MIR ROR 4.4.2018
FLYING HIGH: AERIAL SILKS AT DARTMOUTH | 3
THE GRASS IS GREENER AT THE ORGANIC FARM | 6
HOME BIRD: Q&A WITH COLLIS'S FALCON WRIGHT | 7 SAMANTHA BURACK AND HANA WARMFLASH/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
2 //MIRR OR
Editors’ Note
Mirror Asks: Birds and the Bees Did your high school have sex education? What was your most embarrassing sex-ed story? Jake Maguire ’20: My high school had sex education integrated into the physical education curriculum, but my experiences in sex-ed were kind of strange. This was mainly because I had my mom, an 11th grade P.E. and health teacher at my local high school, as a teacher. I must say, she is a great teacher — but sex-ed was a somewhat uncomfortable subject for me to learn in her class. Melanie Prakash ’21: Yes we had sex-ed; I don’t really remember it too well because I spent most of it doing European history homework. Zachary Gorman ’21: My high school didn’t have sex-ed. We took it in middle school, because it’s very important for 11-year-olds to know those things. Obviously. Have you ever used euphemisms or code names for anything? J.M.: I don’t do this anymore, but I used to think that “Netflix and chill” actually meant just hanging out and watching Netflix, and I (this is cringeworthy, I know) used to say it in that sense throughout my early high school years. M.P.: I used to call my period “punctuation mark” for years because I thought if I could bring grammar into the reality of my biological processes, the conversation would be less awkward. Kylee Sibilia ’20: My friends and I used to use code words for guys we liked all the time in middle school.
MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
Campus is buzzing with the sounds of spring: birds chirping in the morning, the crunch of gravel (and not ice) under our feet, excited tour guides herding groups of eager high school students across the Green. Spring is in the air and so are the birds and the bees, in more ways than one. It’s spring, the end of cuffing season, the end of 5 p.m. sunsets and gray skies. Days are longer and campus is fuller. The onset of spring brings with it a new hum of birds and bees in the air and sets in motion changes of many dimensions. Our environment is changing with us. This week the Mirror speaks with Collis staff member Falcon Wright, investigates the Dartmouth Organic Farm’s unique organization and converses with students who fly through the air suspended by silks.
follow @thedmirror
3.28.18 VOL. CLXXV NO. 8 MIRROR EDITORS MARIE-CAPUCINE PINEAUVALENCIENNE CAROLYN ZHOU EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ZACHARY BENJAMIN PUBLISHER HANTING GUO EXECUTIVE EDITORS IOANA SOLOMON AMANDA ZHOU
What’s an alternative name for the “birds and the bees”? M.P.: Tending to your physiological garden of reproduction. K.S: The Awkward and the Hilarious.
“My high school had sex education integrated into the physical education curriculum, but my experiences in sex-ed were kind of strange. This was mainly because I had my mom, an 11th grade P.E. and health teacher at my local high school, as a teacher. I must say, she is a great teacher — but sex-ed was a somewhat uncomfortable subject for me to learn in her class.”
What are you most excited for this spring? -JAKE MAGUIRE ’20 J.M.: I’m looking forward to spending time outside and enjoying the weather in Hanover. This is an awesome improvement from winter. I also like how, unlike fall, spring gets progressively warmer. M.P.: Not wearing a coat anymore! Z.G.: I’m excited for the weather to get warmer! Then I’ll go back home to Las Vegas in June, and I’ll immediately hate the heat. K.S.: I’m excited to hang out with all my friends who have been off for so long! What would you rather be, a bird or a bee? J.M.: Being able to fly and not have people be afraid of you would be cool, so I’d have to say that I’d rather be a bird. M.P.: I would rather be a bird; longer lifespan, I could fly, I think feathers would make life interesting; it would be a good time. Z.G.: I’d rather be a bee. Those stripes look nice. K.S.: Definitely a bird.
