you go back, the more you see that there were a lot of people who had really complicated experiences at Dartmouth,” Casey said. “I feel like as a student now, I owe a lot to them for being some of the first students at Dartmouth who were out or trying to pave the way for a gay community at Dartmouth.” Birch said she hopes that SpeakOut will have a lasting impact in the Dartmouth community. “At Rauner, we like to talk about this concept of a reusable past,” Birch said. “What we mean by that is essentially that things have happened in Dartmouth’s history that are not always things that are the way we would have hoped would have gone, but if we can bring them to light and not shy away from them, we can learn from them and build a better present for the community on campus today and into the future.”
PAGE 3
Students design JUUL holders After creating a satisfactory model of his design, he sent the plans to “I had friends who were buying a manufacturers in China. Kim then new one every other week, which is tested several further prototypes before like $40,” he said. settling on his finished product. Second, Kim saw that the JUUL After creating his first product, Kim chargers, which are portable and incorporated a company name based resemble USBs, on his college are also often lost. nickname, To provide a “A lot of us saw it as “DJ.” niche product, an opportunity to be “It’s Kim decided to funny because create a way for involved with some I come from JUUL users to entrepreneurship on Philadelphia better keep track of campus.” and everyone their e-cigarettes. there calls “I just sort of me by my full realized that there - ROBERT HOBART III name,” he said. was a gap in the “I chose to have market in terms of ’21, DEEJ CO. CAMPUS this nickname a solution to that AMBASSADOR when I came [to problem,” he said. Dartmouth].” A f t e r K i m conducting market started selling research to gauge his JUUL interest in JUULs holders on and accessories, Kim began working Amazon, eventually expanding his on a prototype of his first design. He product line to include JUUL chargers took inspiration from adhesive phone that can be plugged in much like phone wallets, low-cost holders that secure chargers. He came up against his first credit cards and cash to the back of a business hurdle when the chargers person’s smartphone. were banned from Amazon due to the “My thinking was, ‘Why not adapt website’s policy prohibiting e-cigarettes something like that for the JUUL?’” and related products. Kim adapted by he said. moving to Etsy and opening an online Kim’s product does just that. website for the business. FROM JUUL PAGE 1
Kim recently began recruiting other students to serve as “campus ambassadors” for the company. He started selling his products in Novack with the help of these business partners. Robert Hobart III ’21, one of these ambassadors, serves as the self-titled “VP of Compliance” and is in charge of the liaison between DEEJ Co. and Safety and Security. “A lot of us saw it as an opportunity to be involved with some entrepreneurship on campus,” Hobart said. According to Kim, almost all of DEEJ Co. products are sold online but the business is also very popular on campus. DEEJ Co. customer Kyle Civale ’20 said he appreciates supporting a student-run business. “I want to encourage more of that,” Civale said. Kim said he plans to expand DEEJ Co. to Mexico and sell his JUUL holders in a retail setting. He will also start selling in Novack on a weekly basis. Although Kim enjoys running his own company, he said he has no plans to become a full-time entrepreneur but instead wants to pursue the business as a hobby. “It’s something I love doing,” he said. “It kind of fills my boredom.”
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DARTMOUTHEVENTS
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
BACK IN MY DAY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
CAROLINE COOK ’21
TODAY
4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Lecture: “On Being Human: Mythic & Scientific Perspectives,” facilitated by ICE at Dartmouth director and professor Marcelo Gleiser, Filene Auditorium, Moore Building
6:45 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Film: “Latinx of the Living Dead: Juan of the Dead,” sponsored by the Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean studies program, Rockefeller 003
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
The Pitch, sponsored by the DALI Lab and the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship, Common Ground, Collis Center
TOMORROW
6:00 p.m. - 10:15 p.m.
