VOL. CLXXVI NO. 101
SNOW HIGH 33 LOW 9
OPINION
TOWLE: SECURING SACHS PAGE 4
ALLARD: CHARTERING A NEW COURSE PAGE 4
ARTS
REVIEW: ‘PARASITE’ IS A FANTASTIC FIRST FORAY INTO THE KOREAN FILM GENRE PAGE 7
VIOLINIST PINCHAS ZUKERMAN TO COMMEMORATE BEETHOVEN’S BIRTH PAGE 8
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Dartmouth celebrates College’s capital campaign nears 100th anniversary of 75 percent of $3 billion goal women on the faculty B y SOLEIL GAYLORD The Dartmouth
Last Friday, students, staff and alumni gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Dartmouth hiring its first female professor. The daylong event included speeches from past and present female College faculty as well as a Rauner Special Collections Library exhibit on the female explorer Evelyn Stefansson Nef. Co-sponsored by the
Sestercentennial Committee, the provost’s office, the Russian Department, the Leslie Center for the Humanities, and the women’s gender and sexuality studies department, the day was spent discussing the various ways in which women have contributed to and interacted with the Dartmouth community since the first female professor at the College, Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood, was hired in 1918.
SEE CENTENNIAL PAGE 5
LORRAINE LIU/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
The College’s “The Call to Lead” capital campaign was launched in April 2018.
Researchers develop method of detecting lies B y COALTER PALMER The Dartmouth
Researchers at the Thayer School of Engineering have developed a new framework for detecting deception. In an article recently published in the Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, co-author s Deqing Li, a former Thayer Ph.D. student, and engineering professor Eugene Santos Jr. proposed a model which uses patterns of reasoning to better capture speaker intent.
Li, who developed the approach while completing her Ph.D. thesis at Thayer, said that the theoretical framework arose out of her work on knowledge-based systems, which she said allows researchers to “simulate the knowledge in a person’s brain.” “Basically, we were trying to figure out how can we simulate humans’ reading process or simulate the dynamics between different SEE LIES PAGE 3
B y AMAR SCHERZER The Dartmouth
With over $2.2 billion raised to date, the College’s “The Call to Lead” capital campaign has been “unprecedented,” according to alumni council member Julie Levenson ’84. The campaign’s $3 billion goal greatly surpasses the $1.3 billion raised in the College’s most recent capital campaign, The Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience, which was launched by former College President James Wright in 2002 and concluded in 2009. In an email statement to The Dartmouth, senior vice president of advertisement Robert Lasher ’88 wrote he is
“confident” that the College will achieve the $3 billion goal, and that while the campaign has already accomplished much, the final $1 billion raised may be the most crucial. In April 2018, College President Phil Hanlon announced The Call to Lead campaign, launching the public phase of an ambitious fundraising effort. The main goals of the campaign include securing the College’s position as a leader in the liberal arts, pursuing research discoveries aimed at global impact and increasing the leadership potential of students. While many of these benchmarks are soft targets, the campaign also includes plans to increase financial aid for
international students, ensure that Dartmouth students do not need to take out loans to pay for their education, and support building projects such as the West End expansion and a renovation of Dartmouth Hall. Alumni council member Jo Golub ’98 noted that there was a significant silent fundraising period for The Call to Lead, which allowed the campaign to launch in April 2018 with $1.5 billion already raised. Since then, the campaign passed the $2 billion mark less than a year after its launch. The College has raised $2,206,562,694 at time of publication, about 74 SEE CALL TO LEAD PAGE 5
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg returns to Upper Valley B y DEBby CObon
The Dartmouth Staff
LEBANON — Democratic p r e s i d e n t i a l c a n d i d a t e Pe t e Buttigieg held a town-hall style forum at Lebanon Middle School on Saturday as part of a multi-stop bus tour of New Hampshire. Speaking to over 1,300 attendees, the event was the South Bend, IN mayor’s largest crowd in New Hampshire thus far, according to Buttigieg’s New Hampshire communications director Kevin Donohue. Fo l l ow i n g t h e eve n t , T h e Dartmouth rode with Buttigieg on his campaign bus to Franklin, NH, where he held another campaign event. When asked how he balances appealing to voters from across the age spectrum, Buttigieg said that he believes there is a unity that comes with concern for the future. Young voters fear for their own future and older voters fear for their grandkids, he said. He added that his traction with older voters has existed since his mayoral campaign and that older voters were likely to say his young age was a plus. Further, Buttigieg spoke about how his religious journey intensified following his return from deployment and how he struggled with the morality of some actions of his military career. Buttigieg said he was drawn to his faith because of its progressive roots and that religion does not belong to just one political party. “This is the right time to remind people of faith in this country that being religious can lead you in a lot of directions and not just the right,” Buttigieg said. During the Lebanon event, Buttigieg spoke briefly, covering topics including climate action, religion, health care and immig ration. His speech was followed by a question-and-answer
session where he expanded upon the ideas of bipartisan collaboration and an intergenerational alliance. He began by inviting the audience to envision “the day after Trump,” with a reference to the ongoing impeachment process that earned him cheers and applause. “Picture, as vividly as possible, something that is going to happen in the future,” Buttigieg said. “That is, the first day the sun comes up over this country, and Trump is no longer the president of the United States. It’s gonna happen one way or the other and it’s gonna be a good day.” Buttigieg’s speech frequently touched on the idea of protecting the nation for future generations. He detailed his vision for gun policy reform and education reform and referred to climate action as the “global security challenge of our time.” He also spoke about the origins of the United States as a nation that honors diversity, one that he said was founded upon the principle that the Constitution belongs to people of all religions and no religion equally. Buttigieg said that regardless of his religious convictions, the American people should expect a moral president. “Let me say this to all those who are guided by moral principles rooted in their faith,” Buttigieg said. “You can expect from my White House, a Washington that you don’t have to look at and scratch your head and think, ‘Whatever happened to [the biblical refrain] I was hungry and you fed me, I was a stranger and you welcomed me?’” He also called for election process reform through securing voting rights, ending gerrymandering, eliminating racial barriers to voting and reforming campaign finance laws — speaking out against the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
DEBBY COBON/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Buttigieg spoke to a crowd of over 1,300 attendees at Lebanon Middle School.
