VOL. CLXXV NO.22
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TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2018
Farid to leave College for Berkeley BY ABBY MIHALY
given the scale of Berkeley, for things that I can do there that I’m After 20 years of teaching at really excited about,” Farid said. the College, computer science Farid specializes in digital chair and professor Hany Farid forensics and image analysis. will leave the College for a position Some of his most well-known at the University of California, projects have applied computer Berkeley. He is currently teaching science to test whether images his final course at Dartmouth, have been doctored, using his but will subsequently stay at the expertise to tackle issues such College through next year to ease as crime prevention, child the transition. pornography and scientific After Farid’s wife, psychology integrity. But he is perhaps best professor Emily Cooper, received a known to Dartmouth students job offer from Berkeley, the couple as one of the professors for the made the decision to leave the introductory computer science College following long deliberation, course — Computer Science 1: he said. SEE FARID PAGE 5 “There are a lot of opportunities,
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Kaling reflects on time as student performer
The Dartmouth Staff
OPINION
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Ledyard Canoe Club alumni returned to the College this past weekend to partake in the second-ever Dartmouth Explorers Symposium. The last one was in 2015. Taking place in Dartmouth Hall on Apr. 21, the event brought together Dartmouth students, alumni and community members to listen to speakers discuss the
various ways that Ledyard has had an impact on their lives. The Symposium was part of the larger Riverfest weekend, an annual celebration that includes the Mascoma River slalom race, speakers and food. The Symposium began with a welcome address from vice president of alumni relations Martha Beattie ’76, former Ledyard president Jesse FeldmanSEE LEDYARD PAGE 5
COURTESY OF LAURA EDMONDSON
Mindy Kaling studied playwriting at the College, producing and starring in various plays.
BY RACHEL PAKIANATHAN The Dartmouth Staff
In five words, Mindy Kaling ’01 would describe her own Dartmouth experience as, “Indian girl enjoying the forest.” Now this June, Kaling will return to Dartmouth to deliver the Commencement address for the Class of 2018 this June. Described by her professors as having a clever and biting sense of humor, Kaling spent her time on campus as the “Badly Drawn Girl” for The Dartmouth; a member of the improvisational comedy troupe Dog Day Players and the a capella group
the Rockapellas; a writer for the humor magazine the Dartmouth Jack-OLantern; and an actress, director and playwright in the theater department. In other words, she did a lot. Kaling entered Dartmouth as a prospective Latin major but graduated with a degree in playwriting, according to the College’s website. “I got so much confidence as a writer and a performer going to Dartmouth,” Kaling wrote in an email interview. “I would write these little plays and sketch shows, and they would all sell out, because there was literally nothing else to do in town for entertainment. It made
me feel like a big shot, and confidence continued on after college.” Theater professor Dan Kotlowitz said that he remembers an incident in which Kaling put on an illicit afterhours performance at the Bentley Theater in the Hopkins Center for the Arts. “We’re sort of careful with who we give keys to our theaters, and one of the reasons is [Kaling],” Kotlowitz said. “She had keys to the Bentley Theater and she did a performance in the middle of the night that SEE KALING PAGE 2
Dartmouth Formula Racing gears up for competition BY GIGI GRIGORIAN
The Dartmouth Staff
Next week, the Dartmouth Formula Racing team will compete in an annual Formula Hybrid competition in Louden at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway against U.S. and international universities.
T h e Fo r mu l a H y b r i d competition was founded in 2006 by the Thayer School of Engineering as a part of the Society of Automotive Engineers Collegiate Design Series, and continues to be operated by Thayer today. At the competition each spring, each team’s racecar must pass both a mechanical
and an electrical inspection before it can compete, DFR’s team management captain Leina McDermott ’19 said. After passing inspection, teams compete in both static and dynamic events. For the static portion of the competition, teams are assessed based on their design
and presentation. For the dynamic events, racecars compete in acceleration, autocross and endurance assessments. According to DFR project management captain Alex Newman ’19, DFR members design and build a Formula-style
racecar with an open wheel and open cockpit design to be raced against other teams’ cars each year. The Formula Hybrid competition dif fer s from the standard SAE International racecar competition because SEE RACING PAGE 2
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TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Kaling made Dartmouth her own FROM KALING PAGE 1
none of us knew about.” Theater professor James Rice, who taught Kaling in Theater 30, “Acting 1,” said he recalled Kaling as being frequently involved in her own selfdriven projects. “I remember that [Kaling] seemed subversive — at least very independently spirited,” Rice said. “She always had a lot of things going on at once and attracted a group of very talented, smart actors around her that coalesced into what they called the Short Attention Span Theater.” Kaling had roles in several theater productions while on campus, including Jack’s mother in “Into the Woods” and Maria in “Twelfth Night.” Her own one-act play, “Happy Endings for Rueful Masses,” won the Eleanor Frost Playwriting contest in 1999. She additionally wrote and directed a collection of short plays for her culminating senior project entitled “Shocking Appalling Terrible Awful,” an experience she lists among her favorite memories from Dartmouth. “I loved swimming in the Connecticut River [during] sophomore summer, which I did almost every day,” Kaling wrote. “I loved writing and performing my senior project, a series of short sketches, at the Bentley. I loved driving with my a cappella group to Fort Lou’s at midnight on a weekday. I loved traveling from one frat party