“Day of the Dead” at La Casa, sponsored by the Spanish and Portuguese department, La Casa
DARTMOUTH OVERHEARDS
CASEY SMERCZYNSKI ’20
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Film: “The Miseducation of Cameron Post,” directed by Desiree Akhavan, Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center
8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Performance: “Eclipsed” by Danai Gurira, directed by Miranda Haymon, Moore Theater, Hopkins Center for the Arts
8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Performance: Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble, Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
PAGE 5
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
“Everybody knew him, everybody loved him” FROM OBITUARY PAGE 1
the homecoming king title. In a class size of approximately 300 students, Janeczek made an effort to get to know and support everyone he could. “Everybody knew him, everybody loved him,” Kyra Janeczek said. Janeczek had a way of getting to know people quickly and “bring[ing] people out” of their shells, Geisel roommate and friend Lucas Mayer Med’20 said. H e w a s e m p at h e t i c a n d curious about the world around him. Janeczek’s roommates fondly remember him going out of his way to engage in conversation, whether it be with a friend, neighbor or a cashier at CVS. Janeczek’s job at the Baker-Berry Library desks displayed his ability to connect with anyone. “He could talk to a 10-year old with their parents, he could talk to a grumpy 79-year-old retiree, he could talk to faculty,” said Baker-Berry Library Access Services student supervisor Loey Crooks, Janeczek’s supervisor at his job at the BakerBerry desks. Crooks also described him as “larger than life.” She added that no matter how exhausted Janeczek was, whether he was coming from a 10-hour shift at the hospital or a
long gym workout, he always took a moment to ask how she was doing. Janeczek played sports from a young age. He scored 1000 points as a basketball player in high school, earning his name and photo, alongside his brother Ryan Janeczek, on a banner in the Wall High School gym. He was also a passionate fan of the New York Knicks. Though he did not begin his football career until his senior year of high school, Janeczek quickly proved himself talented in the sport and received a scholarship to play at The College of New Jersey, where he majored in health and exercise science. In addition to his athletic talent, Janeczek was also a gifted guitar player. He and roommates Bates and Forrest Rackard Med’20 would often have “jam sessions” in their first-year apartment in Hanover. Janeczek also frequented Bear Hollow Vintage Guitars in Lebanon, where he would play guitar and socialize with the owners and patrons, according to his roommates. Janeczek first started talking about attending medical school during his high school years. He was injured in sports-related incidents several times, and initially expressed interest in orthopedic medicine. He wanted to help others the way
that doctors had helped him, said Geisel first-year student associate dean Virginia Lyons. During his freshman year of high school, doctors diagnosed Janeczek with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome when emergency room technicians treating Janeczek for a dislocated shoulder conducted an electrocardiogram and noticed an abnormality. Without this diagnosis, Janeczek would have been at risk of death, as the condition meant his heart was in danger of stopping if he were hit with too much impact on the field. Doctors later diagnosed Janeczek’s younger brother RJ Janeczek with the same condition. By the time he began medical school, Janeczek had expressed interest in cardiothoracic surgery as a career. B eyo n d h i s at h l e t i c a n d academic achievements, Janeczek will be remembered as generous and compassionate. Rackard said conversations with Janeczek gave the impression that he was “fiercely interested in you” and that he always took the time to check in with his friends. Geisel medicine professor Roshini Pinto-Powell wrote in an email that Janeczek did his best to support his peers in the difficult transition to medical school and made Hanover feel like a less lonely place.
COURTESY OF KYRA JANECZEK
Kyle Janeczek, who passed away on Oct. 17, is remembered for his empathy.
Janeczek is survived by his maternal grandmother Sue Post, his parents Lynn and Raymond Janeczek, his three siblings, Kyra Janeczek, 27, Ryan Janeczek, 21, and RJ Janeczek, 20, and many aunts and cousins. A funeral and memorial services
were held in New Jersey last week. The family asks that memorial donations be sent to The Matthew J. Morghan III Health Assessment Center for Athletes in Janeczek’s name, which can be accessed at www. mjmiii.org.
PAGE 6
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
STAFF COLUMNIST VALERIE TRUONG ’21
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST FRANCES MIZE ‘22
Angry Voices
Who Gets a Spot at the Podium?
