The Dartmouth 01/20/2023

Geisel researcher Vicki Sayarath remembered for her selfless attitude and sense of drive

BY ARYANNA QUSBA

The Dartmouth Staff

This article was originally published on Jan. 19, 2023.

A sixth-generation Vermonter, Vicki Sayarath dedicated her life to improving the nutrition and health of her community through research, often navigating a male-dominated feld. Before her death on Nov. 14, 2022 at age 61, she spent 17 years conducting research at the Geisel School of Medicine’s Epidemiology department and raised two daughters — Maya and Melanie — with her husband, Bouaketh John Sayarath.

“She was selfless and uplifted countless people throughout her life,” John said.

Melanie Sayarath, John and Vicki’s daughter, said that her mother grew up in the 1970s when it was still uncommon for most young women from her Vermont community to consider higher education after graduating high school.

“She always defed and challenged people’s expectations of her,” Melanie said.

Though her guidance counselor discouraged her from pursuing a college education, Sayarath received a B.S. in nutrition and food sciences from the University of Vermont and then a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Minnesota.

“She developed an incredibly ambitious, resilient and tenacious mind and spirit,” Melanie said of her mother’s education.

Melanie described her mother as a “trailblazer at all diferent junctures in her life.” As a young woman, Sayarath published unprecedented research on

nutrition in the rural communities of northeast Vermont. In her professional and personal life, Sayarath pushed for women’s empowerment: She was always determined and resilient and was undeterred by gender-bias in her feld, Melanie said.

After marrying John, who is from Laos, Sayarath committed herself to uplifting the Laotian community in the United States. During the Vietnam War, when the confict spilled over to Laos, Melanie said that her parents supported Laotian families that were torn apart by the war as they established themselves in the United States and “pushed for eforts” to assist Laotian immigration to the United States.

Sayarath, with six generations of local ancestry, was a champion for rural New England in her professional life, according to her family.

“She was really interested in the way that the role of nutrition and diferent environmental factors afect

Student Support Network program returns this spring with focus on mindfulness

the etiology of chronic diseases that are predominant in the Northeast region of New Hampshire and Vermont,” Melanie said.

John said that his wife raised well over three million dollars for rural community health in northeast Vermont.

Project coordinator of the ongoing New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study Joan Robie-Dieter, who worked closely with Sayarath, described her as a “genuinely kind and gentle woman.” Robie-Dieter said that the two studied how environmental contaminants, specifcally arsenic in baby food, afect the health of pregnant women and their children. Their study began in 2009 and has enrolled over 1,500 pregnant women living in New Hampshire and Vermont. The short and long term consequences of exposure to environmental contaminants during pregnancy is vitally important but

750 sign petition to save Hop’s Woodworking shop

BY Chaeyoon Ok The Dartmouth Staff

This article was originally published on Jan. 19, 2023.

More than 750 Dartmouth students, faculty and alumni signed a petition to keep the Woodworking Workshop open and accessible during the ongoing renovation of the Hopkins Center. The petition seeks to minimize the closure time of the Workshop, provide necessary power tools and fnd a larger space for the interim location, according to Thayer School of Engineering Ph.D candidate Mimi Lan, who co-wrote the petition and coordinated outreach eforts.

The petition was originally started in the fall by Lan and Chris Magoon ’13, Th’14, who now runs the Engineering and Computer Science Center Makerspace. Lan said that their main motivation for creating the petition was the concern that students would be left without a woodshop for an indefnite period.

Magoon and Lan said that they designed the petition so that signees could have two ways of expressing support for the woodshop: one option to simply sign the petition to raise awareness of the inadequacies of the proposed woodshop, and another to write a personalized letter or email to the Hopkins Center trustees to share past experiences in a fully-functional woodshop.

The College’s original plan would have relocated the Woodworking shop to a 960-square-foot modular trailer during the two-year renovation, and reduced the number of power tools available to users. The petition calls on the College to rethink the current plan, calling its previous 6,000-square-foot space a “creative sanctuary on campus.”

Throughout negotiations with the Hopkins Center administration, petitioners managed to secure access to more power tools and minimize the amount of time students would have to go without a shop, according to Lan. She added that the campaign had to concede to space limitations for the interim shop in order to reduce the time without access to any shop.

“In the end [the Hopkins Center] said that if we want the Woodshop to open soon… we have to go with this modular unit,” Lan said, adding that the amount of time it would take to retroft a larger space

could take years. “I think one compromise is that, you know, we don’t want students to miss the wood shop,” she said.

Hopkins Center director of external afairs Michael Bodel wrote in an email statement that the Center will be able to meet the petitioners’ requests for special equipment, including multiple saws, a dust collector, a planer and a blower.

“We are fortunate that many of our technical requests around power and dust-collection were able to be met and approved, which will allow students to use a full complement of power tools as we had hoped,” Bodel wrote.

Bodel added that the modular trailer unit will be situated in the Mafei Arts Plaza, between the Hopkins Center and the Black Family Visual Arts Center, and said that the “reduction in the number of students served” would be in keeping with the reduction in the size of the facility.

According to Bodel, the woodworking instructors and staf will be setting up in the interim facility in late February, with the goal of reopening by the spring.

Lan said that the petition’s testimonies laid out many reasons for supporting the Woodworking shop. Sixty-six direct letters asked the Hopkins Center trustees to preserve the Woodworking shop and described the workshop as a space that fostered their “mental wellbeing, education and sense of community,” Lan said.

Engineering professor Harold Frost, who wrote a letter to the Hopkins Center’s board of trustees, said that the Woodworking shop is a unique space for hands-on learning.

“What sets Dartmouth apart is well typifed by the fact Dartmouth had these shops,” Frost said. “Dartmouth had an environment… where there’s less intellectual isolation, and more connection to the real world.”

Fourth-year Thayer Ph.D candidate Arthur Pétusseau said the Woodshop symbolized the very best of self-directed education. Pétusseau said he achieved self-sufciency in working in the shop, and appreciated that the instructors could take a hands-of approach, allowing students to “lead” when they felt up for the task.

“Working as a student full-time is stressful,” Pétusseau said. “Working with the wood is mesmerizing, and you use your instincts, so it’s always nice, therapeutic and relaxing to forget about the stress while you’re there, working.”

BY Jackie Wright

The Dartmouth Staff

This article was originally published on Jan. 17, 2023.

The Counseling Center and the Student Wellness Center will again collaborate to facilitate the Student Support Network program, which was frst implemented in 2017. Applications are currently open to undergraduate and graduate students for the spring session.

According to S tefanie Jordão, a counselor and co-facilitator for SSN, the four-week program’s curriculum combines practicing conversations a student might have with a peer in crisis with didactic sessions. Jordão added that the Centers try to ofer the program at least twice each year, as they did last year.

“What we go over with them during the training is an opportunity to be able to identify the warning signs of a friend who might be in crisis, stress [or] struggling in some way with their mental health,” Jordão said.

Jordão added that training sessions will cover empathy and support, as well as efective communication skills for these conversations.