to another on a freezing cold night hoping you might see a cute guy you went to class with — I forget if I ever attended class.” Kaling added that because she spent the bulk of her time engaged in activities outside of her classes, she believes that she neglected some of her academic work. “I wish I had taken more classes!” Kaling wrote. “I was always so involved with my extracurriculars that I didn’t focus enough on my schoolwork. I don’t think I took a single film course, which is insane!” According to Kaling, her favorite places to study on campus were Sanborn Library and the lounge in the theater department, and her favorite place to eat lunch was the Courtyard Café. Her favorite classes included a theater class taught by Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright August Wilson and a discussion-based class on Kaling’s theater foreign study program in London. Kaling said her favorite Dartmouth song was “Dartmouth Undying,” which she described as “gorgeous and melancholy.” Upon graduating from Dartmouth, Kaling moved to New York City with two friends from the College, she said. While trying to find work in television, Kaling and Brenda Withers ’00 won the best overall production award in the New York International Film Festival for “Matt & Ben,” their short
absurdist play on how Ben Affleck and Matt Damon wrote the movie “Good Will Hunting.” “I always hoped I would work in TV, but I didn’t exactly understand what that meant or how I would accomplish that,” Kaling wrote. “The year after I [graduated] college I spent in New York with my best Dartmouth friends [Withers] and Jocelyn Leavitt ’01. I wrote spec scripts and plays in my apartment while I babysat for money.” Today, Kaling is best known as the writer, producer, director and actress on the TV shows “The Office” and “The Mindy Project” and author of bestselling books “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)” and “Why Not Me?.” She is also the voice of the character “Disgust” for Pixar’s animated film “Inside Out.” She is currently a creator and executive producer on NBC sitcom “Champions.” Kaling is also beginning production on a film for which she is a writer, producer and lead actress. She wrote that what she finds most difficult about navigating the entertainment industry today is the lack of creativity in the new material being produced. “I wish heads of studios and networks cared less about re-booting old shows or expanding the superhero crime fighting universe and more about investing in new, original material,” Kaling said. “That said, Wakanda forever.”
DFR prepares to race in competition
the team graduated the year before. In 2016, according to Newman, teams have to create a gasoline-electric DFR’s racecar did not pass the initial hybrid instead of a purely gasoline- inspection. Last year, the car passed the inspection and did well in the powered vehicle. “What makes formula hybrid design event, but broke down during special is that you not only have the endurance event and was unable the engine and the typical vehicle to complete it, Newman said. Despite the challenges that DFR dynamics that you’d have on an FSAE faced in the past team, but you also few years, Newman have the added “We kept a lot of remains optimistic challenge of the about this year’s high voltage system the things that competition. that has to be safe made last year’s “We kept a lot and professionally car strong and of the things that wired,” Newman then fixed the made last year’s car said. strong and then In preparation things that were fixed the things that for the annual struggling.” were struggling,” he competition, DFR explained. “I think members begin we’re in a pretty good designing a new -ALEX NEWMAN place.” racecar each fall, ’19, DFR PROJECT Loscalzo, who McDermott said. is nearing the end After designing MANAGEMENT of his fourth year t h e c a r, D F R on the team, also m e m b e r s CAPTAIN feels confident usually begin the about the upcoming fabrication stage during the winter. While building their competition after Saturday’s test run car, Newman explained that DFR at the Lebanon airport. “The car went really well,” members “learn a lot of practical skills that you might not in engineering Loscalzo said. “We’re going to be set in a week. classes until way down the line.” McDer mott said that she Every year, DFR members consider the previous year’s racecar believes the freedom for students to and assess which aspects to keep for independently build a project of their own design is one of DFR’s biggest their future design. For the 2015 competition, DFR’s appeals. “There’s not another thing you electrical oversight captain Erik Loscalzo ’18 said the team mostly used can do [at Thayer] that gives you the a modified version of the previous same experience,” she said. “This is year’s car, undergoing a rebuilding the most free-thinking engineering period after a significant portion of outlet you can have here.” FROM RACING PAGE 1
COURTESY OF LAURA EDMONDSON
During her time at the College, Kaling performed in various theater productions, one of which included a garlic prop.
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@ thedartmouth.
COURTESY OF DARTMOUTH FORMULA RACING
The Dartmouth Formula Racing team poses with their vehicle before a race.
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2018
PAGE 3
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Study shows stress before birth may have long-term effects stress hormones in all vertebrates. The researchers tested the strength of the effect of prenatal stress Be it animals or humans, stress on offspring hor mone levels is thought to be a part of life, but for a variety of characteristics, what if that started before birth? according to T hayer. T hese A new study led by anthropology ch a r a c t e r i s t i c s i n c l u d e d s ex professor Zaneta Thayer ’08 has of offspring, age of offspring, found that humans and other whether the species were mammals vertebrate and other s p e c i e s t h a t “Being able to know temporal are exposed to f a c t o r s prenatal stress that we can apply relating to tend to produce animal models, and the gestation h i g h e r s t re s s period. that these animal hormones after T h e birth. Emory models are actually study found U n i v e r s i t y representing something that the effect anthropolog y size was p r o f e s s o r very similar that is similar across Adrian Jaeggi, happening in humans, species, which Northwester n indicates that U n i v e r s i t y is very important for researchers d o c t o r a l future research.” may be able candidate to study Andrew Kim, animals’ stress T h a y e r a n d -MEREDITH WILSON, responses and University of UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS apply those Illinois Urbanafindings URBANA-CHAMPAIGN Champaign to human d o c t o r a l DOCTORAL CANDIDATE research. This candidate is particularly Meredith beneficial for Wilson conducted a meta-analysis studying maternal stress in humans on the effects of prenatal stress because of potential ethical on stress hormone production complications that could arise from in of fspring. T heir analysis, experimental tests conducted on which was published in Scientific humans, Wilson said. Reports, covered 114 results from “Being able to know that we 39 observational and experimental can apply animal models, and studies across 14 vertebrates. that these animal models are The study focused on the actually representing something hypothalamic pituitary adrenal very similar that is happening axis across species, which is the in humans, is very important for physiological system that produces future research,” Wilson said.