Both David Horowitz and his protesters should rethink their approach. I received several attention-grabbing emails in my inbox last week. The messages advertised that conservative commentator David Horowitz would be coming to campus to discuss “Identity Politics and the Totalitarian Threat from the Left.” Potentially provocative email subject lines containing quotes by Horowitz included “Israel is the victim,” “Angry voices of the left” and “Identity politics is racist.” The planned format of the event was 40 minutes of prepared remarks, followed by a 20-minute question and answer session. Part of me considered going to the event to find out why this man believes Israel is the the victim in its conflict with Palestine. Another part of me didn’t want to support a man who has been criticized for being “anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-black.” The most convincing part of me reminded myself that I had a midterm the morning after. Though I didn’t attend, in the days leading up to and after the event, I was surprised to learn of the methods of remonstration employed by protesters. According to The Dartmouth’s reporting on the event, acts of protest included holding up posters that opposed Horowitz’s views, working on laptops while using headphones, interrupting the lecture with questions, playing music audibly from laptops, speaking loudly to friends, scattering fliers in the aisle upon leaving and kissing each other near the front of the room. Horowitz’s reactions and response to these protests were arguably worse: he defaulted to sweeping statements, name calling and fanaticism. I think that both Horowitz and his protesters were there to incense each other — from what I gather from the article and photos, it sounded like a food fight, but with words. Horowitz was wrong to verbally abuse protesters with unnecessarily degrading terms like “ignoramus,” “gorillas,” “jacka—es” and “idiots,” to name a few. Clearly, his insecurity and short fuse was revealed as he began his talk already on the defensive: he attempted to refute a flier that students had circulated around campus referring to him as a “racist, sexist, and ignorant bigot.” Students and community members have the right to protest a guest speaker, but to be rude in doing so may be counterintuitive.
Audible and visual disruptions only serve to propel the most negative of positive feedback loops: the protester distracts Horowitz from his speech, so he lobs irrational epithets back at the accuser, only to foment greater anger and unrest from members of the audience. After all, if you wouldn’t be this disruptive during your professor’s lectures, why do it here? Yes, you’ll probably never see Horowitz again (in person at least), and he isn’t going to grade you on what he espouses, but there are more conducive ways to convey that you don’t agree with his viewpoints. For those who either agree with Horowitz’s views or are curious about what he has to say and why he’s saying it, go to the event. For those who disagree with his views, no matter how vehemently, there are two options that are more productive than a word war for all parties involved. First, you can choose to abstain from attending. An almost empty room would demonstrate that not enough people care about what he has to say to dedicate an hour of their day to listen. Everyone’s time is precious and forever dwindling, and that hour could be used in better ways. Second, you can still attend the event, and instead of fighting Horowitz by causing a scene, patiently listen to his statements, no matter how wrong, ignorant or hateful they seem to be. For each point of his that you disagree with, when it is time for the Q&A section, ask him why. If you feel that he hasn’t explained sufficiently why he believes in something, ask him why and how he has reached that conclusion. If he can’t respond with a cohesive answer that directly answers your question, then his claims are unfounded. Ask him the hard questions, but in a non-inflammatory, non-accusative way. Maybe it’ll get him to think about what he’s saying, or maybe it won’t. It’s extremely difficult, but these are the processes that facilitate the exchange of ideas and critical thinking. It is nearly impossible for people to always be surrounded by those who agree with them in every major topic or subject of debate. Learning how to conducively respond to contrarians now will help students accomplish more and work toward compromise in the long run.
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ISSUE
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
LAYOUT: Vivek Hazari, Kyle Mullins
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David Horowitz doesn’t deserve an intellectual response.