According to SWC wellbeing program coordinator and SSN cofacilitator Sid Babla, the program will have an increased focus on mindfulness during the spring session.

“Something that we’ll start doing in spring term onwards is introduc[ing] certain micro-practices of mindfulness [and] body-mind techniques of how one can be centered while listening to another person,” he said. “That sense of presence of being there for another person starts with your own sense of being present.”

Also new this spring will be SSN’s return to in-person sessions. Trainings were previously ofered last spring over Zoom. Babla says this switch back to the in-person program will help participants practice with real non-verbal cues and build a stronger community among the support network.

“The fact that [participants will] get together on a routine basis — they have a meal together at the end of each training and they sort of share time getting to know one another as well — also makes them feel that ‘Hey, I’m not the only one who cares about other students. There’s so many of us,’” Babla said. “I think that sense of belonging and connectedness is fostered best in person.”

In addition to the benefits of operating the program in-person, SSN sessions are part of the response to mental health challenges raised by the pandemic, according to SWC director Caitlin Barthelmes.

“Coming of the pandemic … it is another moment in history in which wellbeing and mental health can take a forefront in the conversations, and so I anticipate that to be continued here at Dartmouth and beyond,” she said.

According to Barthelmes, part of what makes SSN unique to other mental wellness programs ofered across campus is its focus on peer-to-peer support.

“We know from national and local data that students often will turn to their friends and peers,” Barthelmes said. “Because students are often on the frontlines of responding to the emotional and mental health concerns of other students, we were excited about providing an evidence-based program that helps give them the skills of efective support and how to make referrals when appropriate.”

Jordão and Babla, who co-facilitate the program along with Dick’s House counselor Isabella Schiro, said that they balance training for this kind of oneon-one support with information on when students can refer peers to other resources on campus.

“One of the things that we emphasize is that we don’t expect participants to provide therapy,” Jordão said. “What we hope is that they can serve as that point of support and kind of a warm handof — someone that can come and have a compassionate space to be there, [be] present with them and to support them in getting connected.”

SSN originated as a collaborative efort between the Counseling Center and the SWC to expand the Counseling Center’s Dartmouth Cares initiative, which aims to target suicide prevention and crisis intervention on campus.

According to Barthelmes, Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s counseling center originally developed the model used by SSN. The model is listed in the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s best practice registry and aligns with the JED Foundation’s Campus Model recommendations, including promoting social connectedness, developing life skills, identifying students at risk and increasing help-seeking behavior. According to Barthelmes, demand has recently increased for programs like SSN that provide training in crisis prevention.

“Even over the course of the last few years, at Dartmouth and nationally, the importance of addressing mental health concerns and promoting positive supportive behaviors both internally and interpersonally has become more and more of an interest and priority,” she said.

Before SSN was launched, the Counseling Center ofered the Campus Connect Suicide Prevention Training program, which they continue to teach as one-time sessions available to students, staf and faculty, according to Jordão. Similar to SSN, Campus Connect aims to train students to support their peers in times of mental health crises. According to Jordão, these sessions intend to cover warning signs that someone may be considering suicide, what language to use, how to support someone through a time of crisis and how to properly refer them to get access to the appropriate mental health resources.

“We are all part of this community. We each play such an important and signifcant role in helping one another and supporting one another and each other’s mental health and wellness,” Jordão said. “I like to look at it as if we’re all like a piece of the puzzle. To be able to come together and be united — we all have such an important part.”

This spring, SSN sessions will be held on Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on April 12, April 19, April 26 and May 3. Upcoming Campus Connect sessions for students include Jan. 26 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Feb. 22 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. For staf and faculty there will be sessions on Jan. 19 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Feb. 8 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The registration form for these sessions is accessible through the Dartmouth Cares website.

Students interested in counseling can schedule appointments either on the phone at 603-6469442, at the counseling ofce at 7 Rope Ferry Road, Dick’s House 2nd foor or through their health service portal. In the case of an immediate crisis, students can call the Uhelp Crisis Line at 833-646-1526, the New Hampshire Rapid Response Access Point at 833-710-6477 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOUAKETH JOHN SAYARATH

SAPHFIRE BROWN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

SWC, ASC reopen in Baker-Berry featuring debut of ‘tranquility room’

BY ISABELLE HAN

The Dartmouth Staff

The Student Wellness Center and the Academic Skills Center jointly debuted a new location on the first floor of Baker-Berry Library on Jan. 11. The reopening also included the launch of a tranquility room — a wellness-focused space implemented by members of Dartmouth Student Government’s mental health committee. According to SWC director Caitlin Barthelmes, the tranquility room is meant to provide an “oasis from stress” and will be open on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Students are able to use the space either individually or with friends, and the SWC encourages that it be used for 15 minutes at a time to maximize accessibility, Barthelmes said.

“Our hope is that students will walk in and be invited to tailor the room for the time of their use in a way that is most supportive to them,” Barthelmes said.

DSG vice president and mental health committee co-chair Jessica Chiriboga ’24 said that students can customize the room by changing its lighting, the pressure of the massage chair, its smell using a diffuser and the media on the speakers.

As a private space equipped with two massage chairs, yoga mats, blankets, prayer rugs and meditation chairs, the tranquility room is meant to be a place for meditation and relaxation, according to SWC office manager Christiana Fitzpatrick.

Barthelmes added that students can use the room’s bluetooth speakers to pair with the meditation app Headspace, which debuted on campus last September.

Barthelmes said that although it has always been a goal of the SWC to create a place where students “feel supported and feel well taken care of,” the specific vision of a tranquility room did not come into fruition until Chiriboga received a $10,000 American Eagle Future Together grant. The grant is organized by

American Eagle in partnership with the nonprofit Bring Change to Mind, which seeks to end the stigma of mental illnesses. After receiving the grant in July, Chiriboga said that she approached the SWC with the idea of developing the tranquility room in August, with the DSG joining the efforts in October.

Chiriboga said that she was primarily motivated by the Wellness Center at Duke University, which occupies its own building containing built-in “spaces of reflection and relaxation.” Barthelmes said that DSG and the SWC planned out the space throughout the fall and purchased items and organized the new layout in December and January.

DSG Mental Health Committee cochair Jonathan Pazen ’25 said that the room is “in no way complete.”

“We’ve used about a third of the grant and we have a lot more money available,” Chiriboga said. “We want to use the remaining [funds] on looking into the feasibility of having an outdoor meditation garden somewhere on campus or separately using it to maintain the different things in the tranquility room.”

The debut of the tranquility room also follows the move of the SWC and ASC from their respective former locations in Robinson Hall and Baker-Berry Library to the first floor of Berry library. Barthelmes said that she hopes that the SWC’s new, central location will encourage students to utilize more of its programming — including but not limited to the tranquility room.

“The fact that we’re on the main path of student life in the heart of campus increases the likelihood of utilizing the space and the services,” Barthelmes said.

According to Barthelmes, the SWC’s old offices were smaller and lacked private space for relaxation. The center’s new location in the library offers several private rooms and offices surrounding a central “living room,” making it conducive for relaxation, Fitzpatrick said.