and condemning New Hampshire House Bill 1264, a law which has been criticized for potentially limiting the ability of college students to vote in the state. Buttigieg said he believed there are areas where the government must not overstep and could play a smaller role. He alluded to his belief in reproductive rights for women — including access to abortion — and his “Medicare for All Who Want It” health care plan. “The idea is making sure we take a version of Medicare and set it up to where every American can get in on it,” Buttigieg said. “But I’m not gonna assume it’s the right plan for you. I think it could be, but I’ll trust you to figure that out.” Buttigieg was introduced by former Lebanon mayor Sue Prentiss, who spoke on the importance of New Hampshire and why she backed the mayor. “Our nation is broken and I can’t stop thinking about a day when we’re united again, when
our next president knows how to be in government and is working for the people,” Prantiss said. “And I believe that president is Pete Buttigieg.” Buttigieg said his plan for uniting the American people involves reviving common American values, which he said have been used by the current administration to divide us. “Democracy is a set of values,” Buttigieg said. “Take, for example, the value of patriotism, the idea of love of country. That’s supposed to be something that all of us can participate in. There’s gotta be more to it than cheap nationalism. I’m talking about a love of country rooted in the knowledge that our country is made up of people, and you cannot love our country if you hate half of the people in it.” Buttigieg has made strides in the packed Democratic primary field since last speaking in the Upper Valley over the summer. Based on national polls, Buttigieg is in fourth place, but in the early-
voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, Buttigieg regularly polls close to former vice president Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). A recent Quinnipiac poll in New Hampshire, for example, finds Buttigieg earning 15 percent of Democratic voters, about even with Sanders and Warren and five points behind Biden. Jasper Meyer ’22, who attended the Lebanon town hall and is from the area, said he has been considering Buttigieg and said he felt more confident about voting for him after hearing him speak. “ I w as i m p re s s e d by h ow he captured the audience and connected all the key issues with a narrative centered around unity,” Meyer said. “I was hesitant to get wholeheartedly behind Pete a few months ago because I wasn’t sure if he had a chance at receiving the nomination, but seeing the recent polling gives me hope that he has a shot in Iowa and New Hampshire.”
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
PAGE 3
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Model uses chained conditional statements to judge accuracy FROM LIES PAGE 1
groups in a society using a sort of knowledge based system,” Li said. “Deception detection [was] one application for this.” Functionally, Li said that the model she proposes uses chained conditional statements to gauge the probability that an initial claim is true. “For example, I can say I walked my dog today because the weather is good; so that’s an if-then rule: If the weather is good, I walk my dog,” Li said. “So we can encode that kind of if-then rule into that knowledge graph.” According to Li, the initial claim — in this case, that someone walked their dog — allows you to make inferences about the probability that other events will occur, such as whether the weather is good on that particular day, or whether that person went to the grocery store. “You can look at that model and
see which nodes are inconsistent with each other, which information is inconsistent, and then that will give you a number of comparisons,” Li said. Santos, who specializes in computer engineering with a focus on human behavior, expanded on this example. “If ... there’s a tornado outside and it’s thunderstorming, it’s unlikely I’ll be walking a dog,” Santos said. Based on external factors like these and a close empirical examination of the claimant’s history, Santos said that the probability that the story or claim is true can then be extrapolated. This example uses a singular correlation to predict deception, but Li says that ideally, the knowledgebased system that can detect deceptive intent would include “hundreds of thousands of these rules chained together.” While their study proposes a theoretical model, both Li and
ELSA ERICKSEN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Researchers from the Thayer School of Engineering recently developed a new method of estimating a speaker’s intent.