The Dartmouth College Republicans that requires nuanced, critical thought. As billed the talk as a double-hitter. Most emails he did a number of times during his talk, advertised the hour-long lecture as “Identity Horowitz skirted these potential complications Politics and the Totalitarian Threat from the by brushing off the topic. In his hypocritical Left,” and another proclaimed “‘Israel is the distortion, Horowitz employs a surface level, Victim,’ Hear David Horowitz’s Opinion on bland rationality, but accuses opposing views Tuesday, October 23rd at 6pm.” The president of “erasing the details.” Horowitz did not stand of the College Republicans opened for up and present a clear argument supported Horowitz, a controversial conservative figure, by cited sources and then open the space for with an articulate speech calling for increased discourse. Instead, he stood at the podium (with political dialogue on campus. He emphasized no supporting media but a projected map of the importance of both listening and speaking Israel and Palestine) and told the audience what he deems true and what he considers up, but requested decorum in doing so. That kind of rhetoric has become lies. Horowitz presented these points not as endemic to campus politics. Yet at a time of opinion, but as fact. He decried the fact that increasing polarization, both the speakers college students no longer possess the spirit of invited to campus and students’ reactions to learning that would lead them to listen to him. those speakers have grown more and more Referencing students interrupting his talk, he contentious. In response, demands for open told his audience that this is the most precious discourse and intellectual diversity grow time of their lives to learn, and they can’t learn louder. Articles like Bret Stephens’ well- if they close their minds the way that those circulated New York Times piece “The Dying students have. But if Horowitz teaches in a way that feels more like telling, I wonder how Art of Disagreement” and he really defines learning. books like Greg Lukianoff’s As students, our job “Horowitz’s lectures and Jonathan Haidt’s “The is to listen to opposing Coddling of the American are less an academic opinions, learn how to Mind” abound, all rooted argument — an event rationally present our own in this idea that students that would require the points and incorporate deliberately avoid and have forgotten how to listen to attendees to think and counterarguments with our listen critically — and personal views to make a opinions they oppose. stronger assertion. However, But if you take the case more a political show. Horowitz made this nearly of Dartmouth students When someone’s impossible. Intellectual protesting David Horowitz propriety and academic as evidence of this, you need argument rests on standards, like structure to find a new example. The leaping, fallacious and citations, are important speech made by the president instigation, that not because they reinforce of the College Republicans person turns from an elitism in academia or are pleading for discourse was the politically correct way incompatible with the speaker intellectual authority of doing things, but because that it prefaced. Horowitz’s into a provocateur. ” they prove essential for fair, violently inflammatory open debate. If someone message aside, it is not just the presents an argument in content, but the mechanisms a series of incongruous, unsubstantiated by which he presents his content, that make civil discussion in the face of speakers of his claims rather than concise, factually-backed assertions, that person’s argument doesn’t kind so difficult. David Horowitz attempted to present on two just fail. Its ambiguity makes a clear counter complicated issues, American identity politics argument — an important function in the and the Israel-Palestine conflict, side by side in process of learning — much more difficult to an hour long lecture. His effort to speak on both formulate. Horowitz’s lectures are less an academic things at once is characteristic of the broad, commingling scope of his work. Horowitz’s argument — an event that would require “renaissance man” approach to intellectual the attendees to think and listen critically — authority makes him more of an ideologue and more a political show. When someone’s than an academic. The expansive breadth argument rests on leaping, fallacious instigation, of his writing, from books entitled “Unholy that person turns from an intellectual authority Alliance: Radical Islam and the American into a provocateur. So Horowitz gains credence Left” to “Uncivil Wars: The Controversy over by distorting his presentation to make it seem Reparations for Slavery” — subjects ranging like he, a scholarly albeit controversial speaker, a wide gamut — bar him from the ability to is attacked and censored by liberal snowflake function as a voice of expertise, and instead affix students who did not want to hear ideas him to an overarching agenda that bleeds into opposing their own. But by nature of their each topic in which he claims to be an expert. unconventional and disorganized presentation, This wrenches from Horowitz the professional these are not really academic assertions, but political ideologies. Therefore, the dissension credibility that he insists he deserves. Yet it is easy for Horowitz to speak with an he solicits is an appropriate political reaction air of authority when his stance is perpetually to a political act, not a narrow-minded “refusal contrarian. This allows him to get by on to listen.” If Horowitz comes to Dartmouth sweeping, generalized statements and move with a political agenda, he should expect a on when he reaches the spot of an argument political response.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
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THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST PETER LEUTZ ’22
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST MAYA KHANNA ’22
Don’t Shut Up and Rap
Introductory Questions
Kanye West: Making Opinion Great Again.