BY SUNNY DRESCHER The Dartmouth
Additionally, the study found that experimental research designs showed stronger effects than purely observational studies. W h i l e o b s e r vat i o n a l s t u d i e s sometimes offer a more “volatile approach,” they are often the only source of information available to researchers, according to Jaeggi. The combination of these two main findings indicates that experimental studies of other vertebrates may be effective methods for researching prenatal stress and subsequent responses in humans, Wilson noted. Kim said that this study provides “a more granular understanding of the severity of prenatal stress exposure and to what extent it is really going to impact the offspring.” The study developed from Thayer’s ongoing interest in prenatal environments and how they influence offspring growth, development and later life health, she said. She worked on related projects while on Dartmouth’s a n t h ro p o l o g y fo re i g n s t u dy program in New Zealand when she was an undergraduate at the College. Existing literature on prenatal stress has historically interpreted stress hor mones in offspring as an adaptive response where o f f s p r i n g ’s i n c r e a s e d s t r e s s hormones help them be vigilant and avoid predators, Thayer said. T hese increased stress hormones additionally increase risk for developing poor health outcomes later in life. Thayer described the “trade-off ” between
increased chances of survival and the study also produced novel decreased immune, metabolic and quantitative data and information reproductive functions as a result about the function and feedback of the hypothalamus and pituitary of stress hormones. Thayer said she wanted to and adrenal glands that researchers try “to understand whether this can use in the future. Though the kind of pattern study shows is consistent generally across species,” “What this kind of positive effects so she initially research suggests of prenatal stress conducted a comprehensive is that some on offspring evaluation of the individuals might stress hormone literature with l e ve l s, Ja e g g i be predisposed to Kim and Wilson. noted that After seeing developing poor m o re wo rk i s her present the health in adulthood still necessary results of her to evaluate the based on stress literature review effect of prenatal at t h e a n nu a l experiences in their stress on later life A m e r i c a n moms before they’re response. Anthropological B e y o n d Association in even born.” the study’s 2015, Jaeggi said evolutionary he approached and biological Thayer t o -ZANETA THAYER ’08, implications, s u g g e s t t h a t ANTHROPOLOGY Thayer added her study could that there is PROFESSOR undertake more room for more quantitative research to be components done on the and become an factors that empirical meta-analysis. influence stress. The purpose of meta-analyses “What this kind of research is “to survey and synthesize the suggests is that some individuals state of a field,” Jaeggi said. He might be predisposed to developing said he saw potential for Thayer’s poor health in adulthood based on study to quantitatively measure the stress experiences in their moms strength of the effect of prenatal before they’re even born,” Thayer stress on offspring stress hormones said. and combine the effects from She said that she is interested different studies into an overall next in researching what factors measure. may mitigate “the impact of stress Wilson said that in addition on biology,” because not everyone to yielding substantive results, experiences stress in the same way.
PAGE 4
STAFF COLUMNIST VALERIE TRUONG ’21
STAFF COLUMNIST STEVEN ADELBERG ’21
We Need to Talk
Clean Freedom
Online readers of The Dartmouth should comment more. As I scrolled through The Dartmouth online, perusing a variety of articles — news, opinion, Mirror — I had a reaction and response to each of them. Yet I didn’t feel compelled to comment on these articles with what would have been a one or two sentence thought, nor was I informed or invested enough to write an entire article in response to any particular piece. Rather, part of me felt as if it wasn’t my place to leave a comment. Yes, I’m a Dartmouth student, but I was reluctant either because I felt as if commenting could pose a conflict of interest, or because no one else had commented. In any case, I doubted anyone would read my comment. Perhaps others have felt this way at one time or another as well. However, I encourage everyone to comment their thoughts and opinions if they are reading an article online. While The D only allows opinion columnists to comment on articles, we are advised against responding to comments directly to maintain professionalism. Columnists are welcome to write response articles, but cannot do so unless their readers have commented a compelling opposing viewpoint that incites a response. Comments and dialogue in general are important because they help facilitate progressive conversations. They bring up issues the author may have never previously considered and challenge the piece’s writer and other readers to recalibrate their thoughts. They allow fellow readers to pause and reflect on the article they have just read while considering their own viewpoints on the issue. The comments section is a platform open to anyone. It isn’t exclusive to Dartmouth students, alumni, employees or parents. It doesn’t require residence in the Upper Valley or having an advanced degree in a certain subject to participate. The comments section allows for the dissemination and exchange of ideas outside of the classroom and with other readers. By commenting more frequently, people can exercise the ideals of free speech and democracy. So what’s keeping readers from commenting? Why aren’t there more debates and conversations attached to articles? Some could say The D’s audience is too small. Although it’s no New York Times, the paper’s current readership is certainly
capable of producing a strong and targeted response, as evidenced by guest columnist Ryan Spector’s piece “You’re Not Tripping” this past winter term. Perhaps what happens is that a reader has something to say, but is afraid to type it to avoid unintentionally offending some other individual or group. Perhaps some people don’t like sharing their opinions on a site where anyone and everyone can view their stance, political or not, while being connected to their full name and Facebook account. Perhaps some people simply don’t have nor want to make a Facebook account. After all, having the same conversation with a group of close friends is likely to be more comfortable than what seems like declaring one’s disagreement to the world. But what if The D were to change the website’s commenting system to make commenters’ identities more anonymous by using a different commenting plug-in, such as Disqus, for example? It could require only a first name or allow users to create their own usernames. This way, commenters might not have to face backlash for their views and could avoid ad hominem attacks. However, while this change may coax out more comments from readers, it would also make it much more difficult, if not impossible, to hold commenters accountable for their words. This could result in cyberbullying and trolls, so careful moderation of the section would be necessary. Encouraging people to comment and respond to content requires them to first care about the issue they are reading about. Most of the content in The D directly concerns the Dartmouth community and events occurring in the Upper Valley. Therefore, if an issue concerns readers, they will continue reading. If readers do not agree with what is being said, they are encouraged to form their own opinions and then comment or respond to comments to continue inter-community dialogue. Finally, I’d like to sincerely thank readers who frequently comment their thoughts after reading pieces in The Dartmouth. I personally enjoy reading these comments, whether they are left on my own articles or on others’. This level of engagement has led me to reexamine and reflect on what I’ve written and read, and I hope people continue to leave insightful comments and feel more inclined to join the dialogue.