Santos expressed optimism in the future practical application of their framework. Li, who graduated from
ICE TO SEE YOU
LORRAINE LIU/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
A long winter season is knocking as snow returns to Dartmouth.
her Ph.D. program six years ago, said that while the technologies at the time she was conducting her research were not very mature, the strategies and technologies available to researchers nowadays are much more advanced. Santos noted that there are still technical limitations. “When someone tells you a story, how would you make the computer pull out all the arguments?” Santos said. “How would you make a computer pull out all of the sentiments of that? We have algorithms nowadays for natural language processing to do it, but it doesn’t go far enough, it’s still an open challenge. That’s why it’s more on the theoretical side.” Both researchers also acknowledge data collection limitations. For Santos, the biggest hurdle on this front is figuring out how to collect sufficient data from people who deceive. Government professor Brendan Nyhan,who specializes in the study of misinformation and misperceptions and is the founder of one of the first online, nonpartisan fact-checking sites, expressed another more general concern about detection tools like the one Santos and Li propose. “The challenge with all detection tools is that malicious actors adapt
— there can be a kind of arms race dynamic,” he said. “You apply a technology to identify dubious or fraudulent content, and then people figure out what you’re screening for and start adapting and changing their approach. So there’s a kind of a whack-a-mole element to this that’s challenging to overcome.” While Nyhan did express some concerns, he was also optimistic about the research. “It’s exciting seeing technologists working to address these problems,” Nyhan said. “The problem of misinfor mation spans multiple disciplines, and we need engineers and computer scientists working alongside social scientists and other kinds of researchers to address the problem.” One of the primary challenges Nyhan said he sees in combating misinformation and deception is the quantity of unverified information available in the digital age. He believes that the best approach for tackling this issue lies in a symbiotic relationship between humans and detection technologies. “It’s that combination of computational screening and human intelligence that is likely to be the most effective approach,” Nyhan said.
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST SYDNEY TOWLE ’22
STAFF COLUMNIST SYDNEY ALLARD ’21
Securing Sachs
Chartering a New Course
Limiting online addiction could be the key to professional success. In 2014, Youtuber Gary Turk released a video entitled “Look Up,” a spoken word film intended for the technological generation. The video quickly went viral due to a hard-hitting message about technology and loss of human connection, but has since waned in importance. Dartmouth has recently had its own “Look Up” campaign, founded by Susan Reynolds, a Dartmouth ’84. Deemed “LookUp.Live,” the campaign has a goal of “creating innovative solutions for tech-life balance.” We all know that social media and online addiction is problematic for a variety of reasons, such as a decreased attention span and increased mental health issues. However, many people overlook the effects that this addiction can have on our future careers and opportunities for employment. As college students, we are all wary of the prospect of interviews and entering a workplace environment. Especially at Dartmouth, an Ivy League institution, students are presented with a variety of internships and jobs to compete for. The competitive edge is granted to those who not only possess academic rigor, but also have the key social skills that many employers look for. These assets will be less prominent in students with an online addiction due to inhibited social skills, a more rigid cognitive capacity and a worse sense of trust and identity. One irony of “social” media is that while we increasingly interact using these platforms, we lose the interpersonal skills necessary for face-to-face interactions. In the workplace and in interviews, it is imperative to our success that we are able to listen attentively, respond and interact with the people with whom we are conversing. A comprehensive study on interviews found that social skills have one of the strongest correlations to interview success,
DEBORA HYEMIN HAN, Editor-in-Chief
surpassing both prior experience and grade point average. By delegating our attention to our phones, rather than the people around us, we erode these skills. When we interact with the people around us, our brains activate interpersonal neural synchronization. This process allows us to translate not only words, but feelings and beliefs. Being able to express ourselves in an effective manner comes through in an interview setting and can help us come across as a more ideal candidate. Moreover, being able to attentively listen to an interviewer or boss is necessary for producing the result that they are seeking. Studies have shown that the average attention span has decreased by about one-third over the past 15 years. Distraction prevents us from giving a quality response and can easily appear as boredom or disinterest, which isn’t attractive to any employer. Along the same line, our shorter attention spans stem from the volume of information that we are presented with when we go online. In a five-minute scroll through Instagram, one could see over 100 posts, ads, comments and interactions. As our brains become accustomed to consuming as much material as possible in so little time, we lose our ability to just think. Daydreaming is an essential process. It allows us to think deeply and creatively about the abyss of information floating through our brains. When our brain has the opportunity to wander, it forms new neural pathways and connections, which is what helps us problem-solve and find ingenious solutions to a variety of problems. Creative thinking is essential for peak performance at almost every job, and is especially SEE TOWLE PAGE 6
AIDAN SHEINBERG, Publisher
ALEX FREDMAN, Executive Editor PETER CHARALAMBOUS, Managing Editor
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Charter schools offer students a better future. Just by looking at a charter school building in Manhattan, one can tell that they are not like New York City’s traditional public schools. Charter schools are funded with public money but privately run. The money that would support a student in a public school is instead used to support a charter school if they choose to attend one. In New York City, the 10 percent of students who attend charter schools are more proficient in math, learn to read at grade level much faster and graduate at higher rates than their public-school peers. This is especially impressive because charter schools primarily serve the very kids who are most negatively affected by systemic inequality in our education system; more than 80 percent of New York charter school students are lowincome, and 91 percent are African-American or Hispanic. According to one study, black students who attend charter schools in New York are four times as likely to score “extremely proficient” in math on state tests than their black peers in public schools. In many ways, charter school buildings themselves are an apt metaphor for what