Encounters with unfamiliar faces have become ways to define status.
Married to a Kardashian and boasting sloppy attempt at political discourse bears countless smash hit records along with an a similar sentiment to that of Fox News extremely successful clothing line, Kanye host Laura Ingraham ‘85 on February West is no stranger to the spotlight. Lately, 19th of this past year. Ingraham outraged however, Kanye has found himself in Americans when she famously commented the limelight for a new reason: politics. that Lebron James should “shut up and Kanye West, along with Lil Pump, was dribble.” Ingraham was shunned, as it was the musical guest on this season’s premiere seen as well in bounds for Lebron James to of “Saturday Night Live.” As the credits make political comments as an athlete. So rolled, West rapped his song “Ghost why are people treating Kayne West any Town” while sporting his differently? bright red Make America Like James, West is no “This country needs doubt Great Again hat. After the one of those leading broadcast cut out, West more political the pack in his respective delivered a Kanye-sized rant discourse, not less.” profession. Yet when he to the SNL audience about steps out of the world of that his support for President profession to comment on Donald Trump. Just two the current state of politics weeks later, West visited President Trump in this country, West is scolded by the left, in the Oval Office, dazzling viewers with the same people who were outraged by the more ranting — this time, to an audience fact that Lebron was told to “shut up and of the entire nation. dribble.” I am far from a Trump supporter. Although I cannot bring myself to However, I thought the response to Kanye’s agree with West on many of his political political comments sounded a lot like “shut beliefs displayed in the past few weeks, I up and rap.” can appreciate unrelenting opinion when This is where I think, as a nation, we I see it. This country needs more political must be careful. Americans cannot allow discourse, not less. Celebrities should be the current political climate to metastasize encouraged to start the into one that says “shut up conversation that ends at “However, an if we don’t agree with you.” the polls. Unfortunately, attack on opinion Now certainly, Lebron’s such encouragement to anywhere is an comments on politics may speak one’s mind was not have been far more pleasing received by West after his attack on opinion to the ear than those of demonstration of support everywhere.” Kanye West, and certainly, for the President. hearing a Fox News host call West’s SNL rant was met for the limiting of free speech with dismay by viewers, makes one’s blood boil far fans and cast members alike. In fact, the more than the innocently hilarious SNL very next week, SNL star Pete Davidson star Pete Davidson. However, an attack on responded to West’s admittedly disjointed opinion anywhere is an attack on opinion pro-Trump speech, calling it “one of the everywhere. I’m not asking for agreement worst, most awkward things I’ve seen here.” with Kanye’s political manifesto — far The always hilarious Davidson continued, from it. However, it’s important to listen. “I wish I would have bullied I don’t own a MAGA hat. I you. I wish I suggested that, don’t see myself anywhere you know, it might upset some “Americans near purchasing one in the people like your wife, or every must ask future. But I understand that black person ever.” While questions about beneath that MAGA hat is a Davidson’s monologue was immigration, person — not a lunatic, but received in good humor, it an American. Regardless walks a fine line between abortion and of agreement, discussion comedy and restricting the foreign policy, and is imperative. Americans right to share an opinion, if they find the must ask questions about even if that opinion is opposition to be immigration, abortion and unpopular. foreign policy, and if they uneducated on Davidson was not alone. find the opposition to be In fact, many other SNL the matter, share uneducated on the matter, cast members including some knowledge, share some knowledge, but it Kenan Thompson publicized but it is unis un-American to put people not only disagreement, but American to put down for their opinions. disappointment with the During his meeting with comments made by West people down for President Trump, West called on “Late Night with Seth their opinions.” his MAGA hat his “superman Meyers.” Viewers across the cape.” While I don’t agree, I nation with similar political find my own opinions to be beliefs to Thompson and my superman cape. We are Davidson agreed, wishing fortunate enough to live in that West would have just stuck to his musical a country where the power of opinion can performance without bringing any politics be shared freely. Let’s work to keep it that into it. This response to West’s admittedly way. Hats off to you, Kanye.