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ISSUE
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
LAYOUT: Emma Demers
SUBMISSIONS: We welcome letters and guest columns. All submissions must include the author’s name and affiliation with Dartmouth
College, and should not exceed 250 words for letters or 700 words for columns. The Dartmouth reserves the right to edit all material before publication. All material submitted becomes property of The Dartmouth. Please email submissions to editor@thedartmouth.com.
Market principles must be mobilized against climate change. Climate change is not a regional or partisan problem: it is a human and economic one. Climate change threatens to damage the environment of everyone on the planet. Not only is climate change the product of 150 years of worldwide carbonfueled industrialism, but it will also wreak havoc on the globalized economy of tomorrow — it would be difficult to maintain global supply chains and international financial markets if coastal industrial centers faced hurricane after hurricane and the New York Stock Exchange were underwater. Despite these clear shared costs, the two-party system in the U.S. has managed to make climate change a divisive issue by reducing the complicated environmental question to the turnout-boosting but intractable debate over the proper size of government. This is irresponsible and tyrannical to the core: such frameshifting rests on the assumption that social crises can only be averted by centralizing federal power at the expense of free individuals and free markets. Rather than let the political system remain divided by this un-American notion, the public would do well to remember a basic lesson from Adam Smith: markets exist because they are the best engine for maximizing welfare. Society must not irrationally throw away market principles in the face of climate change: it can use them as the most powerful weapon against the coming crisis. By establishing a national market for the right to emit carbon dioxide, people can control emissions without impeding human productivity. A capand-trade program could apply the principle of scarcity to carbon emissions, turning the right to emit into a scarce commodity, like land or copper, that can be efficiently distributed and traded through market processes. Under such a program, the federal government would pick an emissions target and sell carbon credits to individual producers; after this initial auction, individual producers could buy or sell credits on the private market. Only the most beneficial carbon-emitting activities would occur, allowing market forces to arrange the most efficient pattern of production possible within the government’s singular regulation. Cap-and-trade has already enjoyed tremendous success in reducing national sulfur-dioxide emissions: emissions markets can succeed where regulation has faltered. Cap-and trade promises to reduce emissions, ensure economic efficiency, raise federal revenues and cut red tape by applying the market principle of scarcity to carbon emissions. If people would rather fix existing markets than establish new ones, they can apply the market principle of externalities to carbon-emitting industries by using carbon taxes to incorporate the social cost of emissions into the market price of fossil fuels. Markets work by encouraging the production of goods at the exact price and quantity at which buyers and sellers value them equally. In ordinary settings, buyers are proxies for the social benefits of a good, and sellers are proxies for the social costs of a good — this happy alignment between individual and social interests underlies Adam Smith’s famous Invisible Hand defense of the welfare-maximizing power of markets. This happy alignment is out of balance in the fossil fuels market: the price a commuter pays for gasoline accounts for the industrial cost of refinement, but not for the environmental cost of exacerbated
droughts. An environmental tax on fossil fuel consumption would quickly correct this lack of equilibrium between social costs and benefits, bringing markets back into welfare-maximizing equilibrium. The revenues from these proposals can be used to create a new eco-efficiency market where the federal government would pay firms to keep emissions out of the atmosphere, magnifying the impact of cap-and-trade or a carbon tax. By creating monetary incentives for carboncapturing firms, an eco-efficiency market would spur investment in reforestation and carboncapture technology. Whereas cap-and-trade and the carbon tax can only reduce a country’s contribution to climate change, carbon-capture firms could hypothetically help America reach negative emissions and reverse past damage to the environment. The possibilities are bounded only by the ingenuity of the free market: imagine rolling waves of tree farms, pipelines pumping emissions back into the ground, carbon-capturing scrubbers on every smokestack, an auto industry tripping over itself to increase the fuel economy of its vehicles. By using the market mechanism to offer simple, guaranteed monetary rewards to firms that heal the environment through emissions-reduction, the American public can go on the offensive against climate change and chip away at the hidden cost of the Industrial Revolution. During a recent Dartmouth talk on “Capitalism and Nature,” Marxist theorist Dr. Nancy Fraser argued that the environmental crisis is a product of the contradictions of capitalism that can only be resolved by widespread communist revolution. In one sense alone she is right: a market system that ignores the externalities produced by carbon emissions does not live up to Adam Smith’s promise. Climate change is not the failure of market principles — it is the failure of the American system to apply market principles. The Invisible Hand does not need an amputation, it just needs some help; any incorporation of environmental costs and benefits into the price system would swing markets toward sustainability. The American people enjoy any number of alternative paths to market-driven sustainability — cap-and-trade, carbon taxes and eco-efficiency markets are just the beginning of a massive body of market-oriented climate policy proposals. Rather than sweep away a vaunted system of democratic capitalism, people should use it to enact bipartisan climate policy that achieves the sustainability goals of progressives by vigorously applying market principles to today’s climate problem. These common-sense reforms languish in obscurity because in a partisan world where one side of the debate uses Fraser’s argument and the other side concedes to it through climate change denial, electioneers do not believe market-oriented reform can generate majorities. The American public would do well to prove them wrong. People can have environmental sustainability, freedom of enterprise and a middle-class way of life at the same time because they can have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness at the same time. Climate change is a daunting challenge, but it is one that can be met through a wholehearted application of American values.