charter schools represent. They are attractive and new, usually well-funded, well-kept and can be a beacon of light in neighborhoods where high school graduation rates are low. A mother whose son attended Success Academy, a charter school, called the day of his admission the best day of her life. When her son got into the school, she knew that he would have the opportunities she had never had because she grew up in the same neighborhood but attended a public school. Charter school buildings themselves stick out like a sore thumb. Their shiny facades seem to highlight the drab crumbling exteriors of the surrounding buildings, often including public schools that look much more like prisons than places of learning. Charter schools don’t yet have the capacity to take in all of the kids that want to attend them. By law, they have to make admissions decisions based on the results of a random lottery. For the kids who don’t get in, that lottery can be heartbreaking. Looking at the luminous building across the street from within the walls of a dilapidated public school can feel like salt in a wound. Though this system might feel unfair for the kids who don’t get to attend charter schools, it would be far worse to trap everyone in poor neighborhoods in failing schools, and to rob them of what is often their only opportunity for a better education and upward mobility.
If we have a choice between sending all poor black and brown students to failing schools or letting some attend better schools while the rest remain in the public schools they would attend otherwise, the choice is simple. Our own desire for fairness and equity is not reason enough to force everyone to meet at the lowest common denominator. And, the more charter schools developed in a neighborhood, the more students will be able to attend them. Critics worry that charter schools redirect funding that would otherwise go to public schools. The public-school network is a vast, national system, and it is beholden to teachers’ unions, some of the most powerful lobbying groups in the country. We spend more money per student on education than almost any other country, second only to Norway. And yet, we don’t reap the benefits of that investment — American students rank 25 out of 30 developed countries in math. Worse yet, we are on a downward trend; the generation in school today is predicted to be less literate than the generation that preceded it. Rather than continuing to spend more, we should spend smarter. When students go to charter schools, the money that taxpayers have invested in their education should go to charter schools with them. Charter schools have problems. Some are too focused on standardized tests; others struggle with writing curricula and teacher retention. But American public schools in poor neighborhoods have those problems to a much worse extent. The difference is that charter schools are agile and adaptable. They can make changes quickly without spending decades navigating bureaucratic red tape. They’re incentivized to keep getting better. Unlike public school teachers, who receive tenure automatically after a certain number of years and become nearly impossible to fire, charter school teachers actually have to deliver in order to keep their jobs. And charter schools are in competition with each other for donations and students — if there are enough charter schools, students will be able to choose which to attend — so they drive each other to foster better communities and provide better education to students. After decades of failed attempts to fix our public schools, it’s time to try a new tack. Charter schools aren’t perfect, but they are the best option for many poor students, and we should work to improve and expand them, rather than try to shut them down.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Capital campaign aided by Dartmouth’s high level of alumni giving FROM CALL TO LEAD PAGE 1
percent of the $3 billion goal. Lasher credited much of the success of the campaign to the dedication and passion of the College’s alumni. “Dartmouth is an exceptional community,” Lasher wrote. “I believe that fact incites our alumni to give back at exceptional levels, defying trends in philanthropy nationwide and the levels among our Ivy League peers. The desire to support Dartmouth starts with affection and gratitude for what we alumni received as students. Many of us give to preserve and advance excellence, to pay it forward to the next generation, and to improve society because we believe in the people this institution produces.” This sentiment is reinforced by the
fact that Dartmouth has continually topped Forbes’ Grateful Grad index, which ranks schools based on alumni commitment through donations. Dartmouth was first on this year’s list, with 41 percent of alumni donating within three years of graduation and the median donations by alumni over seven years being $38,628. “Dartmouth’s tradition of peerto-peer giving and volunteerism amplifies that sense of community,” Lasher wrote. This sentiment was echoed by the members of the College’s alumni council. “Clearly there is something about the sense of place here … there’s a unique community that is created during your four years that only deepens as you continue on in the world,” Levenson said. “You realize what a special place this is, and that
it cannot be replicated.” She described how alumni feel “tethered” to the Dartmouth community after their time on campus that they will stretch to give back. Levenson also expressed full confidence in how Hanlon and The Call to Lead campaign board plans on using the funds. “I have no worry that the money that is being raised is going toward the right initiatives and moving the school forward,” she said. Other alumni council members were similarly enthusiastic about the direction in which the campaign will propel Dartmouth forward as an institution. Nicole Moser ’89 found the most remarkable aspect of the campaign to be the amount of small donations contributed, which she called a testament to the breadth of alumni
engagement. “I was really impressed by the number of donations under $25,” she said. “This has been the most inclusive [campaign], which is exciting.” Lasher noted that in the last year, over 20,000 individual donors supported the Dartmouth College Fund, adding around $1 billion to the College’s endowment. Over 86,000 people have participated in the campaign to date. He also explained the process by which his office works to solicit larger donations. He wrote that once an individual or family indicates interest in supporting a part of the campaign, leaders at the College communicate a way to illustrate the potential impact of the gift. “Namesake gifts do not happen overnight but emerge from long
relationships with the institution and a deep knowledge and passion for its mission,” Lasher wrote. He added that donors often seek to expand programs, begin initiatives or solve a major problem on campus. However, he also noted that all namesake gifts share four unifying characteristics: “a shared aspiration between the donor and the institution; an abiding belief in the power of education; trust in execution, and desire to build on what already makes Dartmouth great.” Lasher summarized the Call to Lead as “the mobilization” of the Dartmouth community. “[The Call to Lead] has the potential to drive Dartmouth to a truly distinctive position in higher education and to elevate our global profile,” he wrote.