Flying High: Aerial Silks at Dartmouth STORY
MIRROR //3
Zachary Gorman
Those who have ever seen one gyms during her teenage years. of the mesmerizing productions “I got into it in my junior year of Cirque du Soleil have likely of high school,” Li said. “There witnessed a unique and difficult [were] a bunch of aerial silks and form of acrobatics: aerial silks. aerial arts studios all around. I Aerial silks are perfor mances tried it out and really liked it, so I involving ribbon-like fabrics that stuck to it.” hang from a ceiling, allowing In contrast, García stumbled performers to climb into the air upon aerial silks by chance back and engage in artistic twists, swings in her home country of Chile. and poses. “I just Aerial silks saw someone perfor mances “I just saw someone doing it in the are particularly doing [silks] in the park and I awe-inspiring asked him if because of the park and I asked him he could teach immense talent if he could teach me me some moves, that is required and I loved it.” some moves, and I to avoid G a rc í a s a i d . danger while loved it.” “That was it. A suspending few weeks later oneself and I bought my moving about - CATALINA GARCÍA ’21 own silks and so high above started training the ground. on my own.” O n e Without a might expect gym or studio to see such in which to challenging performances only practice, García had to find other from professional acrobats in shows ways to hone her aerial skills. like Cirque du Soleil. However, “At first I started training on some Dartmouth students have my own, literally on trees,” García fallen in love with the art of aerial said. “I would just go to the park, silks. climb a tree, hang the silks and Cindy Li ’18 and Catalina do it. But later I joined a student G a rc í a ’ 2 1 a re a e r i a l s i l k s circus. We had this space outside enthusiasts who have brought their in which we had a metal structure, hobby to campus. Before they met, so we started training there.” their paths to mastering aerial silks When the two students travelled were remarkably different. thousands of miles to attend Li, who is from Los Angeles, Dartmouth, they brought their took aerial silks classes in local hobby with them. They practice
Cindy Li ’18 hangs upside down using silks in the Jonathan Belden Daniels ’86 climbing gym.
periodically — with extensive safety precautions in place — in the Jonathan Belden Daniels ’86 Memorial Climbing Gym with a small group of other curious people interested in aerial silks. There’s even a GroupMe on campus for all people interested in aerial silks. “Here, the ideal thing would be to have an indoor or outdoor space [with] a structure [from] which we
COURTESY OF CATALINA GARCÍA
The splits are hard, but they’re harder in mid-air against the backdrop of the climbing wall.
COURTESY OF CINDY LI
could hang the silks,” García said. body strength, both of which I had “But right now we just hang them none of before doing this.” from … the roof in the climbing It is important to gym.” remember that aerial silks are H o w e v e r, more than just beginners who another form t r y o u t a e r i a l “You’re basically just of gymnastics silks are likely to using all of your own or exercise: quickly discover they present muscle to just hold just how difficult a unique art it is to master yourself up in the air form that the art. Hannah and do some really individual McGrath ’21, a perfor mers former gymnast, cool-looking tricks.” can put their tried aerial silks own spin on. for a short time “ I n - HANNAH MCGRATH ’21 aerial silks, when she was younger before you are realizing it wasn’t restricted to for her. the confines “You’re basically just using all of these two fabrics, but with of your own muscle to just hold that you can do so much,” Li yourself up in the air and do explained. “I’m really into doing some really cool-looking tricks,” very dramatic drops and spins, but McGrath said. “But the hard part there are also really pretty poses for me was when you had to let go and stationary things you can do with your hands and kind of trust as well.” the geometry of the knots that Though they will be preparing you had just tied with your legs to for other careers after they leave hold yourself up in the air. That Dartmouth, both Li and García was really nerve-wracking for me plan to keep aerial silks in their and that’s probably why I didn’t lives. Li is particularly looking keep doing it. I just could not trust forward to going to San Fransisco myself to let go.” this August chiefly because of Though many people may be the city’s reputation for having a deterred by the physical impact “pretty big silk scene,” which she aerial silks have on the body, Li hopes to take advantage of on is attracted to the hobby partially weekends. because of how it makes her feel. “It depends on where I live, but “When I was younger I used usually there are these places called to figure skate ... so I really liked aerial studios or small circuses, how aerial silks [are] a different places where you can go and train,” kind of exercise,” Li said. “It’s just García said. “So I hope I can do as artistic, which appealed to me, that. Otherwise, I would continue but it uses a lot of core and upper hanging my own silks on trees!”