“After you’ve been grinding in the

Sayarath ‘challenged people’s expectations of her’

FROM SAYARATH PAGE 1 understudied in this region, according to the study website.

Geisel epidemiology professor

Margaret Caragas said that scientists have focused on pregnant women in regions of India and Africa, but attention had not previously focused on the rural United States before Sayarath’s research. She added that it was “really important” to Sayarath to share research with local communities through pamphlets, outreach and social media.

“Her passion was bringing the research back to communities and making sure that we’re not just these disconnected scientists,” Caragas said.

Robie-Dieter said that Sayarath exhibited a “quiet strength through calmness.”

“We both shared a North Country upbringing,” Robie-Dieter shared. “Throughout the course of many meetings, every now and then we’d catch each other’s eye and just kind of smile, wondering just how we got all the way here from the North Country.”

Sayarath was also an avid

stacks for a couple of hours, you’re able to draw [resources] from there and really relax,” Chiriboga said.

Ultimately, Chiriboga said that she hopes that the tranquility room will promote well-being practices across the student body.

“If [students aren’t] able to make it up into the [tranquility] room, its presence in the Student Wellness Center encourages them to incorporate well-being into their daily practice, whether that’s a walk around Pine Park, or going out ice skating with friends — different ways that they can reflect on their lives and take intentional time for themselves,” Chiriboga said.

The SWC offers other programs that seek to improve the wellbeing of students in the areas of sexual violence prevention, high-risk drinking prevention and holistic well-being, Barthelmes said. Programming ranges from the Sexual Violence Prevention Project to therapy dogs and yoga nidra, Fitzpatrick added.

Barthelmes noted that within its well-being branch, the SWC focuses on mindfulness, with the goal of equipping students with the skills that can foster “positive outcomes.”

Beyond the tranquility room, DSG’s mental health committee also advocates for students in a “variety of ways,” according to Pazen. DSG well-being projects include creating a virtual map of on-campus mental health resources available through Google Maps, funding five $1,000 grants for student mental health projects and increasing access to sunlamps, Chiriboga said.

In the future, Pazen said that he hopes to see “closer ties” between DSG and wellness organizations such as the Dartmouth Mental Health Union, as well as increased accessibility of mental health resources on campus.

“On campus, there are a lot of resources, but a lot of the time students aren’t necessarily as aware or don’t know how to maximize the usage of these things,” Pazen said.

Charges dropped against former student accused of menorah vandalism

photographer and creative writer, according to her husband. In 2016, Sayarath joined John on a trip to Southeast Asia, where she discovered artistic inspiration all around her. Her husband said she photographed the poorest Laotians, capturing the beauty of their lives that others may have never thought to look for. She invariably saw the best in those around her.

In her art and her research, Sayarath saw dignity in each life and uplifted underserved communities, according to John. Three of Sayarath’s photographs from Laos were shown in Dartmouth’s 2017 ArtWorks exhibition, which featured artists on Dartmouth’s staf.

“She was a driven, selfess person and as a mother was always working above and beyond to provide opportunities for my sister and I to succeed,” Melanie said of her mother. “We are biracial, and growing up in rural Vermont which is a very white state, she was always very open minded and made us feel confdent and driven to overcome challenges.”

Sayarath’s colleagues plan to plant a tree in her memory on the DartmouthHitchcock Medical Center grounds, according to Robie-Dieter.

This article was originally published on Jan. 17, 2023.

Grafton County prosecutors dropped charges against Zachary Zhao Wang ’20, who was accused of vandalizing a menorah on display on the Green in December 2020. Among other stipulations, the conditional nol pros agreement requires Wang to perform 100 hours of community service, meet with members of Chabad at Dartmouth and avoid other legal trouble, court documents show.

The resolution is similar to the April 2021 agreement reached with Carlos Wilcox, a former member of the Class of 2023 who was with Wang at the time of the incident and was also charged with a felony. Wilcox paid $1,901.82 to the College in restitution, and now Wang must pay half of that amount to Wilcox in order to split the cost of the restitution, according to the court fling.

The incident was charged as a felony of accomplice criminal mischief and not considered a hate crime because “there was never a whif of intent around this event,” according to George Campbell, Wang’s attorney. Campbell said that the incident was a “thoughtless act of vandalism,” noting that Wang does not admit to committing it.

“Zach regrets not only that damage occurred, accompanied by the harm perceived or otherwise to the Jewish community,” Campbell said. “He looks forward — as do all Dartmouth students — to a bright future, and given his sympathies and warm feelings for [the Jewish] community, deeply regrets being associated with this in any way.”

The attack had profound efects on Dartmouth’s Jewish community when it was frst committed, especially because it was during a period of increased anti-Semitism nationwide, according to Chabad director Rabbi Moshe Leib Gray. Unlike Campbell, Gray said the attack was “deliberate.”

“It wasn’t like they sort of sprayed the gun and a couple lightbulbs were shot,” Gray said. “It was deliberately shot at. [Wang and Wilcox] say they weren’t targeting the menorah because it was a Jewish symbol… The [Christmas] tree was 30 feet away. They could have targeted the tree also.”

Although Gray said Wang has never reached out to Gray to apologize, Gray said that he harbors no bad feelings toward Wang or Wilcox and feels that the agreement is a positive example of “restorative justice.”

Wilcox will likely return to Hanover this winter for the court-ordered conversations with Chabad, according to Gray, who wants to be a “resource” for Wilcox and Wang.

Wang and Wilcox both wrote for The Dartmouth Review and were leaving their ofces at the Review when they allegedly shot the menorah, according to the Valley News. The Review’s writers have previously been involved in campus controversies, according to the New York Times. Wang’s charges are reminiscent of those from an attack perpetrated in 1986 by a group of 12 students — including 10 writers for the Review — who tried to use sledgehammers to destroy shanty towns erected on the Green as a protest of apartheid in South Africa.

The College has historically been slow to address or speak out on attacks on marginalized groups, according to Gray. He cited a delayed response to the synagogue Pittsburgh shooting of 2018.

“Students were very unhappy with that,” Gray said. “They didn’t feel seen. They didn’t feel heard.”

Gray added, however, that Dartmouth’s response to attacks on these groups has vastly improved in recent years, citing the support of the William Jewett Tucker Center — including the center’s director Chaplain Nancy Vogele ’85 — and the resolution to the menorah vandalism.

“It doesn’t cost anything to respond,” Gray said.

College spokesperson Diana Lawrence called the attack an “afront” in an email statement.

“We value the many contributions that the Jewish members of our community bring to the Dartmouth family. The vandalism to the menorah was an afront to everything Dartmouth stands for: diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging,” Lawrence wrote. “In light of the unsettling rise in antisemitic rhetoric nationwide, we are reminded of the responsibility each of us has to stand up to prejudice, discrimination and hate in all its forms.”

Senior diversity ofcer Shontay Delalue highlighted the importance of diversity and tolerance to Dartmouth.