First woman professor hired for Russian studies in wake of WWI FROM CENTENNIAL PAGE 1
Russian and comparative literature professor John Kopper organized the event with anthropology professor Sienna Craig. The two professors said they were initially inspired to commemorate this centennial because of Hapgood’s story. Kopper said that during the spring of 1918, while the United States was involved in World War I, Russia was a prominent focus in U.S. foreign affairs. Then-College President Ernest Hopkins realized the need to create a Russian department at the College, through which issues relevant to Russia could be studied. Hopkins searched extensively for an expert to spearhead the effort, resulting in Dartmouth eventually hiring its first Russian professor — but there was a catch. As one faculty member asserted, “... She’s a woman.” “When we decided that it wasn’t just folklore, but true, we decided that we wanted to do something to celebrate what was going to be the centennial of a revival,” Kopper said. The event began with a panel
discussing the history of the “early years,” which also encompassed Hapgood’s work as a pioneer of female scholarship at Dartmouth. The second panel featured women who worked on Dartmouth’s faculty during the early days of coeducation, and the third panel featured speeches from faculty currently employed at the College. Fr i d a y ’s s p e a k e r s w e r e broadly representative of various departments, academic ranks and backgrounds. A common theme was present throughout the panels: the struggle for female representation at Dartmouth among students, faculty and staff alike, both in the early days of the institution and in contemporary times. “It is difficult to be a woman on the faculty today, but it is hard to conceive how difficult it was for generation after generation who was here,” Kopper said. “The whole time that female undergraduates were struggling for recognition on campus, the faculty were, too.” With this year marking the 250th anniversary of the College, the time was apt to both “celebrate and
scrutinize” the role of women at Dartmouth, Craig said. The final keynote speakers — two women who previously taught at Dartmouth — reflected upon their past experiences at the College. In the words of Craig, these keynote speakers would “think about, with some of that 20/20 hindsight, what can we learn about and where we want to go.” Keynote speaker Judith Byfield ’80, a history professor at Cornell U n i ve r s i t y, s h a re d w i t h t h e audience her “long and complicated relationship” with Dartmouth as an undergraduate, a faculty member and a woman of color. “In the 1970s, as a black woman at Dartmouth, we were constantly besieged,” Byfield said. “We were ‘guests’ of the College.” Byfield spoke to the difficulty of navigating a predominately white, male-dominated institution. Not only did Byfield say that she felt discomfort with the social atmosphere at Dartmouth, she added that she struggled to find solace in the academic realm, too. “There were professors we had to
avoid because black students never got higher than a C,” Byfield said. However, Byfield said that as an undergraduate, she was ultimately able to find a community where she could discover her intellectual interests and feel comfortable. “I learned how to make my marginality a generative intellectual experience,” Byfield said. Byfield returned to the College in 1991 as an African and African American studies professor, where she said she encountered fellow scholars who provided her with camaraderie and support. Byfield added that her colleagues helped her to realize that “Dartmouth actually could provide the space for me to develop as a scholar and a mentor.” Being a woman and a person of color, Byfield said that she encountered difficulties as a faculty member, pointing to a lack of support within her department. “Interdisciplinary programs suffered from marginality,” Byfield said. Byfield noted that she had to work tirelessly to make her students, who often came to her for support, feel
welcome. Byfield added, however, that upon becoming a professor at Cornell University, she witnessed that issues of inclusivity weren’t unique to the College. Keynote speaker and University of Michigan history professor Mary Kelley, who taught at Dartmouth for 25 years, spoke to the hardship of being a woman at Dartmouth. Kelley discussed her relationship to an institution that was dominated by men, citing an alma mater that touted “men of Dartmouth” to maledominated classroom environments. Kelley acknowledged Dartmouth’s progress, but also noted the remaining challenges faced by the College. “Women still have to work twice as hard to be considered half as good,” Kelley said. About a third of tenured academic positions at the College are held by women, a percentage Kelley described as a “worrisome proportion.” Dartmouth additionally lacks any building on campus dedicated solely to a woman, and Kelley expressed her wish that Dartmouth Hall would be renamed after a woman in the future.