4// MIRROR
For the Birds: An Idiomat FEATURE
Idioms are enigmatic ways of the Ancient Mariner,” Samuel of describing the chaos that is Taylor Coleridge writes of a the world around us. Something sailor who unnecessarily shoots a in their endurance makes them harmless albatross. An albatross, comforting. They are reliable. should you not know, is a very They are a call for cohesiveness; large oceanic bird that lives in a they deconstruct what is complex wide range around the Southern and rebuild it as simple. Ocean and the North Pacific. Its The funny thing about the wingspan can surpass 10 feet. latter is that this requires simple Coleridge writes of the carcass concepts — and so, it is true, most being hung around the sailor’s idioms that we use today hark back neck as punishment. Quite the to a simpler past. They invoke the encumbrance. Today “an albatross life of a typical farmer, the era of around the neck,” suggests a pastoralism, the plants and the burden of guilt that may be holding animals and the good old earth. one back. Think of “looking for a needle in With that darn albatross around a haystack” or “the elephant in the your neck, you certainly would not room.” These be happy as a examples are No one “hits the sack” lark. Though, not quite to be clear, the a p p l i c a b l e when they go to bed. song that the t o m o d e r n Nothing is worth lark sings is not life. Most as cheerful and “a dime a dozen” Dartmouth carefree as is s t u d e n t s a r e anymore. We aren’t often thought. not, I imagine “jumping on any It is, in fact, l i t e r a l l y the call of the “reaping what bandwagons.” male when they sow.” They he is trying to are not out, for establish his the most part, territory and “making hay while the sun shines.” attract mates. I suppose though, No one “hits the sack” when they that “lustful” or “territorial as go to bed. Nothing is worth “a a lark” are not quite as readily dime a dozen” anymore. We aren’t understood. “jumping on any bandwagons.” You may be as mad as a wet hen Though the meanings are still to hear of this scientific inaccuracy. known, the origins are obscure. You might jump up from your seat Time has moved past the glory and run, as the crow flies, like a bat days of these sayings. out of hell from where you were B i r d s , h o w e v e r, r e m a i n sitting to the nearest ornithological overhead. They fly along with research center. You would reach the English language tucked under that ornithological research center their wings, desk and ask the their various Birds, however, remain researcher on qualities duty, “Excuse, overhead. They fly still reliable me, miss, but r e f l e c t i o n s along with the English why does the o f o u r language tucked under lark sing?” To everyday snide which she would remarks, wise their wings, their r e p l y, “ W hy, proclamations various qualities still because the and shrugging male is trying reliable reflections concessions. to establish It seems more of our everyday his territory; timeless than snide remarks, wise he is trying to the rest. attract mates.” This animal proclamations and And you would pervades the shrugging concessions. s c r e a m a n d great collection shout and gnash of idioms. It your teeth in is a rather frustration, impressive until you are presence. Waterfowl or barnyard, hoarse as a crow. “But why does this grown predator or un-hatched bother you so?” the ornithologist eggs — they all come in handy, on duty would inquire. “After all, here or there. You would have an a bird in the hand is worth two in albatross around your neck if you the bush. On another note, why is did not know the best of these bird there an albatross hanging around idioms. your neck?” In his 1798 poem “The Rime The librarian would be right
By
MIRROR //5
tic, Linguistic Expedition
y Laura Jeliazkov
to question your fit of pique. idioms to be investigated, other Many idioms are, in fact, allusions questions to be asked, other to lines from historic works of unjust inaccuracies to accuse. literature. They come from writers One shouldn’t put all one’s eggs in one basket. — those who A n d s o, yo u value fanciful Time to get all your rhetoric and would decide, then and there, m e m o r a b l e ducks in a row. Time prose — not to strike out. Time to still walking, you should t o s c i e n t i s t s. get a bird’s-eye view of that leave the nest. Regardless of t h e i r the vista of questions Time to get all i n a c c u r a c i e s, to be answered. your ducks in these phrases a row. T i m e Maybe even time to have stuck. to strike out. Some stem learn about the birds Time to get a from more bird’s-eye view and the bees. humorous of the vista of origins, such as questions to the story “Can be answered. You Eat Crow,” Maybe even published on the fourth page