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2018
PAGE 5
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Ledyard explorers speak CS professor departs after twenty years about their experiences FROM FARID PAGE 1
founder Daniel Johnson and Wick Walker ’68 each gave talks in the Stein ’18 and former Ledyard secretary section “A History of Racing.” Johnson Lily Xu ’18. qualified for the U.S. wildwater kayak Xu, who participated in a Ledyard team during his senior year of college spring break trip to Ecuador in her and competed at the 1977 World freshman year and a Ledyard kayaking Championships. Walker was selected expedition in the Czech Republic, for the first-ever U.S. whitewater racing was the primary organizer of the team at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Symposium. Closing the Symposium was a “For a lot of [the alumni speakers], series of talks that addressed how the this is really their home as well … so hardships of kayaking and canoeing having this mutual bond lets me connect can carry over into real life obstacles. with people who graduated 50 years Now working as a costumer for before I did,” Xu said in an interview Saturday Night Live, Ana Perdita ’09 with The Dartmouth. said that the lessons she learned during Following the welcome address was her time at Ledyard are relevant in her a section of talks entitled “Waterways everyday work. of the World,” “When which included my first show For a lot of [the alumni discussions from closed, I learned Dan Dimancescu speakers], this is really dressing tracks on ’64 and former multiple shows in their home as well … Dartmouth an effort to learn Outing Club so having this mutual from different president Viva bond lets me connect s u p e r v i s o r s, ” Hardigg’84about Perdita said in their National with people who her speech. “My G e o g r a p h i c - graduated 50 years job was to study sponsored all of the quick before I did expeditions changes and to the Sea of responsibilities of Japan and the -LILY XU ’18, FORMER each dresser on a Korean Islands, show, and then LEDYARD CANOE CLUB r e s p e c t i v e l y. jump in at the last D i m a n c e s c u SECRETARY minute any time is also known a dresser was sick for organizing or injured. The Ledyard’s 1,700-mile Dartmouth adrenaline was like running a river blind Danube expedition, which later every night, and the kayaker part of my became a National Geographic cover brain kicked in to evaluate timing and story. Ledyard vice president Katherine risk.” Bogart ’20 and Jackson Harris ’20 then The Symposium closed with gave a talk on Ledyard’s 2017 spring filmmaker and writer Ben Masters break trip to Ecuador. giving a talk entitled “Rio Grande: the Capping off the “Waterways of River and the Wall,” which shares a title the World” section of the Symposium with his upcoming documentary that was a talk by Dan Reicher ’78 on his focuses on the landscape of areas that Yangtze River expedition in 1984 and are soon to receive a border wall. how the area has changed since the Ledyard president Jordan Sandford opening of China’s Three Gorges Dam ’19, who helped organize the Riverfest in 2003. Reicher was a member of the weekend, said he has been involved first expedition to kayak the Yangtze. with the club since freshman fall after In addition to being a Ledyard having kayaked in high school. alumnus, Reicher is also the director of “The Symposium is meant to draw Stanford University’s Center for Energy back all these different generations of Policy and Finance. At the Symposium, people who have been involved with he was also a panelist at the only Ledyard and celebrating the past, panel event, entitled “Hydropower: present and future … and to generate Climate Solution and Conservation excitement for [Ledyard’s centennial Challenge,” which focused on the in 2020],” Sandford said. role of hydropower in climate and He added that bringing generations conservation, a central topic of debate of Ledyard alumni together was also a among environmentalists, according to big focus for the Symposium. Reicher. “I think one of the really big “The Symposium is about takeaways from the Symposium … adventure, learning and leadership on was that these achievements have the rivers and waterways of the world,” a common thread, which is the Reicher said in an interview with The people behind them,” Sandford said. Dartmouth. “We added a very strong “Ledyard has built a community [learning] component … which is that that spans generations. Being able to hydropower is both a climate solution come together … was probably the and a conservation challenge.” most powerful thing from the entire Watershed Studio Architecture weekend.” FROM LEDYARD PAGE 1
“Introduction to Programming and Computation.” Farid said he sees teaching as his way of making a lasting impact. While academics both conduct research and teach students, it is their teaching that will ultimately have the greatest effect on the world, he said. “Do a good job in the classroom, inspire somebody, change the way they think, you’re affecting the next 50 years of their life,” Farid said. Moyo Okeremi ’19 said Farid has a way of explaining that ensures students can get something from his classes regardless of their math or computer science background. “He tries to carry everyone along and simplify things as much as possible,” she said. Computer science major Amara Gordon ’19 and Okeremi took Computer Science 1 with Farid their freshman year. Gordon said that she and Okeremi often went to Farid’s office hours. Though they initially asked for help in the class, Okeremi and Gordon soon began to have conversations about computer science and the larger tech world. “It was really interesting to be able to not only learn about the things we talked about in class, but actually be able to apply it to other issues that were broader,” Gordon said. Julia Dressel ’17 co-authored a paper with Farid on her thesis research examining a risk-management software called COMPAS, short for Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions. She said Farid’s strength in both teaching and research “exemplifies what Dartmouth cares about in a professor: someone who is producing incredible research and really at the
top of their field, but really cares about their students and loves undergraduate teaching and really puts so much time and effort into his classes.” Farid explained that professors often struggle with the tension between research and scholarship, and teaching. Universities, Farid said, often choose one to focus in, either producing a place like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with an emphasis on innovative research, or a place like Williams College, with a focus on teaching. “[Dartmouth] has ... found a sweet spot … we are not all about the teaching, we are not all about the research, but we try to find a balance. I know it’s a little cliche, but honestly there are very few places that do this well,” said Farid. Farid added that he was “never a good student,” and it was “never easy” for him to learn, which is what gave him the ability to understand where students may struggle in their learning process. “I try to think about where are they going to get tripped up, like what’s confusing here,” Farid said, adding that he makes sure to tackle concepts from more than one angle. At the same time, Farid is a highly respected researcher outside of the classroom. Dean of the Thayer School of Engineering Joseph Helble described Farid as one of the pioneers, if not the pioneer, of the digital forensics field. Helble described one project, presented at a Thayer Advisory Board meeting, in which Farid analyzed a photo of Lee Harvey Oswold, taken around JFK’s assassination. Though the photo had long been rumored to have been fabricated, Farid proved through detailed digital analysis of shadows and lighting that there was no