“We strive to ensure every member of our community can thrive and know from research that when people from diferent cultures work together in an educational research setting, the most innovative ideas are born,” Delalue wrote in an email statement.”

Grafton County attorney Marcie Hornick did not respond to requests for comment.

BY Charlotte Hampton

The Dartmouth Staff

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARKER PICKETT

ISABELLE HAN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

‘ 24

CONTRIBUTING

Dartmouth must face its problems rather than avoid them and reinstate the swim test requirement.

This column was originally published on Jan. 17, 2023

First, the former head of the committee, in a statement to The Dartmouth, indicated that this requirement was created during a time when men training to serve in the military needed to know how to swim. A cool bit of Dartmouth trivia, to be sure, but this doesn’t explain why the test got the ax.

Next, the former chair indicated that this change would give students greater flexibility in PE credits and made clear that the decision was not meant to “devalue” the importance of knowing how to swim. I’m not convinced. Without the motivation of the test, students are unlikely to learn to swim and will undoubtedly be less safe as a result.

If the College truly cared about flexibility, it would combine this motivation with a focus on water safety and offer a wider range of swim classes. Currently on the timetable, there are 11 available spots in two time slots! It’s not hard to imagine how 11 spots could cause issues for a 4,500 strong undergraduate population. This isn’t a recent issue. A 2014 local NBC segment showed Dartmouth students struggling to get into a swim class in time to graduate due to limited spots.

The chair continued, saying that the swim test did not test swimming competency or increase water safety. Let me repeat this. They are claiming that the Dartmouth swim test doesn’t test swimming competency. That issue clearly lies within the College’s implementation and design of the test and its classes, not the test itself. If the administration is unhappy with the test, they should change it to better test swimming skills.

Finally, and most importantly, the former chair of the Committee on Instruction said that the swim test created a burden for some students to graduate, mostly students of color. This is true. Those who take swimming lessons before college are those who had enough free time, the money to pay for them and access to water. It follows that students from disadvantaged backgrounds

would be most likely to have to take a swim class here at Dartmouth.

However, to borrow a phrase from Kellyanne Conway, this is clearly an “alternative fact.” The swim test does not actually present a burden, as the swim class could fulfill one of the required “wellness” credits for students. Therefore, it would not add to these students’ course loads. Not to mention, it teaches a life saving skill.

In the light of Dartmouth’s measly offering of swim classes, one could claim that the “burden” the administration speaks of is one of its own making.

Just as the D-Plan temporarily helped Dartmouth avoid a housing shortage, Dartmouth’s administration has once again used bogus reasons to avoid facing the problem. If Dartmouth wanted to be an open and equitable institution, it would ensure that students graduate with a complete education. That means realizing disparities both inside and outside of the classroom and taking steps to bridge them. Dartmouth, I’m glad to report, has identified one such disparity — the swim test disproportionately affects students of color. Its answer, however, is to run from the issue, not try to make the swim class and test more inclusive and comprehensive.

Some will ask why the swim test should be a requirement — students will learn how to swim if they want. It’s a fair question. However, by requiring the test, Dartmouth would place a strong emphasis on a life saving skill that some may otherwise be too nervous or busy to learn. Just as we mandate vaccinations, we must also mandate swim lessons for the simple reason that they both save lives.

The logical solution, and one that doesn’t avoid the issue, would be to reinstate the swim test requirement, adjust it to better test swimming competency and expand the availability of swim classes. Use student teachers if need be — there are plenty of certified lifeguards among the students, and I’m sure they would love a solid paycheck. Who wouldn’t, with the exorbitant cost of a Dartmouth education?

Stop the CCP’s Land Grab

This column was originally published on Jan. 19, 2023

Something is rotten in the state of Missouri. In just the last decade, China has snapped up over 40,000 acres of Missouri farmland. The state is emerging as one of several key battlegrounds in which the United States must face down the growing threat of the Chinese Communist Party. States across the country such as California, Texas, Florida and Virginia have all seen rising Chinese land ownership in recent years. With increasing amounts of American land in the hands of the CCP, who are currently waging economic warfare, industrial espionage and an antagonistic foreign policy against us, it’s time to confront this unfortunate reality.

Besides being a fundamental issue of control over our own food supply, there is another national security angle at work here. A number of Chinese purchases just so happen to be near military bases with classifed, cutting-edge technology. As Congress enters into its new legislative session, there is one issue it must consider: how to stop the nefarious creep of the CCP into America’s heartland.

These acquisition eforts are relatively recent in origin. Enter the Smithfeld Corporation, the largest pork producer in the world and an owner of over 40,000 acres of farmland in Missouri alone. In 2013, thanks to Smithfeld lobbying both Republican and Democrat state legislators, Missouri’s state legislature opened up 1% of its farmland to foreign ownership. Just two weeks after the state’s ban on foreign ownership was lifted, Smithfeld was bought by the WH Group, China’s largest pork producer. The WH Group is also owned by one of the richest men in China, Wan Long, a billionaire with ties to the upper echelons of the CCP. With the purchase of Smithfeld, China was estimated to own 1 out of every 4 pigs in the United States.

Missouri is not the only victim of Chinese expansion, nor is this an issue limited to red states in the middle of the country. Between 2009 and 2019, 48 states saw a rise in foreign ownership of farm and forest land in the United States. Overseas owners bought 13 million acres of American land, increasing their share by 60% during this time. In August of 2022, both chambers of California’s state legislature unanimously passed a bill to prevent foreign entities from buying agricultural land in California. Despite this, the bill was ultimately vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom over a technicality. But when Republicans and Democrats unanimously agree on anything — in California of all places — this is a sure sign of the concerns surrounding China’s mounting infuence held by Americans across the country.

High-profle politicians of all stripes see the writing on the wall. Just last week in Virginia, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin called for the state legislature to send him a bill prohibiting

foreign entities tied to the CPP from purchasing farmland. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis is poised to ask state lawmakers to ban China from buying farmland as well. In July of 2021, the then-Chair of the House Appropriations Agriculture-FDA Subcommittee, Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) said that Congress must make sure America does not “have our space invaded by potential adversaries, particularly in the economic realm.” Finally, in July of 2022, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) introduced the Farmland Security Act, which would require the USDA to report on the impact of foreign investment in U.S. agriculture. The bill was signed into law as part of the latest omnibus spending package passed this December. It would seem common sense for the USDA to report on foreign investment in agriculture. To a limited extent, it already does — and such data is available thanks to the Agriculture Foreign Investment Disclosure Act that was passed in 1978. However, its database, run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, relies largely on volunteer reporting. This leads to signifcant gaps between what is listed in the database and the reality on the ground. But, errors and all, the database is still the only comprehensive source of the amount of American land sold to foreign ownership. Grassley and others have noted they will be keeping an eye on the USDA during this current legislative session to ensure that the goals of the Farmland Security Act are being met. Increasing oversight is a good start, but passing legislation — such as Senator Grassley’s planned bill that would prevent Chinese abuse of federal land subsidies — would be an even better step in the right direction. Additionally, land purchases near key military infrastructure further compromise our national security. Last month, the Committee on Foreign Investment permitted a Chinese company whose chairman has been praised as a model laborer by the CCP to build a corn mill in Grand Forks, Nebraska. The plan had attracted so much scrutiny in the frst place because the site is only 12 miles from an Air Force base home to some of the most sensitive military drone technology in the nation. Nor is this the frst time that such a purchase has been made near sensitive infrastructure. The committee must be investigated, and perhaps even overhauled, to prevent a clear and obvious lapse in judgment like this from reoccurring.