of time to learn about the birds and the Nov. 5 Saturday Evening Post the bees. in 1850. “Yes, I kin eat crow,” says If none of that confused you, I old Isaac. “I kin eat crow; but I’ll would like only to share a few great be darned if I hanker after it.” bird idioms of foreign tongue. And, ever thereafter, eating crow If, say, Shakespeare were has equated to to admit in the admission Portuguese the “But why does this of er ror — fault of calling a s i m i l a r l y bother you so?” the another’s work d i s t a s t e f u l ornithologist on duty his own when he e x p e r i e n c e. really had not T h e a u t h o r would inquire. “After written it himself, m a y h a v e all, a bird in the hand he would have been a silly been said to be goose with this is worth two in the “pagar o pato,” one, but there bush. On another or “paying the remains some note, why is there piper,” translated truth to it. literally to paying Other idioms an albatross hanging the duck. Say originated as around your neck?” you continued wordings of to conduct an self-evident investigation truths, such into this and a s Wi l l i a m his idioms in Turner’s line, Thailand, with in his “The Rescuing of Romish the ornithologist on duty. In the Fox,” in 1545: “Byrdes of on kynde process, the two of you became and color flok and flye allwayes very close. You might then say: together.” One does not have to “The hen sees the snake’s feet and be wise as an owl to figure out this the snake sees the hen’s boobs,” one. meaning that T h u s Waterfowl or the two of you enlightened, know each barnyard, grown you would walk other’s secrets. back to where predator or unOr if perhaps, you had been hatched eggs — they fitting ly, you sitting, more believe that all in fine feather, all come in handy, here I a m s a y i n g satisfied with or there. You would i s n o n s e n s e, the explanation you could say have an albatross o f t h e in Latvian o r n i t h o l o g i s t around your neck that I must o n d u t y. N o if you did not know be “blowing use going any little ducks,” further on a wild the best of these bird because I would goose chase for idioms. be lying to you. a better answer. To w h i c h I No use dwelling would reply in on the lark and its song. There Croatian, “Muda labudova” — are, you would tell yourself, other balls of a swan. Impossible.
SUNNY TANG/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
6 //MIR ROR
The Grass is Greener at the Organic Farm STORY
By Melanie Prakash
Approximately three miles north of campus, a little deeper into the peaceful hills of the Upper Valley lies a farm “for the students” that offers an escape from the stress and demands that otherwise define the Dartmouth experience. This is the phrase and idea with which I came into contact multiple times during my conversations with some members of the Dartmouth Organic Farm. “It’s only three miles away, and you can go whenever you want,” Annika Bowman ’21 explained. “You can bike there, you can canoe down the Connecticut there ... it’s a really nice place. People think of Baker Berry to study, but you can go out to the O-Farm [since] there’s Wi-Fi!” Indeed, the Dartmouth Organic Farm, affectionately called “the O Farm,” actually started as a student initiated project in 1988 called “Reduce, Recycle, and Educate: A Solid Waste Management Program For Dartmouth College.” The proposal aimed to increase efforts toward and awareness of sustainability by students on campus. In effect, it produced a composting system. The farm sells more than 2,000 poundsof produceeveryyear.According to Charlie Levy ’19, a member of Farm Club, the food is distributed into three categories according to the “1/3 1/3 1/3 Growing Model:” the Dartmouth community (Collis Farm Stand and a campus food truck, “The Box”), the Hanover community (Willing Hands, soup kitchens and retirees living in New Hampshire) and, feeding the volunteers who work there (with their popular pizza dinners, where volunteers can bake their own pizza topped with hand picked vegetables in an oven designed by Thayer students). The farm also hosts a small maple-sugaring facility and a bee farm, other attractions for students who want to get a better feel for the rural sphere of the Upper Valley. Research is also a major contributor to the existence and functioning of the Organic Farm. “It’s outdoor learning at its finest,” Bowman stated, adding that she hopes to someday work on her own project at the farm. “[You are] taking skills you learn in engineering or environmental studies and making something out of it.” Specifically, the farm works closely with the Dartmouth Sustainability Office to facilitate classes, labs, individual projects and faculty research on the site. “The O Farm has always been student-based, and it has always been for learning,” Sophie Neuhaus ’20, one of the Organic Farm leaders explained. “We do a lot of experiential learning, so there are classes out there like [Environmental Sciences] 25 “Ecological Agriculture” in the summer. There [are] professors and student research, and we do a lot of testing out of new farming because we do have a lot resources ... so we like to think that