evidence the photo had been doctored, according to Helble. He added that Farid is an outstanding professor, researcher and partner to work with. “He’s got a self-deprecating sense of humor, and he is charismatic in a way that is positive and engaging,” Helble said Helble said Farid had been a huge asset to the new joint building project that will host the College’s computer science department and Thayer. “It has been for me, genuinely enjoyable — it has been fun to work with him,” Helble said. “He’s just got a very creative mind, there are always ideas being put on the table.” Biology professor Robertson McClung praised Farid’s excitement for collaborating with professors in other fields of study. “He elevates people around him because he is so open to new ideas, and so open to collaboration,” McClung said, describing Farid as a “fabulous resource” after collaborating with him to develop a code that allowed McClung and his students to compile and analyze data points surrounding the circadian rhythms of plants at a much faster rate. One of Farid’s strengths is his ability to present his findings “in a way that immediately breaks a problem down into its most fundamental components and makes it understandable to people who are not technical experts,” Helble said. He added that this skill is unusual among scientists, who are more commonly skilled in publishing findings in scientific literature. Farid described the decision to leave Dartmouth as an incredibly difficult one. “I’m pretty loyal to this place,” he said. “The place has been incredibly nurturing, I’ve made my career here.”
THE BIG GREEN APPRECIATES A BIG BLUE SKY
NAOMI LAM/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Dartmouth students were seen on the grass studying and playing frisbee this warm spring day.
PAGE 6
DARTMOUTHEVENTS
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
UNSUSTAINABLE HYPOCRISY
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2018
CAROLINE COOK ’21
TODAY
8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Rauner Special Collections Library Exhibit: “Ledyard Canoe Club: A History of Exploration and Adventure,” Rauner Special Collections Library, Webster Hall
8:30 a.m. - 5:30 a.m.
Language Share Fair, sponsored by the Spanish and Portuguese department, DCAL, Baker 102
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Piano Master Class with Inon Barnatan, Faulkner Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts
5:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.
Lecture: “Happiness Is a Choice You Make,” with New York Times reporter and author John Leland, Filene Auditorium, Moore Building
TOMORROW
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Gallery Talk: “Exploring Chinese Culture Through Sin-ying Ho’s Porcelain,” with art history professor Sunglim Kim, Hood Downtown
3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Lecture: “Ada Lovelace: The Making of a Computer Scientist,” with University of Oxford professor Ursula Martin, Carson L01
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Discussion: “The Future of Community: A Startup Disrupting the Co-Working Industry,” co-founder and chief executive officer of The Gathering Spot Ryan Wilson, Shapiro Classroom, Tuck School of Business
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TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2018
PAGE 7
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain delivers covers and comedy By SAVANNAH MILLER The Dartmouth Staff
Eight ukulele players walk onto a stage. It sounds like the setup to a bad musical joke, but on Saturday, a sold-out crowd packed Spaulding Auditorium to see the the eight strummers of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. I walked into Spaulding with high expectations for Great Britain’s premier ukulele octet, and I was not disappointed. The Orchestra was founded in 1985 as “a bit of fun,” according to their website, and continues to sell out shows 33 years later. The group’s spring tour is planned to go as far south as Georgia before heading back across the pond to Scotland. The members of the orchestra bring diverse musical backgrounds to the group. Original members Dave Suich and Richie Williams have fronted their own bands, while newer member Leisa Rea honed her comedy chops writing for television. By themselves, the members of the orchestra have a lifetime’s worth of recognition in the arts. Together, they create a comedic musical powerhouse. The orchestra opened the show with “Holiday for Strings,” an American classic written in 1942 and a surprisingly serious choice
of opener. What followed was a diverse and entertaining concert delivering pop, rock and country hits, including “Limehouse Blues,” popularized by Django Reinhart, and the Eurhythmics’ “Sweet Dreams.” The variety of ukuleles represented on stage added to the group’s well-rounded sound. There were three sopranos, a tenor, two baritone ukuleles, a concert ukulele and a bass ukulele, which was used by Jonty Bankes throughout the performance to provide rhythm. But the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain does more than play the ukulele. Every member of the orchestra sings and delivers one-liners that keep the audience in stitches. One of the best gags of the night came from veteran ukulele orchestra player Suich, who informed one of the women in the front of his concert that she was the lucky recipient of some wonderful orchestra merchandise: a signed picture of Suich’s finger and two ukulele picks made from his hotel room key. Occasionally, the ukulele pickers even dance. At one point, Ewan Wardrop took a break during his performance of a country folk tune to bust a few moves on the side of the stage, spinning on his shoulders on the floor and striking a pose. When he returned to his seat,
fellow orchestra member Will Grove-White joked, “You were doing okay until you fell.” The repertoire of the orchestra ranged from classical Italian pieces to the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” to Pharrell Williams’s “Happy.” The orchestra at once catered to the range of musical interests in the crowd and showed off their versatility. My favorite song of the night was sung by Leisa Rea, who gave an emotional rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You.” Another great moment came when Suich launched into Steppenwolf ’s “Born to be Wild,” and the entire orchestra of ukuleles and chorus of players contributed harmony behind him. A key com pon en t of th e orchestra’s performances is its ability to combine songs from different genres into one cohesive tune. The third song of the set was a mashup built around David Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” supplemented with bits from Stevie Wonder’s popular rendition of “For Once in My Life” and Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” Later on, the group performed one of their classic pieces, called “Fly Me Off the Handel.” The song combines Sinatra’s version of “F ly Me to the Moon,” Andy Williams’s “Love Story,” the Eagles’ “Hotel
COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS
The Orchestra performs medleys and covers songs across a variety of genres.