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
DARTMOUTHEVENTS
TODAY
4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Book Launch: “Afterlives of Indigenous Archives: Essays in Honor of the Occom Circle,” with English professor Ivy Schweitzer and Native American studies professors Gordon Henry and Melanie Taylor, sponsored by the English Department, Sanborn House, Wren Room.
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Art Show: “Russian Artists in America,” with muralist Victoria Lomasko, sponsored by the Russian Department, Black Family Visual Arts Center, Atrium.
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Lecture: “War, Peace, and Remembrance: A Conversation with General Carter Ham (Ret.),” with President and CEO of the Association of the U.S. Army Carter Ham, sponsored by the Dickey Center and the Rockefeller Center, Haldeman Hall, Room 41.
TOMORROW
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Lecture: “Appropriations: Nomos of the Sea,” with MIT associate professor Lauren Jacobi, sponsored by the Art History Department, Carpenter Hall, Room 013.
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Lecture: “Bill Weld: The Future of the American Presidency,” with Republican presidential candidate Bill Weld and professor Charles Wheelan, sponsored by the Dickey Center and the Rockefeller Center, Rockefeller Center, Room 003. FROM TOWLE PAGE 4
important to a world with increasingly complex challenges. According to one study on creativity and job performance, “creative employees are more likely to discover customers’ hidden needs, to develop a good rapport with customers, and to solve their service problems creatively and effectively, ultimately creating a superior experience.” If one can demonstrate an ability to think creatively in interviews, internships and jobs, he or she has a much higher chance of both retaining and furthering employment goals. With a creative flow inhibited by online addiction, however, many students will find their ability to prove themselves in a professional setting to be more difficult. Trust and a secure sense of identity ground our relationships and interactions. These qualities can easily be degraded in an online world, where we constantly have to distinguish between what is real and what isn’t.
In a study regarding employee trust and workplace performance, it was found that higher employee trust led to increasing financial performance, labor productivity and product/service quality. When people trust those that they are working for, they are more likely to want to establish good relations with their managers and coworkers through a better performance standard. Performing better then leads to personal benefits such as a pay increase, promotion, or continuation of an internship or trial position. In an environment where occupational opportunities abound, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. With similar GPAs, extracurricular activities and levels of experience, students can easily feel lost in the crowd. Yet by demonstrating exceptional social skills, students can be perceived as more ideal candidates by potential employers. Once opportunities are secured, these skills only further occupational growth. The key to fostering these skills is the
same as any — practice. That practice comes from resisting the constant pull of technology at our fingertips, because our interpersonal connections and our job prospects are on the line. We must make an active effort to look up from our online presence to not only become better people, but to become better professionals.
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
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Violinist Pinchas Zukerman to commemorate Beethoven’s birth B y SHERA BHALA
in Tel Aviv, Zukerman began his musical studies at a young age, quickly excelling at playing the This evening, the Israeli violinist violin. He subsequently moved to Pinchas Zukerman will give a the United States to study at the perfor mance in Dartmouth’s Juilliard School, learning from Spaulding Auditorium at the violin teacher Ivan Galamian. Hopkins Center. Known as a Receiving numerous prestigious master violinist, Zuker man’s awards, including the Americaimpressive career has spanned five Israel Cultural Foundation’s King decades. Joining him onstage will Solomon Award, the Isaac Stern be acclaimed pianist Angela Cheng. Award for Artistic Excellence in Bringing together these talented Classical Music, the National Medal musicians will likely produce a of Arts from President Ronald memorable performance. Reagan and two Grammy awards, Zuker man and Cheng will Zuker man established himself unite to perform as a renowned an all-Beethoven “The performance violinist. program in honor As a o f t h e 2 5 0 t h will have the c o n d u c t o r, anniver sar y of fantastic repertoire Zukerman led Beethoven’s the English of Beethoven that is birth, according Chamber to Hop publicity classic, beautiful, and Orchestra, c o o r d i n a t o r in a way, immortal. D a l l a s Rebecca Bailey. Symphony The great German The music of Orchestra c o m p o s e r a n d Beethoven always has and Baltimore pianist composed Symphony this universal quality.” 