“What high school did you go to? Where begin to understand the specific nuances of are you from? What are you involved in an individual’s background. Heritage, family on campus? What classes are you taking? history, individual interests, socioeconomic What are you going to major in? What are status and all of the other one million and you planning on doing with your life after one details necessary to begin to understand Dartmouth?” what it means to live someone else’s life are Dartmouth students are all familiar with too often forgotten in favor of the ability to the drill. The standard introductory questions make judgements about another person by that fill uncomfortable silences, provide virtue of the information divulged in their segues into discussion at meetings or are first few sentences. used as get-to-know-you exercises for clubs. In a community dedicated to chasing As a first-year student at excellence in every facet Dartmouth, talking about “Yet it is precisely the of life, the comparison these customary questions among students is not with people I have never “universal applicability” confined to competition met is as much a part of this six-question in the classroom. I got into of my daily routine as special that has allowed this club, and they didn’t. Foco cookies and feeling them to exceed their My major is more difficult perpetually unprepared their major. I went to function as introductory than for my ever-upcoming a more prestigious high midterms. These questions questions and become school than they did. My have become a habit, the standard metric of family has more money an expected part of comparison amongst than their family. what it means to meet In an oftentimes hyperstudents at Dartmouth.” competitive someone for the first time. student body, Amidst the hubbub of these judgements are rushing between classes, frequently made without extracurriculars and work, they are an easy thinking twice. They are processed as “normal fallback that requires negligible thought or thoughts” by individuals who have grown effort, while maintaining a respectful veneer accustomed to viewing life as a competition, of interest in the other person. These “safe” in which even the slightest edge may represent questions seem to represent the perfect what is too often seen as strictly demarcated balance of merits for both participants in lines between intelligence and ineptness, any given introductory conversation — superiority and inferiority and success and reasonably interesting, more-or-less pertinent failure. to the majority of students on campus and a Dartmouth’s six favorite introductory sufficient volume of material to discuss over questions do not represent the many the course of the five or so minutes typically complicated reasons for the immediate allotted for these “meet and greet” types of judgements made by students, toward conversations. students. They do, however, Within the immediate perpetuate the myth that it “Although it is context of these is acceptable to maintain c o nv e r s a t i o n s , t h e s e admittedly very a tradition that too often questions may very well difficult to deconstruct veils judgement behind serve as easy fodder for our “introductory politeness, and duplicitous students struggling to status quo,” it is an motives behind seemingly come up with alternative well-intended questions. effort worth making for Although it is admittedly questions. I will admit to having asked almost students who wish to very difficult to deconstruct everyone I have met here live in a community in our “introductory status at Dartmouth this standard which every individual quo,” it is an effort worth set of questions within making for students who is valued not for who the first 10 minutes or so wish to live in a community of meeting them. Faced they were before they in which every individual with the pressure of first came to Dartmouth, is valued not for who impressions, coming up nor for who they will they were before they with suitable alternatives be in the future, but came to Dartmouth, nor can be very difficult. In for who they will be in addition, questions that lie for who they are now.” the future, but for who outside of this generally they are now. Focusing on accepted model often run asking questions that are the risk of being perceived as “weird,” intentionally specific to the individual you are “too personal” or “too specific.” Yet it is conversing with avoids the pitfall of focusing precisely the “universal applicability” of this not on their circumstances, but on the ways six-question special that has allowed them in which they have pursued their passions in to exceed their function as introductory ways that are meaningful to them. In short, questions and become the standard metric of in focusing on the why of an individual, comparison amongst students at Dartmouth. rather than the what, people are better able The very nature of these “surface level” to appreciate others’ unique stories, which questions leads to “surface level” answers belong to a realm of understanding beyond that fail to provide the context needed to even comparison.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