Finally, Congress should pass legislation similar to what has already been enacted in Iowa, which bans any foreign entity from owning farmland in the state. However, since friendly nations such as Canada or the Netherlands have extensive American land holdings, Congress should only target hostile nations such as China by barring any person or entity linked to the Chinese Communist Party from owning American farmland. This is ambitious, but it is the common sense move that will protect America’s livelihoods, food supply and national security.

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Review: ‘Babylon’ is a Beautiful Hollywood Disaster

BY ALEX SUPRENANT The Dartmouth Staff

On Dec. 23, 2022, Damien Chazelle, the director of “La La Land,” released “Babylon.” The nearly three-hour flm has one indisputable quality: an ability to spur a ferce response, good or bad, from all its viewers. Slate deems “Babylon” a “defecating elephant of a movie,” while BBC instead describes it as a “cinematic marvel.”

“Babylon” is set in 1920s Hollywood at the crux of the transition from silent to sound movies, nicknamed “talkies.”

Chazelle renders “Babylon”’s main characters in the same dreamy, untamed form as the place itself. There’s aspiring actress Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), who waltzes across the screen with wild hair and proclaims in an unrestrained Jersey accent: “It’s written in the stars. I am a star.” Kind-hearted Mexican immigrant Manny Tores (Diego Calva) longs to work on a movie set, but settles instead for a job as an assistant to Hollywood star Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt).

The flm begins at the height of the silent flm era. Tores attempts to transport an elephant to a hedonistic party at Conrad’s mansion in the desert, resulting in the pachyderm dramatically defecating on Tores. This establishes the tone for the rest of the movie: viscerally intense to the point of revulsion. At this lavish party — overfowing with sex, cocaine, fur and feathers — Tores meets LaRoy, still an unknown actress. He’s immediately captivated by LaRoy, even admitting, “te amo,” (I love you).

After catching the attention of a director, LaRoy soon achieves her dream of stardom, securing several lead roles in silent flms, her image plastered across billboards and magazines. But the machine of the flm industry charges forward towards sound. Tores is swept securely into the sound era with a new role as a producer at Kinescope, but LaRoy begins losing roles after being mocked for her voice. She seems to represent an unwanted remainder of the past silent era, considered far too raunchy for the sleeker Hollywood of the late 1920s.

Once the dominant male star of his time, Conrad, too, struggles to be taken seriously in sound flms. He even consults famed gossip and writer, Elinor St. John (Jean Smart), who forthrightly explains: When confronted by change, those in the spotlight are doomed to tragic ends, while the “cockroaches in the dark” survive. Tores thrives in his position as producer, but always yearns for LaRoy — even completing a whirlwind journey to the criminal underbelly of Los Angeles in an attempt to save her from the consequences of her gambling addiction. As the flm

“Babylon” gives a vivid take on the early days of the movie-making industry.

concludes, Tores escapes disaster, but LaRoy and Conrad (as foreshadowed) are indeed cursed to sufer a dramatic downfall.

In some ways, “Babylon” succeeds; the flm certainly benefts from its estimated $100 million budget and killer cast. Both Robbie and Calva deliver fantastic performances. In one striking scene, Robbie (as LaRoy) musters up fake tears on command about twenty times. Robbie is incredibly animated, transitioning from despair to elation with total ease — this kind of range is crucial for a turbulent character like LaRoy.

Calva, too, generates a resonant portrayal of Tores, a complicated character who faces a key dilemma: Can the “outsider” gain entry to the inside without sacrifce? As a producer and person of color in a distinctly prejudiced environment, Tores sometimes concedes his own integrity in order to succeed. In one heartbreaking scene, when directed

by a higher-up, Tores asks famous Black trumpet player Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo) to paint his face darker with black coal. Throughout the flm, Calva nails the complexities of this role, spurring both frustration and admiration from the audience.

“Babylon” also features frequent Chazzele collaborator Justin Hurwitz’s pulsating score, threading a sense of continuity throughout the entire flm. The upbeat trumpets and drums transport the viewer from one glittering scene to another; Chazelle expertly blends the sonic and visual elements of the flm. Each shot seems to revel in its own glory as “Babylon” transforms beauty into something ugly. LaRoy vomits at a party, all while draped in a pale-blue gown. A coiled snake later bites her on the neck. Blood drips onto the desert foor. Despite its eroticism, the movie is distinctly unromantic — even revolting.

The world of “Babylon” is all about

indulgence. Chazelle also indulges as a director — in noise, color and costume. The $100 million budget is put to good use. But indulgence without occasional restraint becomes inefective. Tiresome, even. The flm invests so much efort in its many party scenes while completely ignoring character development. Though Tores portrays as a fully-realized character, LaRoy and Conrad fall fat as overdone tropes. Despite Robbie’s best eforts, LaRoy feels like nothing more than the typical Hollywood party girl; I struggled to resonate with her character and felt no empathy at her strife. Conrad, too, is an empty echo of a clichéd movie star without any depth.

Without the proper scafolding — an emotional investment in the characters, proper pacing, a clearer focus — the dazzling stuf of “Babylon” defates into nothingness. As the flm continues, its endless shots of mansions and beautiful people seem to entirely lack soul. Who

cares? I wanted to sigh at scenes clearly intended to shock. The flm completely loses control over the efect of its own scenes, with an aching gap between the intended and actual impact of each moment.

Through “Babylon,” Chazelle explores several themes: decadence, moviemaking, even the concept of time itself. Victim to its own eagerness, “Babylon” ultimately fails to fully build upon any of these themes; there’s simply not enough time. I felt confused as to what the “point” of it all was. What exactly was Chazelle trying to say?

Perhaps the flm is quite like the ancient empire for which it is named: like Babylon itself, fated to collapse by way of its own ambition. But the bright fare of the flm as it crumbles itself to ruin — however disorganized— is undeniably thrilling to watch.

Rating: 

Before the Curtain: Week Four’s Arts on Campus

BY GIANNI TOTANI The Dartmouth Staff

Friday, Jan. 20

On Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m., the Hopkins Center will present “Till” in the Loew Auditorium. Directed by Chinonye Chukwu, the film follows the true story of Mamie Till Mobley’s search for justice for her son, Emmett Till. Starring Danielle Deadwyler, the film delves into Mobley’s grief following the tragedy, as well as her resilience in the wake of her son’s murder. The film will be followed by a discussion with Deborah Watts, Emmitt Till’s cousin and the co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation. Tickets are $5 for Dartmouth students and $8 for other attendees.

