The Dartmouth 05/06/2022

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VOL. CLXXVIV NO. 6

FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2022

50th annual Dartmouth Powwow, lū‘au to be held this weekend

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Collis staffer Donna O’Gara remembered for her warmth and selflessness

COURTESY OF MEGAN O’GARA

A “ray of sunshine” who went above and beyond for the people around her, Donna O’Gara formed deep relationships with students and coworkers.

BY Adriana James-Rodil The Dartmouth Staff

MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

The Powwow is organized by the Native American Program, while Hōkūpaʻa puts on the lūʻau.

BY Aryanna Qusba The Dartmouth

This article was originally published on May 3, 2022. Dartmouth’s 50th annual Powwow, hosted and organized by the Native American Program, will take place on the Green on Saturday, May 7. The Powwow will feature dances, food and music to honor and celebrate Indigenous communities, according to Powwow co-chairs Ahnili JohnsonJennings ’23 and Jess Meikle ’23. On Sunday, May 8, Hōkūpaʻa, the Pan-Pasifika student organization on campus, will hold the Dartmouth Annual Lūʻau on the Gold Coast lawn to celebrate Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander identity on campus, according to an announcement on the

NAP website. Johnson-Jennings and Meikle said that the celebration honors Indigenous students, faculty and alumni in a festival that unites the entire campus. Johnson-Jennings and Meikle noted that the Powwow is one of the largest on the east coast and is also one of the largest student-run events on campus. According to the NAP website, the event brings together over 1,500 people from all over the country. “We are proud Native folks and we belong here on our own terms,” Johnson-Jennings said. “So I’m really excited that we’re still having it on the Green this year and that we still have that tradition, and I’m really proud to be upholding that.” In celebration of the 50th anniversary, Meikle said that NAP will “highlight members of our community who

have passed and members [who] are retiring,” adding that this year will be “a healing-based Powwow.” According to the program, there will be a memorial honoring for Beau DuBray ’24, who was a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The co-chairs said that the festivities will open with the lighting of the traditional fire led by a faculty member the night before the Powwow, which is open for anyone to observe. On Saturday, the main events begin at noon with intertribal honoring songs and various rounds of social dances with prizes. The day will conclude with a closed dinner for the Native community and alumni. Johnson-Jennings emphasized that the Powwow goes beyond a structured perfor mance and is more of an SEE POWWOW PAGE 2

Saint Motel, KYLE to co-headline Green Key

CLOUDY HIGH 64 LOW 36

MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

BY The Dartmouth Senior StafF This article was originally published on May 1, 2022.

NEWS

RUSSELL WILSON TO SPEAK AT 2022 COMMENCEMENT PAGE 2

OPINION

MOORE: AN INJURED MORALE PAGE 3

ARTS

SPOTLIGHT ON THE HOUSE OF LEWAN PAGE 4

SPORTS

WOMEN’S SAILING FIFTH AT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS PAGE 5

MIRROR

HANOVER’S LITTLE SLICE OF PARADISE PAGE 6 FOLLOW US ON

TWITTER

@thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2022 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.

Saint Motel and KYLE will perform as co-headliners with Doechii set as the opening musician for the Programming Board’s Green Key concert on May 20, the Programming Board announced today via Instagram. The concert, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Gold Coast Lawn, will kick off the first Green Key festival since 2019. Doechii will perform first after a set from student band Moon Unit, which recently won the Battle of the Bands competition. The rapper rose to prominence for her 2020 EP “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” the 2021 EP “BRA-LESS” and her single “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake.” She was recently signed by Top Dawg Entertainment and recognized as a “Most Necessary Artist to Watch in 2022” by Spotify and an “Artist to Watch” by Rolling Stone. “We could see that there was a lot of interest in female rappers,” Programming Board concert director Emma Elsbecker ’24 said. “So it’s so exciting to get this artist who is blowing up and is making waves in the rap community.” Saint Motel, a Los Angeles-based indie pop band, will perform after Doechii. The group was established at Chapman University film school and have since headlined at music festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. Saint Motel saw breakout success for its EP “My Type” in 2015 and subsequently released the critically acclaimed full length album “saintmotelvision” in 2016, featuring the

hit single “Move.” The band has appeared on NBC’s TODAY, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with James Corden and other nationally televised venues. KYLE will be the final performer of the evening. Also known by his stage name SuperDuperKyle, KYLE gained notoriety for his breakout single “iSpy” in 2017 and has since become platinum-certified for his 2018 debut album ”Light of Mine.” KYLE has also collaborated with artists such as Kehlani, Lil Yachty, G-Eazy, Chance the Rapper and Miguel. In 2022 KYLE released his third album, “It’s Not So Bad.” Elsbecker said that the “most exciting” thing about the lineup is that co-headliners were the two most popular artists from the survey sent to the student body in the winter, with 80% of students who filled out the survey expressing interest in KYLE or Saint Motel. “This lineup is noteworthy in being able to appeal to such a large and diverse cross-section of respondents,” Elsbecker said. “We’re excited to have picked a lineup that directly reflects what people expressed in the surveys.” In an email sent to campus on April 29, the Programming Board specified that in anticipation of a large wave of alumni returning to campus who missed Green Key due to the pandemic, guests except for alumni who graduated in 2020 and 2021 will not be allowed at the concert. The Programming Board cited concerns from the town and strain on safety resources. The Programming Board has sent registration information to current students and members of the Classes of 2020 and 2021 to obtain wristbands, which will be required for entry.