10 violin sonatas Orchestra, and with piano he cur rently accompaniment -FILIPPO CIABATTI, serves as the in total between principal guest the years of 1798 DARTMOUTH SYMPHONY conductor and 1812. The ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR of the Royal two musicians will Philharmonic play three of these Orchestra in sonatas — “Sonata No. 1” in D London. He also conducts the major, “Sonata No. 3” in E-flat Deutsche Staatsphilhar monie major and “Sonata No. 5” in F major Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany and is — all of which Cheng described as lauded for his conducting facilities. incredibly interesting works from Zukerman also dedicates himself the early period of Beethoven’s to teaching and has served as a career. faculty member of the Manhattan Known as the “Spring Sonata,” School of Music for over 25 years. “Sonata No. 5” is probably the During his tenure, he established most popular of Beethoven’s violin the Pinchas Zukerman Performance sonatas because of its incredible Program, advocating for young beauty, Cheng said. The “Spring musicians. He is also a teacher for Sonata” was dedicated to Count the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Moritz von Fries, a patron of Initiative, which supports the next Beethoven. Along with the other generation of talented artists. two sonatas, “Sonata No. 5” will Zukerman’s recording career be a wonderful and exciting way of over 100 albums receives to celebrate Beethoven’s special ongoing fame. Known for his anniversary. eloquent lyricism, beautiful tone Zukerman’s musicianship and and impeccable skill, Zukerman is remarkable career are sure to do a veritable virtuoso. He possesses justice to Beethoven’s work. Born a wide-ranging repertoire that The Dartmouth Staff
features incredible dynamics, mastery and his famed silvery tone. The violin talent of Zukerman will be complemented by the piano mastery of Angela Cheng. A native of Hong Kong, Cheng moved to Canada at age 11 and then studied at the Julliard School as well. She is an experienced recitalist and has performed as a soloist with over 100 orchestras. These experiences include the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. She has also traveled throughout the world to perform, most recently returning to her roots in Hong Kong, playing as a soloist and with an orchestra. A devoted teacher as well, Cheng is a professor of piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She also teaches master classes throughout North America and Asia, inspiring young musical minds. Celebrated for her brilliant skill and enchanting tone, Cheng was the first Canadian to win the Montreal International Piano Competition, and she was also given the Oberlin 2011-12 Excellence in Teaching Award. Cheng has played with Zukerman for over a decade, previously touring Europe and China as a member of the Zukerman Chamber Players. Additionally, Cheng, Zukerman and cellist Amanda Forsyth comprise the Zukerman Trio, which performs at major venues throughout Europe. In June 2020, Cheng said she will perform with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, playing Beethoven’s “Triple Concerto” for violin, piano and cello, along with a solo recital. Cheng spoke highly of Zukerman and their many years of performing together. “It is a blessing and privilege to play with [Zukerman],” Cheng said. “He is a real master and an incredible musician. I’ve learned a great deal from him. One’s music is a reflection of oneself, and Zukerman is incredibly generous and I admire everything that he does. Playing with him has opened my ears and opened my heart to this incredible
music.” Cheng said she is particularly excited to perform tonight’s program with Zukerman at Dartmouth. “I have heard so much about [Dartmouth] and I am very curious and looking forward to coming and performing with Mr. Zukerman,” Cheng said. “Student audiences are great, because they are full of energy and they are open to ideas. To play for young people is very exciting.” Also enthusiastic about the upcoming performance is Filippo Ciabatti, the director of the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra. He said he has witnessed and admired Zukerman’s mastery many times before in performances all across the world, including in Italy and Chicago. “The performance will have the
fantastic repertoire of Beethoven that is classic, beautiful, and in a way, immortal,” Ciabatti said. “The music of Beethoven always has this universal quality; it really belongs to all of us. It is very refined but also profoundly human. I am looking forward to a performance of very compelling music that is emotional in a direct way, like all the music of Beethoven.” Z u k e r m a n a n d C h e n g ’s performance is sure to attract a large audience and plentiful praise. This is a wonderful opportunity to witness the violin virtuoso and his universally-acclaimed talent, and the all-Beethoven program will be dynamic, touching and remarkable. Zukerman could not be reached for an interview.
COURTESY OF PINCHAS ZUKERMAN
Acclaimed violinist Pinchas Zukerman will perform this evening at the Hop.