Author Ted Chiang speaks on ethics of speculative technology
B y COURTNEY MCKEE The Dartmouth
The Ethics Institute of Dartmouth hosted author Ted Chiang for a talk entitled “Technology and the Narrative of the Self ” on Tuesday as part of the Dorsett Fellowship Lecture Series, which seeks to bring “practitioners and scholars of ethics” to campus, according to government professor Sonu Bedi, director of the Ethics Institute. “We have brought philosophers, lawyers and politicians here as part of the Dorsett Fellowship in years past,” Bedi said. “But I had read some of Chiang’s work and found he had an interesting way of thinking about ethical issues. When you’re a writer, your approach tends to be more capacious and humanist, so that’s why I wanted him to come.” Chiang’s talk explored the concept of “life-logging,” a hypothetical technology that would video record every waking moment of people’s lives and then provide a search engine, akin to Google, that would allow them to review specific memories. Chiang considered the various effects this yet theoretical technology could have on individuals and society at large; would native memories wither with disuse? Would people become better and more responsible having all of
their interactions available like court testimonies? Moreover, he asked questions of the role subjective memory has on shaping human beings. One event can be remembered entirely differently by two people. How much does it matter who is right? Chiang’s lecture provoked many thoughts from the audience. One audience member wondered if social media would not soon dominate people’s lives in much the same way, if it was not doing so already. Another speculated if history could even exist without a degree of selectivity about the events that occurred. Government professor Michelle Clarke contemplated whether “life-logging” would destroy education by eliminating the “freedom to fail” that imperfect human memory permits. “It’s a talk we need because this is a real phenomenon,” Clarke said. “Our lives are recorded more and more, which I believe already has a big impact on how we speak and act.” One student, however, had a more optimistic outlook about the effects this technology could have on society. “It made me feel hopeful, as there can be more accountability,” Sarah Hong ’21 said. “Having videos of events that happen promotes discussion and transparency.” Chiang presented his ideas about
“life-logging” in another format, a short story called “The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling,” which juxtaposes two different narratives about the introduction of new technologies. The first, from the future, is about a man whose strained relationship with his daughter is indelibly altered by lifelogging. The second, from the past, is about a boy from Tivland in West Africa whose values are challenged when he is taught how to write by a European missionary. Chiang’s work reminds readers that technology is not only robots and computers, it is every advancement resulting from the application of knowledge that humans have made since the origin of man. “Whenever you think about the impact that science and technology have on our lives, you don’t have to go very far before you start running into philosophical questions,” Chiang said in an interview with The Dartmouth. “Technology is a fundamental part of who we are. The history of technology is the history of civilization.” Technology can both solve problems and create them. It is this balance between the positives and negatives that Chiang urges his readers to examine before labeling any new development as progress. “If someone says a new technology is necessary or that it solves a lot of
PHOTO COURTESY OF HERB SWANSON
Science fiction writer Ted Chiang spoke through the Ethics Insitute on Tuesday.
problems, you need to ask exactly whose problems are being solved here,” Chiang said. Chiang, as a celebrated science fiction author, uses his writing as a vehicle to ask such questions through its mirroring of the world. “Science fiction is about what the world would look like given the widespread adoption of a new speculative invention,” he said. “A common approach for science fiction writers is to ask who is unhappy in this
world, because no matter what, there is always someone who is unhappy.” Chiang’s lecture, like his writing, emphasized the great unknown. Hypothetical situations cannot be given definitive answers and Chiang is reluctant to assume the role of a prophet. However, Chiang’s work emphasizes the importance of posing these questions, as they are the only way people can hope to prepare for the future as well as critically examine their present.