The Hood Museum will present

Conversations and Connections:

“MLK and the Dartmouth Legacy” in Dartmouth Hall 105 at 12:30 p.m. John Stomberg, Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961s Director of the Hood Museum and history professor Matthew Delmont will unveil John Wilson’s bronze sculpture, “Martin Luther King, Jr.” and lead a conversation about MLK’s legacy at Dartmouth.

Saturday, Jan. 21

At 7 p.m., the Hopkins Center will present the film “She Said” in the Loew Auditorium. The film stars Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as two New York Times reporters who expose Harvey Weinstein’s decades of abuse. The film explores the origins of the #MeToo movement and two journalists who sought to change the tradition of silence in Hollywood surrounding sexual abuse and assault. Tickets to the film are $5 for Dartmouth students and

$8 for other attendees.

Monday, Jan. 23

The Hopkins Center presents the Disabled Theater Workshop. Join Back to Back Theatre’s Bruce Gladwin and Simon Laherty in this free and unticketed workshop that provides attendees with a glimpse into their devising process. Back to Back Theatre is an Australian acting company that questions the assumptions we hold about one another and what is possible in theatre. The workshop begins at 3:30 p.m. in the Sudikoff Lab.

Join Back to Back Theatre Company as they present their provocative film “SHADOW,” which explores human rights, sexual politics and the approaching prominence of artificial intelligence. The film will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Loew Auditorium and will be followed by a conversation with the artists.

Tuesday, Jan. 24

Tarana Burke, the founder of the #MeToo movement, will be in the Filene Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. for a fireside chat moderated by Shontay Delalue, the College’s senior vice president and senior diversity officer. Burke is the 2023 MLK Keynote Speaker and aims to discuss her insight on building a more compassionate world. The event is free and will be streamed virtually for those who register on the Hopkins Center’s website.

Wednesday, Jan. 25

At 12:30 p.m., Nathan Savo ’24, Class of 1954 Intern at the Hood, presents his Space for Dialogue Gallery Talk: “Constructing the Ideal Soldier.” Savo emphasizes Mexico and

the United States in the early 20th century as he examines how artists have conveyed the image of the ideal soldier. Drawing upon themes of gender, sexual orientation and patriotism, the talk will identify certain purposes for creating the soldier figure. This event is open to the public and will take place in the Hood.

Thursday, Jan. 26

Co-sponsored by the Hood and the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship, composer and violinist Dana Lyn will deliver a short performance of her

piece, “The Ceremony That Never Was,” and audience members will view the series of paintings that inspired it. Afterwards, Lyn and Apple Hill, a year-long resident at the Hopkins Center aiming to spread chamber music throughout the Upper Valley, will discuss their music careers. “Social Entrepreneurship and the Arts with Apple Hill String Quartet” is open to the public and will begin at 5 p.m. in the Gilman Auditorium.

The Hood Museum will hold Maker Night: “Ink Reimagined” at 6 p.m. Participants will learn about

Korean ink painting through an examination of Park Dae Sung’s work and experiment with inks derived from natural materials. No studio experience is required, and the workshop is free. However, registration is required.

Join author Kimberly Olson Fakih as she reads “Miseries: This Is Not a Story About My Childhood” at 5:30 p.m. at Still North Books and Bar. The novel is set in Iowa and Minnesota in the 1960s and ’70s and explores growing up and family life. This event is free and open to all, and light snacks will be provided.

SAMANTHA BRANT/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

SPORTS

e Look Ahead: Week 4

BY CAROLINE YORK The Dartmouth Staff

Friday, Jan. 20

The Nordic ski team will travel to Ripton, Vermont to compete in Day One of the Saint Michael’s Carnival, starting at 9:30 a.m. The team competed at Bates Carnival — alongside alpine skiing — from Jan. 12-14. Dartmouth placed frst each of the frst two days before falling to second behind the University of Vermont on the fnal day of competition.

Women’s and men’s swimming and diving will both compete at home at the Tate Ramsden Invitational, starting at 5 p.m. The women’s side (1-6) recently fell to Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania by 272-25 and 231-62, respectively, and is seeking its frst win since a 135-97 win at Bates College. On Jan. 13 and 14, men’s swimming and diving (1-6) likewise lost to Yale and Penn at its last meet by 232-68 and 183-116, respectively.

Women’s hockey (5-14-0) will play against Union College (10-13-1) at home in Thompson Arena. The two teams last met on Nov. 5, when they ended in a 5-4 overtime win for Union.

Men’s hockey (2-15-1) will travel to Brown University for a 7 p.m. tilt with the Bears (7-10-2). The Big Green is seeking its frst win on the road this season. Dartmouth last played Brown on home ice on Nov. 5 and won in a shootout after the two teams played to a 2-2 tie after overtime.

Saturday, Jan. 21

The ski team will resume competition on the second day of the Saint Michael’s Carnival on Saturday morning, beginning at 10 a.m.

Men’s and women’s track will host Columbia University and Yale in Leverone Field House beginning at 10 a.m. Last week, at the Sufolk Ice Breaker Invitational, the men’s 4x400 team of Nils Wildberg ’23, Liam Murray ’26, Mason Childers ’25 and Karl-Oskar Pajus ’25 won their event and set a Dartmouth

program record with a time of 3:13.70.

Men’s and women’s swimming and diving will continue the Tate Ramsden Invitational beginning at 10 a.m. in the Karl Michael and Spaulding Pools.

Men’s and women’s squash will host Penn on the Berry Squash Courts at noon. The men’s and women’s teams, both 4-4, will both seek their frst Ivy League win of the season.

Women’s tennis will kick of its spring season with a home game against St. John’s University (0-2) at Boss Tennis Center beginning at noon. The team fnished last year’s season 7-13 overall and lost to St. John’s in Jan. 2022 by a score of 6-1.

Women’s basketball (2-17) will take on the Princeton University Tigers (125) in Leede Arena at 2 p.m. The team is looking to pick up its frst Ivy League win of the season after starting 0-5 in conference play, as well as to break its current 10-game losing streak.

Men’s basketball (7-12) will travel to New Jersey to play Princeton (13-5), also at 2 p.m. The Big Green currently sits at fourth in the Ivy League following back to back wins against Penn and Harvard University by a combined fve points.

Women’s hockey will play the second game of its weekend back-to-back at home against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (6-17-1) starting at 3 p.m.

Men’s hockey will travel from Rhode Island to New Haven, Connecticut on Saturday to play Yale (3-10-4) at 7 p.m.

The Big Green has played the Bulldogs twice already, winning both home game contests on Nov. 4 and Dec. 31 by scores of 6-0 and 4-3, respectively.

Sunday, Jan. 22

Men’s tennis (2-0) will host Binghamton University (0-2) beginning at noon at the Boss Tennis Center. The team kicked of its season last weekend with two matches against the United States Naval Academy and won 5-2 and 7-0.

Women’s and men’s squash will continue playing at home against Princeton University beginning at noon.

Mitchell-Day’s late-game block secures basketball comeback victory

BY WILL DEHMEL

It was a look that only athletes could understand. A look that possessed power largely because of how insignificant it seemed.