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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
Review: ‘Parasite’ is a fantastic first foray into the Korean film genre B y JAMES CRONIN
The Dartmouth Staff
The first time I was exposed to Korean films was a glorious experience. I don’t remember how old I was, but it was probably in high school when a buddy and I watched “Oldboy” for the first time. I was blown away. I had forgotten just how wide the spectrum of emotions a movie can make you feel was, and it felt like I was falling in love with movies all over again. The second time I was exposed to Korean films, a similar feeling was elicited from me when I watched “Train to Busan.” At that point, Korean movies were batting a thousand. Then, “Snowpiercer” came along — a movie I instantly fell in love with that I didn’t originally realize was a Korean movie because it was in English and had many bigname western stars in it. Eventually, I learned that “Snowpiercer” was directed by Bong Joon-Ho, one of the most talented directors/writers in South Korea and, therefore, the world. He’s made a lot of really well-received movies in South Korea but only a few like “Snowpiercer” and “Okja” ever managed to gain some buzz in the states. Every South Korean movie I’d ever seen was awesome, and as a result of that, I was incredibly excited to check out Bong’s latest film, “Parasite.” I won’t mince words; “Parasite” is the best film of 2019 that I’ve seen so far (although I admit I have not seen “The Lighthouse” yet), and anybody who either speaks Korean or can read English subtitles should see this movie as soon as possible. “Parasite” is a story about two families — the Kims and the Parks. The Kim family is down on their luck. They’re all unemployed and, despite
how hard they try, they can’t seem to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and escape their situation. One day, a friend of Kim Ki-Woo, the oldest son (portrayed by Woo-sik Choi), puts KiWoo in touch with a rich family in need of a tutor, the Parks. He accepts. From there, shenanigans and some stuff that I wouldn’t describe as shenanigans ensue. I won’t explain anymore because I thoroughly enjoyed, going into this movie, knowing absolutely nothing about the plot and I highly recommend you do as well; the originality of the plot is an essential part of the experience of watching “Parasite.” It reminded me a lot of “Get Out” at first, because “Parasite” is the first film since “Get Out” that thoroughly intrigued me because of how unique its story and storytelling is. Where “Get Out” was a thriller with a powerful message about race, “Parasite” is a thriller with a powerful message about class, and not a hamfisted one at that either. If you’ve seen any of Bong’s movies, you’ll know that they’re often centered around a critique of capitalism — and the class struggle that comes with it. “Parasite” is his most nuanced and successful critique of capitalism and a lot of that is in the directing, but mostly in the writing and performances. One scene that really struck me showed the Kim family hiding under a table while Mr. and Mrs. Park lay on their couch snuggling. Mr. Park, unaware of Mr. Kim’s presence, talks about Mr. Kim, who is in his employment as a driver, and how he’s good at his job but smells like an old radish. Mr. Kim hears all of this, and we can see that this visibly upsets him. From his facial twitches alone, we get a sense for how deep a sense of shame it brings him that he stinks and can’t help it because of how poor he is, and
how embarrassed it made him feel to have his children hear this, too. Another poignant scene that comes soon after showcases how the two families react to a heavy rainstorm, with the Parks being able to sit inside their warm, peaceful, above-ground house and enjoy the rain. Meanwhile, the Kims’ area of town is flooded, leading them to frantically do whatever they can to preserve what items of value could be found in the semi-basement apartment they live in. The movie doesn’t portray the rich as evil or the poor as lazy — it’s not that simple. The realistic depiction of the class struggle is enough to shake whatever notions of financial stability you may have thought you had before — the two families live in entirely different worlds, and yet, the only thing inherently different about them is how much money one of them has. However, the film shows that the barrier between classes is great enough that there is nothing the poor can do to escape their predicament other than fight one another for the scraps of the rich. The directing is phenomenal: Joon-Ho did an absolutely fantastic job, and I’m not surprised at all. There are so many shots in this film where the way they’re framed can really only be described as art. This movie was so incredibly aesthetically pleasing that my brain thought it was watching ASMR soap-cutting videos for two hours. The cinematography wasn’t just pretty though; it was also purposeful. The ways characters were blocked alone delivered more information to the audience than the entire scripts of most movies this year. For instance, one scene that caught my attention showed Ki-Woo’s sister Kim Ki-Jung (portrayed by Park So-Dam) sitting on the toilet seat of her flooded apartment, dejectedly
smoking a cigarette while watching the waters rise higher and higher. This scene subtly showing her isolation and despair is a stark contrast to most other scenes featuring the Kim family — they are usually close together like sardines in their tiny apartment — showing both their poverty and their solidarity. This is yet another distinction from the Park family, who are always splayed about in their spacious home. Joon-Ho displays a near-complete mastery of the craft, and I could feel the passion he instilled into the movie in every little detail. I thought all the performances were great, and that’s all I’m really prepared to say about that. The Kim family patriarch, played by Kang-Ho Song, was especially good. Song managed to balance the stereotypical stoic patriarchal character with enough comedic tinge so that I never knew what would happen next — would he make me laugh, or would he shock me? I was told by someone from Korea
that he’s like the Korean equivalent of Robert DeNiro, so I guess it should probably go without saying that he’s pretty good. The one problem I have with the movie is that it was a little slow around the start of the second half. It had a really enjoyable momentum up until that part, but with a runtime of two hours and 12 minutes, I felt like there were parts in the second half that could have been edited out or condensed. The ending is explosive though — which more than makes up for the lull — but the lull is still there. “Parasite” is a great movie. It has a strong message, a smart script, beautiful visuals and great performances. I have not seen a movie like it in a long time, and that’s a shame, because it’s movies like “Parasite” that make me love film. Korean movies have never let me down, and if this movie is your first foray into the genre, you will leave very happy.