we’re trying to be on the forefront of small scale sustainable agriculture.” But it’s not primarily for research. Clearly with its organic produce and housing of resources for sustainability efforts, the Organic Farm stands for values broader than simply providing a sanctuary for the overwhelmed Dartmouth student. For one thing, Neuhaus highlighted how the morals and principles of the Organic Farm provide a unique work environment. “People are interested in getting their hands dirty and seeing what’s out there and doing work, and that creates a really interesting community of people who are motivated and interested and want to try things, which I think you don’t necessarily get on traditional farms,” he said. The Organic Farm provides a small and tight-knit community of students who want to enjoy and experience nature and the outdoors in a way they couldn’t have before. This value permeates its function as an establishment. Neuhaus remembers how she knew nothing about farming before she came to Dartmouth coming from New York City. “[I] had pretty much never really seen a farm,” she said. “The first time I got to pick something, I was like ... ‘This came out of the ground, and now I’m holding it in my hand and I’m going to eat this later!’” Levy also remembers his own limited background in organic farming before coming to Dartmouth. “I kind of fell into it by chance on [First-Year] Trips actually ... I ended up doing O Farming ... and ended up really loving it. I had an amazing time ... They were amazing hosts [and I] learned a lot there. And from then on it kind of just stuck.” One of the illustrative characteristics of the Organic Farm is the organization of leadership. “There’s definitely a gap in the leaderships structure,” Levy affirms. Neuhaus also explains that the structure of leadership has been in flux in recent years simply because the overarching principles of the Organic Farm don’t innately endorse strict, oneperson leadership. “Some of our big principles on the farm is that we like to think that everything is fair and equal, and there [needs to be] a fair distribution of labor, and everyone is kind of doing their own part,” she said. “But when it comes down to more of a club, it’s hard to not have logistical coordinators.” Presently, for this term, there are six to seven leaders. Neuhaus describes the type of committee structure she hopes the club can one day reach. “I think that it is something that is hard to manage when the farm needs a lot of coordination [and] needs a lot of dedication, and so leaders are helpful in that regard, but we’re trying to keep leadership and productivity in line with what our values are as a farm,” she said.
“So [we are] trying to move towards a horizontal leadership structure.” Neuhaus also explained how experimenting with leadership is only natural and in fact, representative of the values of Organic Farm. “Because we’re a very nontraditional club with non-traditional goals, we tend to want to stray from a traditional leadership structure, but the O-Farm is also a lot of work, and everyone feels that we need as much help as we can get,” she said. “But I also think it’s a little bit of an ideological thing. It’s hard to think of one person in charge of this great, interconnected thing, where you have all the farm and soils, and so it feels a little bit weird to have one or two people who are kind of in charge.” Their “brand of organic farming” is where everything works together in an interconnected system. Bowman was really impacted by this ambiance of equal camaraderie for a better world during her first experience with Farm Club, commenting on the noticeable sense of community between the members. “It’s just like a family. It’s just really lighthearted,” she said, before returning to the phrase that encapsulates the essence of Organic Farm to her. “The farm club is whatever the students choose to make it,” she said. New members like Bowman embody a sense of excitement that upperclassmen like Levy have found hopeful in keeping the facility alive. “I think there are now students who want to see the farm thrive and are really invested in that, and I think that’s really awesome,” she said.
COURTESY OF CHARLIE LEVY
Charlie Levy ’19 bakes a pizza in the outdoor oven at the Organic Farm.
COURTESY OF SOPHIE NEUHAUS
Rooted in community and soil, members of the Organic Farm club pose with a fresh harvest of carrots.