This article was originally published on May 5, 2022. Donna O’Gara sought to see the good in each person, encouraging others to do the same and to have a positive outlook on life. All who knew her remember her as radiating kindness and joy. O’Gara, who worked at Collis Cafe for more than 26 years, died from stomach cancer at 64 on Monday, April 11. She was at home surrounded by her family. She is survived by her husband Robert O’Gara and daughter Megan O’Gara, along with five siblings and several relatives. Even though O’Gara was diagnosed with cancer in December 2020, O’Gara was only out of work for about three months, demonstrating her commitment to Collis and the students with whom she had built relationships, her husband said. O’Gara was born on May 27, 1957 in Boston, the fourth youngest among six siblings. She married Robert in 1980 and moved to West Lebanon in 1982 when she began working for the College. Their daughter, Megan, was born in 1992 after a 10-year battle with infertility. Robert O’Gara said he remembers his wife as a “very forgiving person.” “When I started to fault her in my life, she would turn around and look me right in the eye and say, ‘Get on your knees and pray, brother,’” Robert O’Gara said. “She’s just a kind soul who loves people. She never saw the faults in people for some reason. She would always look past people’s faults.” Donna O’Gara loved Hawai‘i, so they visited the state four times in the past 30 years. She also enjoyed gardening and crafting. Before working at Collis, O’Gara spent about two years working at the Courtyard Cafe, her first position at the College. At Collis, she began working at the deli station and then transitioned to making smoothies. O’Gara loved to make sandwiches and smoothies but had a “disdain for kale,” her husband said. O’Gara went beyond her necessary work duties in an effort to make sure all coworkers and students felt loved, appreciated and at home in Hanover. In an emailed statement, Dartmouth Dining director Jon Plodzik wrote that O’Gara always exuded “a wonderful laugh, a big smile and [had] such a kind way about her.” In her pursuit of fostering an environment of warmth and kindness, Plodzik wrote that O’Gara made each of her co-workers a holiday jam this past winter. Plodzik’s was a “delicious” piña colada-flavored jam. Collis manager Doreen Blake described O’Gara as “special” to the cafe. Blake said she has yet to meet another person as open, giving and caring. “She was always a ray of sunshine and always upbeat and laughing,” Blake said. “She got along with all the employees and students and took the time to get to know them.” O’Gara was a familiar face to Ciara Gaffney ’19, who ate most of her meals at Collis with her teammates from the women’s rowing team. She was formally introduced to O’Gara by one of her teammates during her sophomore summer — an interaction which led to a years-long friendship between

O’Gara and Gaffney. “She was always so warm and welcoming. Every time I entered Collis or saw her around campus, she would have the biggest smile on her face,” Gaffney said. “She really had the biggest heart and shared so much love with all of the students.” O’Gara’s caring nature made Gaffney and other students feel at home. Gaffney said O’Gara would frequently check up on her, even hosting dinners at her own house for Gaffney and her teammates. O’Gara also shared her love of crafts with Gaffney, gifting her a handmade pair of earrings that Gaffney said she “absolutely adored.” Gaffney said she remembers O’Gara for her attention to the little things. She recalls telling O’Gara that her teammate’s birthday was approaching in the coming weeks, and on the day of the celebration, Donna and Robert surprised the teammate with a birthday cake. “It’s amazing to think of all the students she made a positive impact on during their Dartmouth experience,” Gaffney said. “I feel very lucky to be one of them.” Becca Thomson ’20 Th ’25 said she also knew O’Gara from her daily visits to Collis. O’Gara’s “warm and bright presence” would prompt conversations which developed into a friendship among the two, Thompson said. “She was so selfless that she always put the students and the people she was close to first and was always checking in,” Thomson said. “Taking her view of life, which was always so wonderful, and trying to emulate that in my life, I think really impacted me and my time at Dartmouth.” O’Gara made a difference in her church community as well. Strong in her faith, O’Gara was a prolific and dedicated member at Christ Redeemer Church, which she and her husband began attending around 2003. There, she met Jeff Fan Tu’14 who moved from the west coast to attend the Tuck School of Business. “She was one of the people who welcomed me with open arms,” Fan said. “We clicked and had a bond. We knew that we were there to support each other through the good and the bad.” Fan said that O’Gara’s optimistic outlook caused others to turn to her for counsel and solace when their lives went awry, and she would never hesitate to offer advice and cheer someone up even in the midst of her own struggles. “She was just somebody who, no matter the hardship, was always able to say good and positive things about others and to view life optimistically,” Fan said. In 2008, O’Gara became the first person to be awarded with CRC’s Excellence in Vocation Award, given to one church community member each year who has exemplified the genuine service of Christ in their daily lives by treating others with kindness. CRC pastor Don Willeman said that he remembers O’Gara’s “infectious laughter,” which showed her sincere commitment to making those around her feel happy as well. “I would say that she was one of those people who was just 100% pure encouragement. She had an incredibly gracious and compassionate manner about herself,” Willeman said. Her celebration of life will take place Saturday, May 7, at 11 a.m. at The Hilton Garden Inn in Lebanon.


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