Review: ‘Elf’ holds up as a Christmas classic for its 15th anniversary B y VERONICA WINHAM The Dartmouth
It’s the day after Halloween, which obviously means we’re ready to plunge headfirst into the holiday season. This year, “Elf ” is celebrating its 15-year anniversary, a holiday in and of itself. Whether revisiting the childhood favorite or seeing the movie for the first time, “Elf ” is a classic that is always sure to get me in the Christmas spirit and excited for upcoming festivities. While not ground-breaking cinema, this movie provides the merriment typically expected of the holidays in the best way possible. Released on Nov, 7, 2003, “Elf ” was directed by Jon Favreau and takes place in both the North Pole and New York City. The settings provide a contrast between a busy city and a whymiscal, fantastical village that gets progressively funnier once the main character, who is an elf, first enters the Lincoln Tunnel. Likewise, Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf provides a hilarious
juxtaposition as a fully grown man giggling like a delighted child over anything and everything. The movie, which is about an orphan boy who thinks that he is an elf despite being 6’3” and unable to make toys for Santa like the other elves, is at first glance ridiculous and far-fetched enough that its plot actually works by suspending all means of disbelief. Younger viewers might unironically enjoy terms like “Candy Cane Forest” and “the Sea of Swirly-Twirly Gum Drops,” but viewers rewatching this as adults might find the overexaggeration a cheeky nod to other “magical” Christmas classics. When Buddy discovers that he is human and his real father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan) is on the Naughty List, he decides to track him down and help him become nice. The contrast between Buddy and Walter provides another moment for laughter, as James Caan’s character plays the straight man to Will Ferrell’s borderline insane persona. Because
really, who wouldn’t call the police on a grown man in tights saying he is your long lost son? In New York City, Buddy is confused by the bustle of city life and has a hard time adjusting to the rules and to rude people. He makes it to his father’s publishing company, where Walter does not believe that Buddy is his son and throws him out of his office. While wandering around Manhattan and admiring the decorations in the Gimbles department store, Buddy meets and falls for Jovie, an employee in their Santa’s Workshop who is played by a shockingly blonde and bang-less Zooey Deschanel. Upon finally taking a DNA test and moving in with the Hobbs family, Buddy is able to win over Walter’s new wife Emily (Mary Steenburgen) and their son Michael (Daniel Tay) just by being his eccentric, optimistic self. Michael even helps Buddy try to get a date with Jovie. Eventually, Walter himself begins enjoying Buddy’s presence, until, somewhat predictably,
an incident at his company causes a fight between them and Buddy runs away. The rest of the movie deals with classic Christmas-themed issues like reconciliation, family and of course, saving Christmas when Santa’s sleigh crashes in Central Park. As a child, watching “Elf ” made me feel sympathetic to issues in the movie that are now hilarious to me as a college student. When I was younger, I would feel badly for Buddy when things did not go the way he planned, but now it’s both comically and painfully too real to watch him try to take on New York City. As a kid, I thought that the father was rude to Buddy, but now I can understand his frustration and confusion. The only real tragedy in this film lies in my own new ability to sympathize with a figure who was mean and sleazy to me as a child. The music in “Elf ” consists of classic Christmas songs such as “Sleigh Ride” and “Jingle Bells.” This soundtrack is not only important to the film for viewer enjoyment, but
also audience participation because, as everyone knows, “the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” In this somewhat cynical rewatch, the music remains evidence that“Elf ” is still a movie that can reach viewers of any age by simply tapping into the nostalgia surrounding its music. “Elf ” was created 15 years ago to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, and it is now time for us to celebrate the movie’s anniversary in return. While a sequel was never made, there was a Broadway production in 2010 and a television special on NBC in 2014, signaling the impact of this somewhat outrageous film over the past decade and a half. The original movie is a childhood classic, but the depth to the interactions between the characters and Ferrell’s scarily accurate comic timing makes it accessible for viewers of any age. Yesterday might have been Halloween, but as this movie reminds us, it is never too early to get excited for Christmas.