MIRROR //7
Home Bird: Q&A with Collis Employee Falcon Wright Q&A
By Saba Nejad
Falcon Wright is one of the Dartmouth Dining Services workers at Collis Café. He was in the stir-fry line before the winter term but has since been moved to Collis Late Night. He is 22 years old and is passionate about cars. Falcon, what is your role at Collis? F.W.: I’m a line cook at Collis Café. I prep food, cook in the line, make the stir-fry [and] make baked goods. Essentially everyone does everything, whatever needs to be done. I can step into any position really, depending on the need. Also, if they need us to do anything downstairs, say, take care of a baler or do dishes, it’s really one giant ecosystem that we’re all just trying to maintain, and I think we do a pretty good job of it. How long have you been working at Collis? F.W.: I’ve been here for almost four years now. How do you like it here? How’s your relationship with other Collis staff members? F.W.: I love working at Collis; the students, staff, everybody is one giant family. Everyone feels included. Like any family, we do have quarrels, but
at the end of the day everything were complete strangers, and now I works out. Everyone is very happy know I can trust him with anything, to help each other — I’m lucky to which is a crazy thing to think about. have such a great team to work with, especially our management. They are Your brother and dad work here knowledgeable and willing to go out of too. What is that like? their way to make sure we are all happy F.W.: The fact that I get to work with and taken care of. Like any job, there my brother Brett and my dad on a are things I don’t like doing, things that daily basis is a blessing. Being able to I consider tedious or uninteresting. see them and have someone to talk to if Working the smoothie I am feeling bar is one of my least down or favorite positions to “Everyone feels need advice be put on. It’s either included. Like any or need ridiculously busy or help with horribly slow, and family, we do have anything — you don’t have time quarrels, but at it’s a constant to interact with the support the end of the day students in the way network, and everything works out.” I don’t think that I like to do. My relationship I would see with the management them nearly team is one that I’m -FALCON WRIGHT, COLLIS as much very thankful to EMPLOYEE if I didn’t have because they have them are willing to always at work. My accommodate you, brother is talk to you, ask you how your day one of the nicest people you could was — they genuinely care. ever meet and is just always looking Steven Moretti, most commonly out for me, making sure I’m okay, and known as Collis Steve, one of my I love him infinitely for that. My dad coworkers, has become one of my is a “give you the shirt off his back” closest friends through working kind of guy, so I could never complain together for the last four years. We for one second for being able to see
his smiling face when I come into the building. He always greets me with a hug, and even if he’s got a line of customers out the door, he will ask how I am and make sure I’m all good. And even though he can sometimes be embarrassing or share stories about me that aren’t so flattering, I love him and am happy to have him here. You were recently moved to Collis Late Night. What has that transition been like? F.W.: The transition from the day shift to the night shift initially was very upsetting because I was so established in the day shift and I had my entire life rooted around that time frame. But after this last term of being on the night shift, I have grown to enjoy it — maybe not to the extent that I enjoyed the day shift, but I’ve learned that you have to roll with the punches and see the positive in every situation. It’s all about a positive mental attitude. Not having my weekends off anymore and coming to work so late has definitely taken a toll on me. It wasn’t an easy transition at all. My body is acclimating to this new shift. I am going to have a lot of time in the mornings and afternoons to be productive, so I am happy to have my day to myself even if my night is
long and sometimes stressful. What’s your favorite memory and favorite part about working here? F.W.: My favorite memory is all of the graduations. Being able to see all the people you’ve grown to know move on with the rest of their lives is pretty awesome. You’ve seen the entire culmination of their experience at Dartmouth come to this one moment. It’s very emotional, and there’s hugs and tears and laughter, and it’s just a very genuine moment with all the students that we’ve grown to call family. Interacting with the students is by far the best part of the job. The people that come in day after day — we know their orders; we know who they are; we know how to interact with them, how to joke with them; we can sense when they are down or stressed or when something is wrong in their life. I am glad to say that I have definitely made some lifetime friends while working here, and relationships that I will be developing for years. I have become a better person and have learned a lot about myself being surrounded by such intelligent, outgoing people. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
COURTESY OF FALCON WRIGHT
Falcon Wright stands ready for another day of work at Collis café.
8// MIRROR
Dartmouth Abloom PHOTO
By Michael Lin and Divya Kopalle