The look, after all, was at eye level — little movement was required. But as the 6’8” senior forward stood up to embrace his 6’8” freshman protégé, for a moment the silence and stillness vanished.

“You’re a shot blocker too, now,” Dame Adelekun ’23 told Brandon Mitchell-Day ’26, pulling him closer in a hug.

The two had finally escaped the clamor of Leede Arena, and the silence seemed a necessary respite after the thriller they had just starred in. 30 minutes earlier, Adelekun and Mitchell-Day’s success story — a 7571 victory over Ivy League preseason favorite the University of Pennsylvania — seemed improbable. But that was before Dartmouth clawed back from a 13-point deficit, and long before Mitchell-Day’s block at the 37-second mark ensured the fairytale came true. With 45 seconds remaining and six on the shot clock, Penn inbounded the ball down 72-71, hoping to keep its chances alive. The ball found its way to one Quaker; was passed to another; and then was hurled up as the shot clock expired.

That could’ve been the end — a Dartmouth rebound would have all but ensured it — but the ball found its way to the same Penn player who had shot it. He found his teammate, just feet from the basket, with a seemingly easy shot.

That was, of course, had MitchellDay not been lying in wait. The blocked shot bounced its way into Adelekun’s waiting hands, and Dartmouth made three of its next four free throws to lock up the Big Green victory.

“The block was terrific,” head coach David McLaughlin said. “What you see is what you get with him. That’s what he is. That’s how he practices every day. It’s complete energy, it’s reckless abandon — but in a good way — and he’s just gonna compete.”

The final score, 75-71, was Dartmouth’s largest lead of the

contest. In total, they held a lead for only three minutes of Saturday’s game. The score at the end, though, is all that matters.

The game started out close. Dartmouth led 34-32 with 5:15 remaining in the first half until Penn went on an 11-0 run to drive the score to 43-34 and its field goal percentage to 60.7%.

Dartmouth refused to enter halftime down nine, though. As time expired, Iziah Robinson ’24 hit a clutch threepointer to recapture some momentum and pull the deficit within six.

“I thought that was great,” McLaughlin said of Robinson’s three. “[Penn] ended the half on a little bit of a run, and that’s great momentum.”

A 5-0 Penn run stuck Dartmouth with a 13-point deficit just four minutes into the second. But Dartmouth quickly executed a scoring spurt of its own, scoring eight unanswered points to make the score 54-51 with 11:50 remaining.

In the second half, Penn shot just 31% from the field and 0-13 from behind the arc. Dartmouth’s 42.9% wasn’t elite, but it was enough, and in a game like Saturday’s, enough sufficed. “We were pretty clear with our message at halftime about what we needed to do defensively a little differently,” McLaughlin said. “[Our] goal was to protect the inside and to protect the three-point line… They make you defend both, and that’s a sign of a really good team.”

Adelekun, who scored 12 points and added six rebounds and two blocks, emphasized the Big Green’s toughness on the boards.

“We started playing really tough,” Adelekun said. “I was on the glass, [Mitchell-Day] was on the glass, [Cam Krystkowiak ’23] was on the glass, so it gave us the edge. And I feel like Penn was playing the guys for a lot of minutes.”

Adelekun could not have been more on point. Throughout the game, only six of Penn’s players contributed points compared with 10 of Dartmouth’s. In the end, the Big Green bench outscored Penn’s 28-5.

“Our coaches preach day in and day out that people have to be ready to step up,” Mitchell-Day said. “So

we just had the coaches giving us that confidence. giving us the tools and the things to execute of that nature is really what helps our bench be so productive… Everyone knowing their role is what helps our bench produce.”

Key to the Big Green’s second-half success was holding Penn’s Jordan Dingle, who ranks second in the nation and first in the Ivy League in points per game, to only 14 — his lowest scoring output of the season.

Dartmouth also held Clark Slajchert, the conference’s third leading scorer, to just eight points.

“You cannot stop players like that,” McLaughlin said. “There’s just — there’s no way to do it… They’re too talented, they run too many good actions…You just [have to] make it hard so they have to take difficult shots or [make] difficult decisions with the ball. And hopefully that wears on them throughout the game.”

Robinson, who was tasked with the job of guarding Dingle, played

phenomenally, holding him to just six shots in the first half.

Also significant to the Big Green victory was sophomore guard Ryan Cornish ’25, who scored 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and shot a perfect five for five on free throws. Mitchell-Day added 10 points to the total while Jackson Munro ’26 and Robinson each had nine.

The Big Green players said that they were looking to carry their momentum into Monday, when they played Harvard University at 2 p.m. in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“We definitely have a lot of confidence going in since the last time we played them and the large victory we had there,” Adelekun said, referencing the 76-54 victory on March 2 of last year. “I feel very confident.”

But Adelekun and the team will be missing something that was certainly valuable to them Saturday: The home crowd, which, 855-strong, was louder than ever.

“Our teammates are going to have to be our home crowd on the bench,” Mitchell-Day said. “We have to encourage each other, cheer for each other.”

That confidence proved valuable, as the Big Green pulled out a onepoint victory on the road. Dartmouth entered the second half up eight — and never trailed in the game — but had to fight off a ferocious late-game charge from the Crimson to secure the victory.

Dartmouth has now won two straight and three of its last four, advancing to third in the Ivy League with a conference record of 3-2 — the first time the Big Green has held that record or better through five games since the 2008-2009 season.

Dartmouth next takes the court on the road against Princeton University Jan. 21, and will look to carry its momentum from these close wins into a strong performance in New Jersey.

The Dartmouth Staff

A Guide to Thriving During Winter at Dartmouth

By Caroline Steib STORY

This story was originally published on Jan. 18, 2023.

I’m from New England, I have a February birthday and — evidently — I chose to go to college in New Hampshire. From these facts alone, one might assume that I’m prepared for or accustomed to harsh winters. The reality, however, is quite the opposite. In fact, I am overwhelmed by the prospect of my first winter at Dartmouth.

Don’t get me wrong — I am excited to experience the quintessential winterat-Dartmouth experience. Winter term is packed with seasonal festivities, from ice skating on the Green and doing the Polar Bear swim at Occom Pond to hitting the Skiway with friends on the weekends.

Still, for most students, Hanover winter can feel like a whole new ballgame.

The upperclassmen I heard from said they associated winters with being “cold,” “miserable,” “dark,” “depressing” and “having snow.” Hence, it seems that the subject of winter brings anxiety for many.

The statistics don’t lie. The cold season in Hanover generally lasts about 3.3 months. January, the coldest month of the year, sees an average low of 12 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 29 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Weather Spark. Additionally, the town braves an average monthly snowfall of 12.5 inches in January, days with only nine hours of daylight and wind speeds up to 6.8 miles per hour. Nevertheless, we are still expected to uphold the same degree of Dartmouth determination in our academic, social and extracurricular spheres that we usually pursue in less grueling, unpredictable conditions.