California” and other classics over a melody created by George Friedrich Handel. The orchestra has an uncanny ability to hear common threads in strikingly different songs and combine them into elegant pieces, a talent that can only come from years of experience they have in the musical world. The group also has a knack for taking a song across genres to give it a different feel. Ben Rouse took the Bob Dylan song “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” and gave it a devilish twist with an accent reminiscent of Count Dracula. Just before the end of the first act, the orchestra invited
anyone in the audience who had brought their own ukulele to the concert to play along with them, a strum-along that has become a staple of their performances. The orchestra and its fans launched into The Proclaimers’ “500 Miles,” using sheet music provided in the program. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain managed to be s i mu l t a n e o u s l y s e r i o u s a n d funny. Their refined talent and exceptional vocal and comedic abilities shone through the entire 90-minute long performance along with genuine love for their pintsized instruments.
Auditory spectacle ‘A Quiet Place’ is a masterful horror film By SEBASTIAN WURZRAINER The Dartmouth Staff
The year is 2020 and sightless creatures roam the Earth, using their impeccable sense of hearing to feed on remaining human survivors. This is the premise of the new horror film “A Quiet Place,” and it’s a magnificent example of the sort of story pitch that manages to be provocative and exciting in a single sentence. As Hollywood studios attempt to monopolize comic book adaptations, sequels and shared cinematic universes, this species of engaging, original pitch has become increasingly rare. Of course, bad execution can squander the potential of a compelling idea. But actor-director John Krasinski and co-writers Bryan Woods and Scott Beck have crafted a crackling and intelligent screenplay. I’d be surprised if another film this year manages to bring its premise to life as effectively and completely as “A Quiet Place.” We sometimes forget that brilliant filmmaking isn’t just about radical techniques and revolutionary ideas. Often it’s about making the most of what the cinematic medium already
has to offer. Krasinski plays Lee Abbott, a survivalist who lives with his wife Evelyn (played by Emily Blunt, Krasinski’s actual wife) and their children Regan, Marcus and Beau. The aforementioned aliens have reduced the family to whispering and sign language. Complicating their circumstances, Evelyn is about to give birth and Regan is deaf with a malfunctioning hearing aid, making her even more vulnerable to the creatures. The first half hour of the film is a meticulous introduction to this dystopia and the dilemmas it presents for each of the main characters. Upon initial viewing, the pacing feels exceptionally slow — even tedious. But the viewer’s patience pays off. What appears to be little more than a day in the life of this family turns out to be replete with setups that the rest of the movie systematically pays off. Once the plot kicks into high gear, it never relents, culminating in most nightmarish and chaotic evening of this family’s life. The film, rated PG-13, isn’t especially gory, but it builds tension masterfully, ratcheting up the suspense until it
becomes almost unbearable. Film critic Roger Ebert used to talk about Bruised Forearm Movies — films where you and your date grip onto each other’s forearms so tightly that your arms turn black and blue. “A Quiet Place” is the quintessential Bruised Forearm Movie. A lot of the horror, particularly early on, derives from the film’s repeated use of jump scares. “Jump scare” has recently become something of a pejorative term, seen by horror fans as a lazy way to get an emotional reaction from the audience. Although “A Quiet Place” has a few such moments, the film’s premise allows it to brilliantly distill the jump scare. A typical jump scare relies on a sudden sound to jolt an already tense audience. The problem is that the sound is often more frightening than the visual or narrative element that accompanies it, one of the many reasons why jump scares often seem so cheap. But they work in “A Quiet Place” because in this universe, nothing is scarier than a loud sound. Throughout its 90-minute runtime, “A Quiet Place” uses its premise to playfully subvert the viewer’s expectations. Film,
after all, is an audio-visual art form. When the audio component of that relationship is taboo within the film’s diegetic narrative, new possibilities and paradigms emerge. Ever since the release of “Jaws,” horror films have sought to increase suspense by keeping their monsters as hidden as possible. The fear often depends on the visual design. The Xenomorph in “Alien” remains terrifying because the few brief glimpses the viewer gets are so surreal and otherworldly. By contrast, “A Quiet Place” introduces its creatures early and shows them in their full glory frequently. Yet none of the terror is diminished because the fear they produce has far less to do with the visual and far more to do with the audio. The film also explores the possibilities of audience identification with characters. Most films rely heavily on pointof-view shots and other similar techniques to get the spectator into the mental space of a given character. While “A Quiet Place” certainly uses POV shots, it more commonly creates an auditory point of identification. The sound
design often reflects Regan’s perspective as she struggles with her deafness. Actress Millicent Simmonds, who is actually deaf, heightens these scenes with a truly authentic performance. On that note, while all of the actors are excellent, Regan is the only character who feels fully three-dimensional. This flaw has nothing to do with the lack of dialogue and everything to do with thin characterization. It’s hard not to wonder how the film could have been even better if everyone had been as complex and developed as Regan. Furthermore, the family’s clear and somewhat problematic gendered division of labor hangs in the air, never fully addressed. The final scene does seem to reverse the power dynamics to some extent, but I still wish it had felt more resolved. These are minor quibbles, though, and they pale in comparison to the myriad details, both big and small, that make this film so rewarding. It may not be perfect, but “A Quiet Place” is one of the best films I’ve seen in the past few years. It’s smart, it’s concise and it packs an emotional and intellectual punch.
PAGE 8
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2018
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
‘Hamilton’ star Leslie Odom Jr. shows off diverse vocal talents By ILEANA SUNG
program, and this element of surprise kept the audience captivated. “Hamilton” numbers naturally Leslie Odom Jr. left the Broadway brought the most excitement, phenomenon “Hamilton” more especially given the array of than a year ago, but his Saturday “Hamilton” t-shirts and hoodies night performance at the Hopkins among the crowd. Odom played up Center for the Arts proved that there the suspense, teasing that he would is far more “save that for later.” to the TonyThejazznumbers “The emotional winning exhibited Odom’s actor than song [‘Without You’] warm, smooth his portrayal was decidedly one tenor voice. Singing of Aaron with an expressive, of the best pieces Burr. soulful tone, Odom T h e of the evening. seemed confident and concert comfortable in this Accompanied by was one of musical genre. t h e m o s t minimal instruments The New anticipated and a simple beat, Yo rk n ati ve w a s e ve n t s o f in full showman the Hopkins Odom’s voice and mode between C e n t e r ’ s soul reached their songs. Beginning s p r i n g by mentioning his peak as the song season, and s t a r r i n g ro l e i n s t u d e n t s progressed.” Hamilton two years gathered ago, he also touched outside a on his experience filled Spaulding Auditorium in the spanning more than ten years as a hopes of listening through the doors. professional actor. Hamilton had Odom’s spectacular performance been a nurturing experience, he said, justified their efforts. After delivering that gave him the opportunity to take a repertoire ranging from jazz to his music around the country. Broadway hits, an enthusiastic Noting the crowd’s love for audience brought Odom back to the “Hamilton,” Odom said that when stage for an encore. he was an up-and-coming actor, The playbill did not provide a “Rent” was his “Hamilton”-esque The Dartmouth
COURTESY OF MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Leslie Odom Jr. performed a program of jazz pieces, Broadway hits and “Hamilton” numbers last Saturday night.
Broadway phenomenon. Odom’s first Broadway audition was for a role in “Rent” at age 16. Three months after the audition, Odom said, he was on stage in the production of the musical. The story was a natural segue to
COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER BOUDEWYNS
The “Hamilton” star is an actor, musician and author, and has won a Tony and a Grammy award for his work on the musical.
“Without You,” a beautiful number from “Rent.” The emotional song was decidedly one of the best pieces of the evening. Accompanied by minimal instruments and a simple beat, Odom’s voice and soul reached their peak as the song progressed. The song remained alive even after Odom’s voice had faded, with several audience members humming it as they left the concert. He also sang “Winter Song,” a piece that was included in his album “Simply Christmas,” along with “Autumn Leaves,” “Mona Lisa,” “I Know That You Know” and others. “I Know That You Know,” featured on Odom’s self-titled album, was a close second after “Without You,” and went perfectly with Odom’s voice, which was accented by a trilling piano and light drumbeats. The best moment of the concert happened later on during “I Know That You Know” as Odom held the high notes. Teasing the audience all the way, Odom sang three Hamilton numbers throughout the performance — “Wait For It,” “Dear Theodosia” and “The Room Where It Happens.” The songs were met immediately with a wild reaction from the crowd. “The Room Where It Happens” was the last piece of the evening and the most explosive performance. Odom made use of the whole stage, walking to the
far left and right while singing, and in the end brought the whole crowd to their feet. Intended to be the climax of the performance, “The Room Where It Happens” didn’t quite do Odom’s voice justice. Although Odom sang with undeniable power and energy, it was the previous numbers, “Without You” and “I Know that You Know,” that remained the true winners, showing the capacity of Odom’s voice to its fullest. Every piece was accompanied by a talented and passionate band that livened up the atmosphere of the auditorium. Conscious of the way he could dominate the stage, Odom stepped back in the middle of each number to give his band members time to solo. The group’s “countless dateless Saturday nights practicing,” as Odom described, were apparent in their impeccable performance. The audience on the right wing of Spaulding was especially taken away by pianist Michael O. Mitchell’s joyous and passionate expressions and trills on the piano. Odom’s performance seemed to end too quickly, leaving the audience yearning for more even after the encore. His rich voice held the crowd in a trance right until the last minute, and the songs resonated as audience members walked out humming.