Ultimately, all of this begs the question: What can I do to not simply survive, but thrive this winter at Dartmouth? Here are six tips from

upperclassmen on how to make the most of 23W:

1. Invest in the right apparel Warmth, and thus happiness, starts with bundling up.

“You must cover every inch of your body in layers if you want to survive winter at Dartmouth,” Adam Tobeck ’25 said.

Gloves, hats, scarves, balaclavas, socks and turtlenecks should be just the first layer or foundation of your outfit.

Emily Schuster ’24 emphasized the importance of the outer layer, noting that Hanover winters are no fashion show.

“These cropped jackets I keep seeing are cute and all, but they aren’t functional. You hands-down need a parka that goes down to your knees,” she said.

2. Don’t self-isolate When the weather is terrible, it is natural to want to hibernate — and though it’s easier said than done, don’t always give into that temptation, Gina Miele ’24 said, highlighting the importance of continuing to socialize.

“Branch out with the same enthusiasm as you did during Orientation, for example, because surrounding yourself with people will help with some of the dreariness,” Miele encouraged.

3. Romanticize the indoors If you are giving in to self-isolation, however, you might as well make it as fun and relaxing as possible. If the outdoors isn’t exciting you, romanticize the indoors.

Kaia Reznicek ’23 said that she prioritizes intentionally working and hanging out in spaces that feel cozy to boost her mood.

“You might as well read a trashy book while drinking a heavily marshmallowed hot chocolate in your fuzzy pajamas

from sixth grade,” Reznicek said.

4. Make substitutions

A common theme among upperclassmen advice is that winter is all about substitutions. The great challenge of the winter is finding alternative ways to do what you want and enjoy.

“Substitute!” Reznicek urged. “Picnics on the Green for baking parties, Woccoms for cardboard sledding on the golf course, pickle ball for game or movie nights — stuff like that.”

5. Learn to appreciate the winter by buying in It’s not what you can do for winter,

but what winter can do for you. Annie

Michalski ’23 encouraged others to realize the importance of staying active both to boost your happiness and to capitalize on winter’s unique activities, such as sledding or skiing.

“It will give you a greater appreciation for the winter and the snow and the cold if you are participating and engaging in activities that are only available to you during this season,” Michalski said.

6. Give yourself grace

It is only natural that we won’t all feel our best throughout the entire winter. The shorter days and lack of sunlight causes seasonal depression, we are more prone to sickness, we have just as much academic stress and we

generally feel limited. All anyone can do is try to do good by themselves, mentally and physically. But if you’re feeling down, avoid kicking yourself over it. Give yourself grace and don’t let it get to you.

If you want some sort of tangible solution to such feelings, however, Amelia Devine ’25 recommends Sundown High Potency Zinc Gummies—30 mg per serving (found at your local CVS Pharmacy).

“Don’t freak out if the snow and cold and lack of light is getting to you some days,” Reznicek added. “That’s the unfortunate reality of a Hanover winter. All you can do is make the most of it, and who knows, this term may end up being one of your favorites.”

What’s in Your Cup? How Hot Drinks Warm Up the Season

By Mariel Fulghum STORY

This story was originally published on Jan. 18, 2023.

At any given college, on any given morning, there is a decided omnipresence of cafeinated drinks and bleary eyes. Campuses are fooded with cofee. Iced, hot, from Starbucks, homemade — or dorm-made, rather. The point is: you name a form of cafeine, you’ll probably see it.

Now, take Dartmouth, which happens to fall under the aforementioned category of “college,” meaning it has students who are — practically by defnition — tired. However, Dartmouth’s winter weather diferentiates itself from many colleges around the world.

It is cold here. Very cold.

Hanover winter has arrived, albeit with what seems like less force than usual.

Still though, it’s very chilly. Dartmouth’s 10-week term is always grueling, but add frigid New Hampshire temperatures onto that, and you are left with an especially exhausted and numb student population. How do Dartmouth students deal with this?

Cafeine, of course! Not just any kind, but the specifc form of cafeine that can warm our frozen hands and ease frazzled minds — we’re talking hot drinks.

As I enter my second Dartmouth winter, the mere thought of a term without hot drinks sends a chill down my spine.

Sure, no matcha oat milk latte means a

cold, uncafeinated Mariel. But for me, it is about more than the physical efects of hot drinks — I believe they do something for the soul.

Lara Roelofs ’25 said she agreed, adding that she enjoys “the experience of a drink more than the actual drink itself.”

For Roelofs, sipping a warm beverage can be helpful when she is feeling particularly sluggish, but she said she is only “a little bit addicted” to cafeine. Instead, she mainly makes hot drinks because she enjoys the calming ritual of creating and drinking them.

Roelofs said she is a cofee and tea connoisseur of sorts: She owns a french press and cofee grounds, as well as a collection of bagged teas and matcha

in her room. She says that she prefers a homemade drink, because after much experimentation, she’s nailed her goto recipes. Often, when she buys an expensive drink at a cafe, Roelofs said that it fails to measure up to what she makes at home, which is — as she so succinctly put it — “sad.”

Ellie McLaughlin ’25 has a diferent opinion on the debate of homemade versus purchased drinks — she said she needs cafeine to start her day, so she does make espresso in her room, but only for purely practical reasons.

“It’s not enjoyable,” McLaughlin said. “It’s straight espresso.”

She takes the espresso as a shot and then goes about her day. However,

McLaughlin added that she sometimes has a second cofee during the day, usually an espresso drink that she pays for, and she still appreciates the experience of a cafeinated drink.

This is the drink that she chooses for “the taste… the culture… the pausing to enjoy it.”

McLaughlin added that walking to Still North or Starbucks for a cofee is an experience “in its own sacred realm” as a moment away from the demands of schoolwork. Since going to a cafe isn’t one of her daily habits, something about it still feels novel and enjoyable, especially when accompanied by friends, she said. According to McLaughlin, the experience surrounding the purchase of a drink makes the relatively high cost worth it — to her, it is “money well spent.”

India Jones ’25 sits somewhere in the middle of this debate: She enjoys the experience of buying a cofee, but she doesn’t deny the benefts of a more costefective drink. When asked about her go-to winter drink, Jones immediately answered, “One Wheelock coffee, because it’s free.”

Jones added that she also likes making espresso and tea in the kitchen of the LLC where she lives, but that afordability is not the only aspect of cofee consumption worth considering.

She said that she drinks cofee for “taste and experience primarily. Cafeine sometimes.”

This is why Jones often fnds herself ordering a drink at Umpleby’s, a cafe and bakery in town.She said she likes the atmosphere to study or catch up with friends there, so it feels like she’s paying for that experience when she buys a cofee, which makes the cost worth it.

While it’s true that cafeinated drinks can function as a cure-all for Dartmouth students beaten down and tired out by a cold, fast-paced term, their cafeine content doesn’t seem to be all that is important. Rather, hot drinks allow for a pause. They provide the space for a mental break.

Whether students are creating elaborate drinks in their dorm or making the trek to Starbucks, one aspect of drinking a hot cofee seems to stay the same — it’s not really about the cofee itself after all.

BEAM LERTBUNNAPHONGS/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF