The Dartmouth 03/03/2023

College officials reflect on state of active shooter preparedness

messaging ready to go” in DartAlert — the College’s emergency notification system — that would go to students’ phones, Swartz said.

Dartmouth Student Government member Nicolás Macri ’24 said that he does not think students “really know” how to respond to mass shooting events and sees “spreading awareness” as a central role for DSG. According to Macri, DSG has not discussed Dartmouth’s preparedness for a school shooting with College administrators. However, he noted that this term, the College created a spot on its Emergency Planning Group for a DSG member.

BY jacob Strier and Zander Kurita

The Dartmouth Senior Staff

This article was originally published on March 2, 2023.

In response to the Feb. 13 shooting at Michigan State University — which claimed three victims’ lives and injured five others — The Dartmouth connected with Safety and Security and the Hanover Police department to learn more about the College’s preparation for active shooter incidents.

Since a 2018 off-campus shooting incident — which resulted in the injury of a non-Dartmouth student and a multi-hour lockdown — Safety and Security director Keysi Montás said that Safety and Security has been working to stay aware of the latest best practices in emergency response. Currently, Montás said the College does not offer mandatory active shooter training or required lockdown drills.

Campus emergency response manager Ron Swartz said that employees and students in the MSU

shooting “helped save themselves” based on trainings that MSU and other universities have been “giving for years.” Swartz said that the concepts of self-protection are the same in any active shooter situation: get out of harm’s way until police can arrive to take the offender into custody.

Swartz said that part of the “fear and confusion” in the MSU shooting involved the spread of false information online, which traveled faster than the university could spread accurate information to the campus population.

“The hard part is for the College to get out accurate information in the first moments,” Swartz said.

For notification systems at the College, Montás said the College has a campus-wide emergency siren, which signals that there is an emergency on campus and is meant to prompt students and community members to seek out more information on their phones and computers. The College tests its campus-wide emergency sirens each year, according to Montás and Swartz.

The College has “pre-scripted

Ski mountaineering race to celebrate life of Christopher Bustard ’10

“The Emergency Planning Group is not just about mass shootings, but any kind of emergency situation that the College would need to respond to,” Macri said.

Hanover Police captain James Martin said that Hanover Police works with Safety and Security to provide some “general safety” training during new student orientation. Montás wrote in a follow-up email that this training involves a safety video covering how to report incidents and how to stay safe at Dartmouth.

Swartz said that though conversations about “scary situations” like active shooters can cause fear among students, it is important to get people thinking about emergency response scenarios.

“We try to come at it from a proactive position,” Swartz said. “It is happening in the news regularly and we want you to be thinking about this.”

According to the College website and Swartz, Safety and Security is currently providing emergency response trainings — which includes active shooter response — to any

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week sheds light on lack of resources for disordered eating

BY Charlotte Hampton The Dartmouth Staff

National Eating Disorder Awareness

Week is from Feb. 27 to March 5, and the College’s “underfunded” nutrition team is honoring the week with table tents on tabletops in ’53 Commons and a session of body positive yoga run by the Student Wellness Center, according to eating disorders campus advocate Elizabeth Rudnick ’23.

The general dearth of programming is due to a lack of resources for nutrition at the College, according to Dartmouth Peak Performance sports dietician Beth Wolfgram. Wolfram is the only dietician on campus available for students and student-athletes, she said.

“There’s only one of me and there’s like 5,000 people, so the resources are really spread thin,” Wolfgram said. “We’re not doing a ton for this particular week… We can’t be everything.”

The yoga class, “Love Your Body,” occurred on Feb. 28 and was organized by the Student Wellness Center. The class was “inspired by the fact that many disordered eating treatment and relapse prevention plans use yoga as an adjunct to traditional treatments,” director of SWC Caitlin Barthelmes wrote in an email statement.

They plan on continuing to ofer the class for the rest of year, according to Barthelmes. SWC also complied a one-page resource guide with links to information on intuitive eating and seeking treatment on campus.

Rudnick said she was disappointed with the lack of programming, citing Dartmouth’s higher-than-average levels of disordered eating. A 2018 Dartmouth Health survey found that 81% of Dartmouth students said they were concerned they engaged in disordered eating, 30% worried they had lost control over food intake and 17% said food dominated their life.

“I do think the College should be doing more — they should be bringing awareness to this,” Rudnick said. “It’s obviously not something that we can brush to the side.”

Accessing disordered eating resources from Dick’s House is difcult, Rudnick said, adding that Wolfgram — who specializes in sports nutrition — has more work than one

person can handle.

“Her primary job is to work with athletes, and I think that it would make much more sense for Dartmouth to have another nutritionist whose primary job is to work with students sufering from eating disorders,” Rudnick said.

Wolfgram, Rudnick and Dartmouth

Dining Services nutritionist Beth Rosenberger agreed that the high number of eating disorders at Dartmouth comes from what Rudnick calls a “perfectionist mentality” common among high achieving students. Eating disorders can be used as a way to exert control over neglected feelings of anxiety and stress — which “speaks to other issues of mental health at Dartmouth,” Rudnick said.

Greek life at Dartmouth can also have complicated impacts on disordered eating, according to Rudnick. She said that the rush process is when students have the “most harmful thoughts” around body image. It’s easy to feel alienated from a house when you “don’t look like everyone” in terms of size, she added.

However, some Greek houses do sometimes host discussions on body positivity and can form a supportive network for people in recovery, Rudnick said.

These discussions are essential because problematic language about food exists all around Dartmouth’s campus, Rudnick said. She added that certain messaging encourages restrictive eating behaviors in ’53 Commons, with posters containing phrases like “Take less, waste less,” “eat less RED meat” and “Manage your portion size.” Rudnick said she advocated for replacing these phrases with “food neutral” statements, and worked with Rosenberger to come up with alternative mantras including “Embrace food as fuel,” “Honor your hunger” and “Respect your fullness.”

“It really raised awareness on how I needed to rephrase things,” Rosenberger said. “[Students] don’t even like this ‘Eat less red meat,’ because, in their mind, in recovery, they are trying to eat a whole variety of foods and not restrict themselves in any way.”

Chemistry department laboratory technical manager Jean Carlan, whose child

BY ADRIANA JAMES-RODIL

The Dartmouth Staff

This article was originally published on Feb. 28, 2023.

Christopher Striz Bustard ’10 MEM’14

— an avid ski mountaineering, or “skimo” racer — died on Dec. 29 at 34 years old after he was hit by a car in Sarasota, Florida while on a neighborhood run, according to his obituary. All who knew him remember him as a kind-hearted individual and lover of the outdoors. In celebration of his life, the Dartmouth Skiway is hosting a memorial snow race and relay called the Chris Bustard Memorial Snow Race on March 19.

While he was a student at the College, Bustard was a part of the Dartmouth Outing Club, Wind Ensemble, lightweight crew team and a brother of the Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity, according to his obituary. He is survived by his parents David and Elaine Bustard, wife Kate Lyon Bustard ’05 and son Theodore “Teddy” Bustard.

Kate and Bustard met at the College in 2013 while Kate was visiting friends and Bustard was completing the Master of Engineering Management program at Thayer School of Engineering. The couple was married in 2017 at the Dartmouth Outing Club House in Hanover, and moved back to the Upper Valley in 2021 after the birth of their son, according to the obituary.

“He always enjoyed outdoor activities, and he learned to ski at Dartmouth freshman year,” Kate said. “He had never skied before because he grew up in Florida, and he absolutely loved it. Winter was his favorite season. He was one of those people who was hoping it would snow all of the time.”

She added that Bustard would “throw himself” into activities by researching gear techniques, speaking with other people and asking questions.

“He would naturally build up communities that way,” Kate said.

Director of business operations at Whaleback Mountain Alex Lahood, who met Bustard at Tuesday Night Uphill Races last winter, also attested to Bustard’s athletic prowess.

“He was an incredible athlete, crushed the race course every night and was a really nice and caring person,” Lahood said. “He absolutely blew away every other time out there on the course each night.”

After learning to ski, Bustard immersed himself in telemark and backcountry skiing, and ultimately skimo racing.

“Because he did a lot of outdoor activities and built these communities, I think this has really hit those people in particular because this kind of thing happens a lot, unfortunately,” Kate said. “Cyclists and runners are hit by cars all the time. It’s a really, really sad story because he was a guy who was really passionate about all the things that he did, and he was known in these communities.”

The cost to participate in the memorial race is $35 for the shorter one lap race and $55 for the longer three-lap course. $25 of the entry fee will be donated to Teddy’s 529 college savings plan, according to the Ice Coast Skimo website. Additional donations can be made to the family’s

GoFundMe page.

“When you lose your partner, your whole life really changes — everything from fnancially to [losing] the support of raising a child together,” Kate said. “It kind of feels like we’re really on our own at times, but there have been all these wonderful people that knew Chris, some that I’ve never even met, that are reaching out to say, ‘I love Chris, and I was really inspired by him, and we want to do anything we can to show that love.’”

Fellow skimo racer Edward Warren, who described Bustard as a “diehard talented racer,” said the skimo community was “devastated” after Bustard’s death and wanted to do something special to honor him.

“He was known [by] everybody as being an upbeat, fun loving, king-hearted guy that loved to participate and push himself and do so in a positive way that built others up as well,” Warren said.

The race is organized by Jonathan Sheftz, who runs races in the Northeast and will serve as race director for the event. According to Warren, Bustard competed in some of these races. Sheftz added that the Dartmouth Skiway “generously” ofered to waive the typical entry fees to the slopes, allowing Bustard’s family to put all proceeds toward Teddy’s fund.

“I hope that the March 19 race will be a ftting way to honor his memory, while also accommodating skimo racers, [skiers] of all sorts, snowshoers and liftserved skiers/riders, whether competitive or more recreational,” Sheftz wrote in an email statement. “I know that Chris would have been game to be out there getting after it no matter what — he would want us to [do] the same to honor his memory.”

According to the Ice Coast Skimo website, the race is “family and frst-timer friendly,” and participants can enter as solo racers or as a part of a team relay with a maximum of six people.

“A fun, silly, but ‘push yourself really hard’ type of event that didn’t take itself too seriously was the right way to further build this community that he was a part of and loved so much,” Warren said of the event planning.

Warren added that in their promotion of the memorial race, the organizers reached out to other groups Bustard was a part of, such as the trail running community. Meaghan Holmes, a friend of Bustard’s through trail running, has been promoting the event among mutual runner friends.

“They’ve done a wonderful job trying to make sure that it’s accessible to a lot of people who Chris has touched athletically, but maybe [do] not necessarily have that background [in skiing],” Holmes said. “That’s just who Chris was, too. He was very welcoming.”

Kate said her family is “grateful” to the planners and participants of the memorial race.

“I think he was an inspiration to a lot of people,” Kate said. “It’s a way to give back and honor his memory. I think it’s really important and really beautiful.”

According to Bustard’s obituary, a separate Celebration of Life for Bustard will take place this spring in New Hampshire.

ANGELINA SCARLOTTA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

DOC hosts second annual outdoor inclusivity conference

Lab re breaks out at Geisel Medical School, no injuries reported

BY THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

This article was originally published on Feb. 26, 2023.

A fire broke out in an unoccupied lab in Remsen Building, a building in the Geisel School of Medicine, early on Sunday morning. The building is temporarily closed for repair from smoke and water damage, according to a College press release.

According to a press release from Hanover fire chief Martin McMillan, the fire department was dispatched at 7:10 a.m. in response to an automated fire and waterflow alarm on the seventh floor of Remsen. The fire department arrived at the site at 7:15 a.m.

“The fire was quickly extinguished, however the lab sustained significant smoke and water damage,” McMillan wrote. Upon arrival, the alarm was

upgraded to a “structure fire assignment,” meaning the fire involved structural components of the building. When the firefighters located the source of the fire in the lab, they encountered “near zero visibility conditions” and several sprinklers were triggered, McMillan wrote. No civilians or firefighters were injured at the site and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation. Hanover firefighters were assisted by members of the Lebanon, Hartford, Canaan, Norwich and Lyme fire departments.

According to the College, Geisel Dean Duane Compton’s office emailed Geisel faculty, staff and students to alert them that the building was closed because of the fire. Vail Building, which is adjoined to Remsen, as well as the adjacent Kellogg Hall will reopen on Monday. These buildings were also closed briefly on Sunday to assess potential damage.

BY Emilia Williams

The Dartmouth

This article was originally published on Feb. 28, 2023.

The second annual All Outside conference — the Dartmouth Outing Club’s annual conference on equity and inclusion in the outdoors — ran from Feb. 22 to Feb. 26. The conference was hosted by the Diversity, Inclusion, Justice & Equity division of the DOC — a sub-club that focuses on making the DOC “more welcoming and accessible to all,” according to their website — and was organized by Diane Chen ’26, Grace Connolly ’25 and Fiona Hood ’26. The event consisted of outdoor skill sessions, speakers, discussions, a dinner and beginnerfriendly outdoor trips, Hood said.

The conference kicked off with a pizza dinner in One Wheelock, where Michael Burns ’26 spoke about All Outside’s goals of fostering inclusivity for marginalized communities and attendees discussed their experiences with inclusivity in the outdoors. All Outside also included beginner skills sessions that provided an opportunity for participants to learn how to complete tasks such as tying knots or packing a frame pack.

“On one side, we’re trying to get people who are already super involved with the DOC to reflect on how the DOC might not be the most inclusive place ever, and how we can make it a more inclusive place,” Chen said. “The flip side of that is we wanted to engage people who aren’t involved in

the DOC at all to try to show up [and] try to get more involved because the outdoors has a lot to offer.”

The conference’s speaker lineup included Mardi Fuller — the first Black person to hike all 48 of New Hampshire’s high peaks in winter

— social justice researcher KangJae Lee, outdoors leader and teacher Brittany Leavitt and Indigenous peoples advocate Rich Holschuh.

Each speaker focused on a different aspect of increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in outdoor spaces.

According to Chen and Hood, Fuller spoke on the importance of racial equity in the outdoors and how white supremacy obstructs access to nature. According to Chen, Holschuh hosted a discussion on Saturday titled “Place Matters: Stories from the Land” about the language, culture and land of the Abenaki — the Indigenous tribe on whose land Dartmouth sits. In her event, Leavitt spoke about creating pathways allowing everyone to access the outdoor industry.

In his talk, Lee discussed how current unequal access to the outdoors can be traced to historical patterns of racial injustice. He said that it is important to consider “whose history we learn and are taught” in schools, and how that defines the narrative about the parks system in the United States. He also discussed how leaders of color in the outdoors have been historically overlooked, calling for “more environmental and parks leaders of color” as a solution to disparities.

“How can we make natural

environments more accessible for a large amount of people in our country? This is something that we always need to wrestle with for the next years to come,” Lee said.

Maya Beauvineau ’26, who attended Lee’s event, said the talk helped to fill an educational gap.

“[It was] a great first step for dismantling these systems of segregation and inequity in access to national parks since there is a general lack of education about it,” Beauvineau said. “We just need to talk about how the lack of accessibility is systemic and has its roots in history.”

According to Hood, All Outside’s goal has been to continue the work of last year’s inaugural conference by improving access to the outdoors among underrepresented communities. Chen added that the planners aim to build a sustainable model for the conference that they can reproduce every year.

The conference also included an outdoor gear raffle and beginnerfriendly trips hosted by a variety of sub-clubs within the DOC, such as a hike on Gile Mountain and a winter skills session at Mount Cardigan, according to the conference website.

All Outside concluded with a home-cooked feed on Sunday evening, which gave attendees an opportunity to reflect on the events and activities of the conference, Chen said.

“The reasoning behind having a conference … [is that it is] a culmination of conversations we’ve been having and more of a physical event that people outside of the club can come to,” Chen said.

Safety and Security, Hanover Police coordinate for emergency protocols

FROM PREPAREDNESS

community member “on request.”

Swartz said that the current optional trainings are based on the “avoid, deny, defend” model — an active threat response strategy developed at Texas State University in 2002 — and Safety and Security will cater training based on the specific workspace.

“In a lot of situations like a library, people are out in the open,” Swartz said. “For them to go to a place and hide is more of a challenge, so we have to think of each individual classroom or space as a refuge spot. [It] comes down to using the space you are already in to close the door and barricade. The first option, of course, is to run, and know where the nearest exits are.”

Montás added that at Dartmouth, all buildings have different doors and hardware, including classrooms with and without accessible locks. This infrastructure makes it “almost impossible” for professors and classroom occupants to be trained about how to lock a classroom in an emergency, he said.

Swartz said that the only way for a professor to safely secure a room or office is to barricade it from the inside, using tables and chairs up against the door to prevent an intruder from entering.

“Even if you lock a door with the flip of a switch, the intruder could be an employee with a key,” Swartz said. “We don’t always assume that the person does not have a key,”

Montás said that Safety and Security does not consider a campuswide lockdown drill to be an effective measure.

of resources on nutrition revealed during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

FROM AWARENESS

had an eating disorder, said that lack of aid for eating disorders and ignorance in the feld of health isn’t specifc to Dartmouth. She said that the most robust support she ever found during her family’s challenges relating to eating disorders was in a Facebook group.

“I wish the pediatricians and the therapists and the nutritionists all had a good understanding of how to best help people,” Carlan said. “A lot of them are really locked into diet culture and would say things like, ‘Oh, don’t worry, we’re not going to make you fat’ to my kid.”

Everyone interviewed agreed that in future years the College should organize more robust programming to honor the week.

believes that Dartmouth Dining is hesitant to publicize this option because they’re afraid of students “abusing” it.

Carlan said she will continue to advocate for other changes on the Dartmouth campus related to eating disorder awareness. She and Rudnick both tried to convince the administration to light up Dartmouth Hall and the Collis Center in blue and green to celebrate the week, but were both turned down.

“It is logistically almost impossible to do a drill that involves the entire community,” Montás said. “We are most effective as we go in small groups.”

Montás said that he believes if students are not requesting training on their own, they will not participate when the College mandates a lockdown drill. Montás added that, to his knowledge, there are no universities with mandated lockdown drills.

Swartz added that he believes most arriving students at Dartmouth would have high school experience with active shooter drills. After previously working at the University of Alaska, Swartz said that there were no standardized lockdown drills throughout the university’s 16 campuses.

In an active shooter situation, Montás said that Safety and Security would rely on law enforcement for a primary response and to neutralize any threat. In the meantime, Montás said that Safety and Security officers would work to secure the area and assist those exiting.

“We will cordon off the area best we can, have law enforcement who are trained in tactical response to come in and neutralize the threat,” Montás said.

Martin said that Hanover police’s main priority is to “neutralize the threat” in an active shooter situation. If that is not possible, Martin said police strategy involves containment of the threat and encouraging safe evacuation of victims.

Martin said that on campus, Hanover police trains with Safety and Security, and new officers spend a shift working with Safety and Security to

become “oriented” with Dartmouth’s campus.

According to Montás, the College has mutual agreements with neighboring law enforcement agencies from Lyme, Lebanon, Enfield and statewide response teams to respond in an active shooter situation. He said that Hanover can get a “good core” of law enforcement response on campus within minutes despite its rural location, including additional support from large departments in Vermont.

Martin said he believes that Hanover police has become better equipped to deal with active shooter threats since 2018. Over the past year, he said that the department has updated tactical and medical equipment for emergency responses, including providing a CPR AED update and tactical medical training to officers, including the use of tourniquets and different methods of “tactical medical care.”

Montás said that there is always room for improvement. Both Montás and Swartz said that the College is working to update “access control systems” for various buildings to improve the College’s ability to lock doors from the outside in an emergency.

Martin said that the department is on high alert for the possibility of emergency incidents and that preparation for shooting events is of the “highest priority” for the department.

“We are focused on providing a safe, secure environment for our students,” Martin said. “So, we do training with our public schools in town as well — the elementary school, the high school and of course Dartmouth.”

Rudnick mentioned raising awareness around how students can use their meal plan when they’re in recovery as one potential avenue. Dartmouth Dining has an app through which students can arrange to have a large number of small meals prepared for them throughout the day, which is common when returning from an eating disorder, she said. However, Rudnick added that she

Carlan said she wants to host a walk or panel discussion to spark conversation about eating disorders and will continue to host her anti-diet book club to change the narrative around food. She also suggested including “size equity” — as in treating every body type with respect — in diversity training. Rudnick suggested forming a student group against eating disorders as a more permanent source of advocacy.

“[Size equity] should look like breaking down the ways that we discriminate against fat people,” Carlan said. “... If we can be more fat-accepting, we decrease the occurrences of eating disorders and we decrease their length and their chronicity.”

Lack

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX WELLS

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELIZABETH RUDNICK

Verbum Ultimum: Better Safe an Sorry

Dartmouth must be proactve and thorough when it comes to establishing its emergency response protocols.

Cooking is an Increasingly Underrated and Imperative Skill

For a happier and healthier America, we must re-emphasize the importance of learning how to cook.

This article was originally published on March 2, 2023.

On Feb. 13, tragedy struck Michigan State University when a gunman killed three students and injured fve others. This shooting, just like dozens of others in schools across America, highlighted the shortcomings of MSU’s emergency response plan — including that students were not notifed of the threat for nearly 15 minutes, leading to rampant spreading of misinformation about the threat.

Unfortunately, recent reporting by The Dartmouth shows that our emergency response plan is fimsy at best in the face of threats to campus safety. For example, the College does not provide its students with comprehensive emergency training to prepare for active shootings. What training it does provide is only available “on request.” In fact, campus emergency response manager Ron Swartz said that he expects students to rely on active shooter training they received in high school. Such shortfalls in emergency preparedness systems must be addressed.

The College’s lack of emergency preparedness training is, politely, both embarrassing and frightening. While most students — at least those who went to school in the U.S. — may have experienced active shooter training in school, that training took place anywhere from one to four years ago. What’s more, many of the thousands of faculty and staf who attended grade school prior to the turn of the century and the 1999 Columbine High School shooting did not receive training on what to do in active shooter situations.

Dartmouth — a campus where some buildings have stood for over a century — has also not invested in the infrastructure needed to protect its community. For example, while some buildings and rooms such as dorms can only be accessed using ID card readers, not all spaces currently utilize the same technology. Once inside a building, not all rooms lock in the same way, if at all. Sure, doors can be barricaded in an emergency, as Safety and Security director Keysi Montás told The Dartmouth. However, without any training, how can students and faculty be expected to know this?

And we aren’t just concerned about a mass shooting hitting campus: Campus preparedness for other emergencies — like fres and natural disasters — is also sorely lacking. While the steps to take if the fre alarm goes of seem clear — get out — what to do when there is no easy way out seems to be on the back burner for preparedness eforts. As we saw when the recent polar vortex swept through town, much of the College’s infrastructure is not able to endure extreme weather events. When temperatures dropped below -30 degrees Fahrenheit this term, many students struggled

above 50 degrees to old windows that let the cold inside, the state of many buildings are ill-prepared for extreme weather.

Moreover, when there are emergencies such as assaults, fres or other threatening incidents on or around campus, the College oftentimes fails to provide students with all of the relevant details or are notifed only after the threat has disappeared. For instance, when South Asian graduate students were verbally harassed and physically assaulted this past fall, students were not notifed of the threat until a day after the incident. What’s more, hesitancy to release the racialized nature of the incident failed to inform students of color that they could have been at risk of a racist attack. These decisions prevented students from taking actions to protect themselves, such as avoiding the area or being on high alert for people matching the suspect’s description.

We recognize the anxiety that these events — the shooting at MSU, the racist attack in Hanover, the threat of some other emergency — may bring to members of the Dartmouth community. We do not write this with the intent to sow fear among the masses. Instead, we demand that the College prepare its students, faculty and staf for events that are unfortunate but real possibilities. What does this look like? First and foremost, Dartmouth must communicate a plan of action on how to respond to campus threats with community members. We already have the channels with which to do this: Students could receive explicit training during New Student Orientation or in foor meetings with their undergraduate advisors, and faculty and staf can be assigned mandatory webinars similar to those they must already complete for their jobs. Dartmouth must also make a targeted efort to bring all of its buildings online with consistent, reliable infrastructure to tackle security, heating and other safety issues. Sure, this approach will take a great deal of money to pull of — but shouldn’t the College be willing to spend big to ensure student safety?

Altogether, it is imperative that the College invest more time and resources into strengthening its emergency response protocols and infrastructure. We cannot approach emergency response planning with a lackadaisical attitude — we must be proactive and thorough to ensure that we minimize the harm incurred in such situations. We urge the College to refect on its current emergency response systems and address many of the current shortcomings. After all, especially during emergencies, it is much better to be safe than sorry.

The editorial board consists of opinion staf columnists, the

U.S. citizens are some of the busiest people in the world. Workaholism, anxiety and packed schedules defne most of our lives. Alongside being either fulltime students or employees, many of us strive to keep up with a long list of hobbies, maintain friendships and stay connected with our families. It’s no secret that we’re experiencing a social epidemic. According to the American Psychological Organization, 27% of Americans describe themselves as stressed to the point that they can’t even function. An extremely anxious society naturally has a hard time maintaining and sustaining a balanced lifestyle. As most are aware, living in this “go-go-go” mode every single day comes with signifcant trade-ofs. For many, this takes the form of sacrifcing the time it takes to cook meals for oneself. However, it may be easier to incorporate cooking into daily routines than we think.

If you’re anything like me, you probably grew up with parents who had full-time jobs and never cooked meals, instead relying on frozen entrees and whatever fresh fruits and vegetables were on hand. Don’t get me wrong — I am extremely thankful for my parents, who immigrated to the United States for the purpose of giving my siblings and I a better life. They do, however, epitomize the normalized trend of depending on processed “TV dinners” to save time. This isn’t to say that there aren’t higher quality, fully prepared frozen meals available, but unfortunately those tend to be pricier and less accessible. Until very recently, my perception had been that cooking is an extremely difcult and time-consuming skill to acquire, which surveys fnd to be a widespread belief among Americans. However, in order for a meal to be nutritious it certainly doesn’t have to take two hours and be made fully from raw ingredients. I am a proponent of pre-cut frozen or fresh vegetables, pre-cooked canned staples and salad kits.

Though many dishes may sound complicated and time-consuming to prepare, once learned, they are actually relatively simple and require minimal time and efort. For example, some breakfast options that come to mind include overnight oats, banana pancakes, omelets and vegetable quesadillas. Easy lunches can consist of simple soups, burrito bowls, stir-frys, colorful salads, grain bowls and even smoothies. Achievable and tasty dinners — my personal favorite meal of the day — can encompass anything from homemade pizzas, baked stufed cabbage rolls and hearty stews,

to coconut chickpea curry with naan, sweet potato sliders, marinated mushrooms and tofu bufalo bites. Nonetheless, many people, like my parents, never took time to learn how to cook these kinds of simple meals that have balanced macronutrients and are packed with nourishing vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

During my of term, I’ve been trying to challenge my parents’ perception of how long it takes to make a decent, delicious meal compared to just heating something up in the oven. I discovered that my personal preparation and cooking time ranged from 15-45 minutes from start to fnish. The average amount of time that Americans spend cooking per day is 37 minutes, so I was pretty close. When I started timing myself, I was quite surprised at the relatively little amount of time it took to prepare meals for myself. My previous belief that cooking for yourself takes at least an hour was shattered. Of course, with more practice making a dish, the faster the process got for me. My parents’ frozen pizzas and lasagnas were challenged quite soundly — and now my family gets giddy when I’m in charge of dinner.

Still, carving out those 15-45 minutes was admittedly difcult at frst. Surveys also show that fnding that time is one of the biggest burdens that people use to justify not cooking for themselves. As a student with a full schedule, I highly empathize with that. By the time dinner rolls around, it’s quite understandable to just eat “instant” foods, snacks or a microwavable dinner. However, if we all collectively decide that it’s worth weaning of of constantly getting takeout and relying on frozen entrees, we all would be much happier and healthier on many levels. Even if we only made a few dinners for ourselves each week, the overall well-being of Americans would skyrocket. In fact, we recently saw a glimpse of this COVID-19 lockdown: A 2021 study found that psychological well-being increased with greater participation in culinary activities.

In the hectic world we live in today, fnding some semblance of balance sounds nearly impossible for a lot of us without a signifcant amount of efort. The last thing we need is another thing on our plates — pardon the pun — and being mindful of including home-cooked meals into our day sounds overwhelming. However, with little changes, it becomes a habit that will barely need any thinking to incorporate into our lifestyles. When you begin cooking for yourself, not only does your risk for serious illnesses go down, but on top of the physical health benefts, it’s a great way to express your creativity, de-stress, sharpen our minds, boost your confdence and take care of yourself.

‘Umbra’ brings contemporary student-written theater to community

BY ELLE MULLER

The Dartmouth Senior Staff

This article was originally published on Feb. 27, 2023.

On Sunday, Feb. 19, Dartmouth and Upper Valley community members fled into Sawtooth Bar and Kitchen to see “Umbra,” the student-written one-act festival. Dartmouth’s Displaced Theater Company selected four contemporary one-acts to be performed in its frst annual one-act festival.

“Umbra” included four one-acts titled “Carrot Cake” — written by Jordan Paf ’23 and directed by Eva Hymes ’25, “Quantum Cafe” — written by Ore James ’25 and directed by Maggie MacDonald ’23, “Infatable Heart” — written and directed by Kamila Boga ’25 and “Heliotrope” — written by Kabir Mehra ’26 and directed by Eda Naz Gokdemir ’25.

Displaced Theater Company is an interview-based student-led theater company that was revived spring 2022 by Boga and Hymes, as well as Gwendolyn Roland ’25 and Annabel Everett ’25. Boga said that Displaced Theater’s refounding was rooted in a desire for contemporary theater spaces on campus.

“We felt that what was lacking [in the theater department] was contemporary theater,” Boga said. “We felt that the plays chosen by the theater department, while contemporary, weren’t especially relevant to the culture of Dartmouth and the things that we found inspiring and exciting and terrifying about performing.”

For its winter one-act festival “Umbra,”

Hymes emphasized Displaced Theater’s goal was to maximize opportunities for Dartmouth students by selecting their original shows — something Displaced Theater had never done before.

Boga said the group wanted to create more opportunities for playwrights on campus — explaining that the original idea of a student-written one-act festival began in the spring of 2022.

“I feel like there’s not enough opportunities for playwrights on campus, in general,” Boga said. “We have the Frost Dodd competition, but that’s only once a year…I just felt like we were missing something on campus… I thought it would be good to do something yearly, just as something diferent.”

On Jan. 6, Displaced Theater closed its student submissions for “Umbra.”

With no theme, the only guideline for submissions was a page limit of 20 pages. MacDonald said the decision to have no theme for the festival was intentional.

“We didn’t really want to limit ourselves to genre... [we] ended up choosing the ones that spoke to us the most...I feel like they end up kind of talking well with one another,” MacDonald said.

Although there was no theme, Hymes emphasized that Displaced Theater wanted to focus on issues that do not normally surface in college sponsored shows. The one-act plays chosen for “Umbra” dealt with concepts of abuse and alcoholism.

According to Boga and MacDonald, the one-act plays had about two weeks of rehearsals after they were selected; each one-act had a diferent rehearsal

Before the Curtain: Arts on Campus Week 10

BY ELLE MULLER

The Dartmouth Senior Staff for general admission and $5 for students.

Friday, March 3

The Hopkins Center for the Arts will be showing the fve 2023 Oscar nominated nonfction short flms at 7 p.m. in Loew Auditorium. These include “The Elephant Whisperers,” “Haulout,” “How Do You Measure a Year?,” “The Martha Mitchell Efect” and “Stranger at the Gate.” Tickets are available on the Hopkins Center’s website for $8 for general admission and $5 for students.

Pretty Filthy, a musical about the pornography industry, is coming to Wilson 301 at 8 p.m. The musical is directed by Katie Orenstein ’22 with Daniel Lin ’23 as musical director. The show will also be performed on Saturday, March 4 at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and on Monday, March 6 at 8 p.m. The performance has sold out but, according to the Hopkins Center website, free tickets may be available at Wilson 301 at showtime.

New Nile Orchestra, which plays Ethiopian Afro-Pop, is performing at Sawtooth Kitchen at 9 p.m. with doors opening at 8 p.m. Kifu Kidane leads the New Nile Orchestra, singing and dancing to traditional Ethiopian songs and melodies. Before creating the Vermont-based ensemble, Kidane previously performed with the Ethiopian National Theatre. Tickets are available on the Sawtooth website or at the door for $15.

Saturday, March 4

The Hopkins Center will be showing the “TÁR” at 7 p.m. in Loew Auditorium. The flm follows Lydia Tár, the frst chief female conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. As Tár prepares to record a career-defning work by Gustav Mahler, her grip on both her professional and personal life begins to slip. The flm was frst shown as a part of the Telluride flm festival at Dartmouth and is back by popular demand. Tickets are available on the Hopkins Center’s website for $8

Sunday, March 5

The Dartmouth Dance Ensemble will be performing their work-in-progress showing at 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in Straus Dance Studio in Alumni Gym.

Directed by John Heginbotham, the ensemble will be sharing their new work. Tickets are free and can be reserved on the Hopkins Center website.

The Hopkins Center will be showing the flm “Babylon” at 4 p.m. in Loew Auditorium. The film follows the euphoric rise and crushing fall of two young talents in the silent flm industry. Tickets are available on the Hopkins Center’s website for $8 for general admission and $5 for students.

Wednesday, March 8

The Hood Museum of Art is hosting a maker drop-in from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Russo Atrium inspired by the exhibit Park Dae Sung: Ink Reimagined. Visitors can try self-guided ink brush painting with traditional tools and handmade inks.

“Sweat,” the 2017 Pulitzer Prizewinning play by Lynn Nottage, is opening at the Byrne Theatre at Northern Stage at 7:30 p.m. The play follows union factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania and the government policies that afect their lives leading up to the 2008 recession. The show will run March 8 through March 26, and shows on March 8 and March 9 will be pay-what-you-can previews. Tickets can be reserved online or by calling the box ofce.

Friday, March 10

The English department is hosting “Tell Me A Story: An Evening of Audio Storytelling” at 7 p.m. in the Wren Room in Sanborn Library. The students of CWRT 40.15, “Tell Me A Story: Introduction to Nonfction Radio and Podcasting” will showcase the radio and podcast pieces they have produced this term.

process.

Lucas Filippone ’26, an actor in “Infatable Heart” — which was written and directed by Boga — commented on the individualized nature of the production.

“It was a very unique experience, but I think one of the best that I’ve had,” Filippone said. “We rehearsed anywhere between once and twice a week, and in between those rehearsals we always were given questions to ponder or exercises to help us dive deeper into our characterizations. So much of the process was catered to us and our needs.”

“Infatable Heart” specifcally dealt with the concept of young love and abusive relationships. With the heavier material and focus on contemporary work, Filippone said the play provided a unique opportunity, particularly as an actor who previously focused on musicals.

“There’s just a lot of different elements that you’re working with versus in a drama, especially such a focused piece,” Filippone said. “It just was a bit of a diferent structure than I was used to but again, such a fantastic experience, start to fnish. It being contemporary meant that I was able to draw upon a lot of my own experiences and [the] experiences of people that I knew.”

Additionally, Displaced Theater is focused on fostering a welcoming environment and bringing opportunities to student actors from a variety of backgrounds — including those who have never acted before, Boga said.

“A big part is that for a lot of people who have been denied opportunities in

the department or just at any point in their lives, I feel like Displaced [Theater] is a place to go,” Boga said. “I just think it’s so exciting to see people fall in love with theater again and try their hand at diferent roles in theater and just collaborate.”

While the number of attendees was larger than anticipated and created a seating issue at Sawtooth, the group found Sawtooth to be a suiting venue with technical sound and lighting systems.

“We always just want to try and produce theater in new spaces…and I think especially now, a lot of student

groups are doing performances there too,” MacDonald said. “And so we just wanted to bring the theater there...there’s also more freedom in the way that you can set up.”

According to Boga and MacDonald, Displaced Theater is planning to continue “Umbra” as an annual festival, with the hopes that it grows and continues to center student voices.

“It’ll probably take on a similar format, obviously with different shows...but I think we’re just hoping for more submissions and expanding the amount of involvement we can have with it,” MacDonald said.

ELAINE PU/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

PHOTO COURTESY OF MAGGIE MACDONALD

SPORTS

e Look Ahead: Week 10

BY CAROLINE YORK The Dartmouth Staff

Friday, March 3

Men’s and women’s squash will travel to Philadelphia for the National Collegiate Individual Championships. Men’s squash (89) recently defeated Tufts University on Feb. 24 and Williams College on Feb. 25 at the College Squash Association National Collegiate Men’s Team Championship. Women’s squash (9-9) defeated Bates University on Feb. 25 and Brown University on Feb 26 at the Women’s Team Championship.

In Starkville, Mississippi, softball (3-2) will compete in the Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament starting at 11 a.m. against Murray State University and Mississippi State University at 1:30 p.m. The team is looking to break its recent two-game losing streak to Siena College and the University of Notre Dame.

At 6 p.m., men’s tennis (9-3) will host Bryant University at Boss Tennis Center. The team has fared well in recent play, winning the last three games, including last weekend’s game against Boston University by a score of 6-1.

Men’s hockey (5-23-1) will travel to Hamilton, New York to take on Colgate University beginning at 7 p.m. in the frst round of the ECAC Hockey Championship. The two teams have met twice in the season, with the Raiders winning both games.

Saturday, March 4

Men’s and women’s squash will continue withdaytwoof theIndividualChampionships.

The sailing team will compete in the Sharpe Trophy and Thames River Team Race. The Sharpe Trophy will be held at Brown University and the Thames River Team Race will be held at Connecticut

College.

Baseball (0-3) will travel to Cary, North Carolina to take on the College of the Holy Cross at 11 a.m. The team will continue competition at 3 p.m. against Pennsylvania State University. The team will look to break its three-game losing streak, with the most recent loss to the University of Miami by a score of 20-2.

Softball will continue its tournament, playing Murray State University again at 11 a.m. At 6:30 p.m., the team will take on Abilene Christian University.

Men’s lacrosse will host Siena College at 1 p.m. The 2023 season marks the frst time in three years that the team has won its frst two games of the season. The team beat Holy Cross 17-6 on the road last weekend.

Men’s and women’s basketball will both play Harvard University. Men’s basketball will host the Crimson at Leede Arena at 2 p.m., while women’s basketball will travel to Boston to play at 4 p.m. The men’s team currently stands at seventh in the Ivy League, and the women’s team is ranked last.

Women’s tennis will host University of Massachusetts at Amherst at Boss Tennis Center at 6 p.m. The team will seek to end its recent three-game losing streak, most recently with a 6-16 loss at Boston University.

Sunday, March 5 Day three of the men’s and women’s squash Individual Championships will commence.

Sailing will continue with day two of the Sharpe Trophy and Thames River Team Race.

Men’s and women’s diving will compete in the NCAA Zone Diving Championship.

Men’s tennis will host Penn State at Boss Tennis Center at 10 a.m.

Baseball will play against Wagner College

at 10 a.m. in North Carolina.

Women’s lacrosse will host Cornell University at noon for the frst Ivy League game of the season. The team most recently defeated Bryant University 15-13 on March 1. Softball will play Abilene Christian for the second game of the Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament at noon.

Monday, March 6

Day two of the NCAA Zone Diving Championship will commence for the men’s

and women’s diving team.

Men’s golf will travel to Aiken, South Carolina for the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate Tournament. This marks the beginning of the 2023 season for the Big Green, and the team will look to Cameron Keith ’26, who had the leading score for Dartmouth at the Alister MacKenzie Invite in October.

Tuesday, March 7

Men’s golf will tee of for the second day of the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate

Tournament.

Men’s and women’s diving will start day three of the NCAA Zone Diving Championship. Men’s lacrosse will travel to Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York for a game at David J. Urick Stadium scheduled for 3 p.m.

Wednesday, March 8

Men’s and women’s skiing will compete in the NCAA Championships at Lake Placid, New York.

Men’s team places fifth, women tie for fourth at Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal Track and Field Championships

BY BELLA MARTIN

The Dartmouth

On Saturday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, Feb. 26, men’s and women’s track and feld competed at the 2023 Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal Track and Field Championships at the Leverone Field House in Hanover. The men’s team placed ffth overall while the women’s team tied Columbia University for fourth.

Many athletes fnished in the top fve of their individual events, leading to improved team placement from last year, when both the men’s and women’s teams placed seventh out of eight teams. DJ Matusz ’25 said that last year’s disappointing performance contributed to the team’s motivation this year.

“Coming of of fnishing seventh out of eight teams, which was obviously not great, we knew that we had the potential to fnish better,” Matusz said. “We knew that the competition was going to be really good this year, but we have had

pretty good times throughout the season, so we knew we could match them.”

Entering the weekend, Dartmouth held times in the top fve on the Ivy League performance list for this season in several diferent events, including the 4x400-meter relay for both men and women. Liam Murray ’26 said that the Big Green’s momentum and team dynamic throughout the season contributed to a positive mindset headed into the championship.

“Our team is defnitely a family. We’re all super close and very supportive,” Murray said. “It was great to have everybody there, even the people that weren’t competing…We were a big community before but that really reinforced it.”

The Big Green had several athletes vying for the top spot in their felds on the second day. The men’s team fnished the championship with numerous top fve fnishes, including Murray, who earned fourth place and a spot on the podium in the 400-meter race with a

time of 48.38 seconds. He attributed his success to a complete and successful preparation before the championship.

“For me, sleep is always a really big part of the week leading up to Heps. I defnitely tried to get a lot more sleep than normal, which helped me feel good going into the meet,” Murray said. “We made sure to get regular treatment, making our bodies feel as good as they can. I think just doing the little things really helps everything come together.”

Matusz, Maclean Hadden ’25 and Eric Gibson ’23 all fnished in the top fve in the 1000-meter run. Matusz fnished in third with a time of 2:26.08, with Hadden and Gibson following shortly behind him in fourth and ffth, respectively.

Matusz attributed his own success to his previous experience at Heps.

“I think that I raced a lot more maturely than I have in the past,” Matusz said. “I didn’t let the idea of Heps be too intimidating and just kept my composure and didn’t freak out

when it was important…It was also really special to be able to compete at [Leverone].”

Matusz, Hadden and Gibson also joined Jacob Winslow ’23 in the 4x800meter relay to claim ffth with a time of 7:34.81. Matusz said that the race proved challenging for the group and tested their limits.

“It was a really, really tough feld,” Matusz said. “We tried our best, but all the guys in that relay were doubling back from the race they’d run earlier that day…It wasn’t the best outcome, but with the legs running out, it wasn’t too bad.”

Following his success in the heptathlon on the frst day, Karl-Oskar Pajus ’25 fnished third with 5,260 points. He also placed frst in the 1000-meter race portion of the race.

On the women’s side, Julia Reglewski ’25 earned the fourth spot on the podium in the shot put. Emma Cunningham ’23 and Gabriela Fasanelli ’22 both took ffth place in their respective events of

the long jump and pentathlon. Mariella Schweitzer ’26 fnished second in the 60-meter hurdles of the pentathlon, setting a new personal record of 8.92 seconds and the sixth best time in program history.

The star-studded 4x800-meter relay team of Annie Jackson ’24, Anya Hirschfeld ’23, Bella Pietrasiewicz ’25 and Julia Fenerty ’23 claimed frst place with a time of 8:46.02. Individually, Fenerty also fnished second in the mile with a time of 4:46.39. Jackson claimed fourth in the individual 800-meter race, while Pietrasiewicz and Hirschfeld earned fourth and sixth place, respectively, in the 1000-meter. After being injured the entire fall season, Pietrasiewicz said she felt a wave of emotions and gratitude for herself, the team and the sport overall.

“I went over to my parents and started crying after my individual races just because I was so emotional,” Pietrasiewicz said. “...Coming into the season, I really wanted to focus on gratitude and just kind of remembering to love the sport and be grateful that I can do it… A couple months ago I couldn’t even run, so I think [Heps] was just really special.”

Looking back on the championship, Murray credited the Big Green’s home feld advantage and the excitement that their supporters brought to Leverone.

“The number of supporters that we had was very prevalent,” Murray said. “We had so much support from other sports teams, faculty members and parents. The overall atmosphere of having [the championship] at home defnitely gave us a bit of an advantage, which was cool.”

In terms of the set-up of the feld house, Leverone has an unbanked track, unlike many other schools. Matusz said that this unique set-up of the feld house added to Dartmouth’s advantage.

“All the other tracks we race on are usually banked, and they have this separation between what’s going on in the track and what the crowd is doing,” Matusz said. “[At Leverone], the energy of the crowd was matched with people on the track, and that made it so much more exciting.”

Pietrasiewicz agreed that the team’s collaborative system fostered a productive and successful environment.

“I think that having a team that doesn’t necessarily place pressure on each other to perform is super important,” Pietrasiewicz said. “Having our team be able to work together and push each other and believe in each other was super important.”

ROR

Reflections on the Reopening of Rollins Chapel

By Tyler Amell-Angst STORY

This article was originally published on March 1, 2023.

As is often true of buildings on campus, there is a lot more to Rollins Chapel than meets the eye. The historic building reopened this winter after several terms of construction, and students are once again welcome to sit in its main nave for a moment of silence, listen to musicians play warm melodies or ofer a prayer.

The Chapel’s rededication ceremony on Jan. 26 marked the resumption of the space’s many oferings to students, faculty and staf. Today, Rollins functions as an

interfaith space for Christian, Hindu and Jewish services, as well as for performances and talks from other groups on campus. Under the expansive nave, there is a labyrinth modeled after the thousand-yearold maze in Chartres Cathedral, France. Journey to the labyrinth’s center to let go of the clutter in your mind, receive the wisdom of your inner self upon reaching the middle and bring back a renewed sense of gratitude on the way back.

Rollins Chapel has something to ofer for anyone, especially those needing a moment of clarity and rest — which, during week nine, may be most students.

You can fnd most of the building’s other interesting facts on the Rollins Chapel website, but what you might fnd on an impromptu visit to the chapel is likely even cooler. You may encounter the melodies of the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, the wise musings of an organ builder and even some particularly musical wild animals. Music is what frst brought me to Rollins Chapel, and many students fnd their way through the almost always open doors to attend musical performances held there. As it turns out, these performances occasionally welcome some unexpected guests.

When teaching assistant Winfried Stangl and his German class walked into Rollins Chapel for a rendition of classical Austrian piano music, they certainly did not expect a family of bats to do “laps around the room and right above the head of the piano player,” Winfried recalled.

Apparently, the relaxing ambiance of the Chapel attracts many visitors, some of whom add in a chorus of their own.

“In between the clean and beautiful notes, we heard sssppppsssspppp,” Stangl said, imitating the rhythmic hissing of the bat ensemble.

Winfried added that it was “poetic” that an animal that uses sound to orient itself would reside in a space celebrating vibrant music.

“What a cultured bat that is,” Stangl remembered thinking, as he and the German students swung their heads back and forth, tracking the bats across the nave.

You just never know what graceful sounds may meet your ear — or what creatures you might encounter — when visiting the newly reopened Rollins Chapel.

Organ repairman Bill Czelusniak has made quarterly trips to Rollins Chapel and its grand organ since 1985, and he said he has developed a love for the Chapel and its musical centerpiece along the way. The current organ — which is the Chapel’s third iteration — was built in 1963 by the Austin Organ Company in Hartford, Connecticut and dedicated to Basil F. Austin ’31. So, Czelusniak has been working on the organ in Rollins Chapel for the majority of its existence.

The recent renovation, he said, was “particularly wonderful” because the changes to the ventilation system in response to COVID-19 restrictions resulted in a more stable temperature for

A Room of One’s Own

PHOTO ESSAY

By Kaija Celestin

wall of sentimental items given by friends and coaches. According to Hillery, making use of her spacious single has been an interesting challenge.

“I’ve always been interested in sustainable living, and I really want to live in a tiny house after college. This is probably the biggest room I’ll ever have,” she said.

Clearly, she’s made good use of the extra space and managed to create a beautiful private sanctuary hidden away in the middle of campus.

“I think this room has a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that can’t be pinned down with one word,” Baxter told me, as we stared together at the authentic deer head mounted above his mantel. “But if I had to pick one, I’d choose ‘camp.’”

This article was originally published on March 1, 2023.

Decorating a dorm room is a rite of passage. It often marks the beginning of a new term and another opportunity for students to make a little piece of campus their own. Of course, the College’s housing options are far from perfect. The historic residential buildings may charm visitors from the outside, but they can pose both practical and aesthetic challenges for the modern student. This week, I talked to three students who have made the most out of their campus housing in unexpected ways. From leaning into the old Ivy League aesthetic, to committing way too hard to the bit, these dorm rooms demonstrate the best of students’ creativity.

Hillery is a studio art major and director of Dartmouth’s Sunrise Movement, and her room shows it.

“A lot of my room is just pieces of my artwork that I was too attached to to throw away,” Hillery said. “It’s a lot of objects I found beauty in and wanted to preserve, because there’s such a culture of waste in which we end up throwing away perfectly good and beautiful items.”

Hillery’s room is refective of her passion for sustainability, gardening and art. Rows of repurposed bottles — which she uses to propagate avocado plants — line the window. Wisps of ivy hang from the ceiling and frame posters. Attached to the light fxtures are wooden sculptures made in her studio art class, designed to enhance the space’s lighting and create a cozier atmosphere. Most impressively, all of this decor was thrifted, gifted or self-made.

“I think I made this room for myself as a refection space,” Hillery said. “Normally if I want to hang out with people, I go somewhere else. So it’s just for me.”

Personal touches are everywhere — from the hammock strung beneath the bed, to the

Baxter has chosen to take advantage of the vintage architecture of his Lord Hall triple and lean into a rustic aesthetic centered around the room’s freplace. The deer head — described by Baxter as having a “mystical” energy — is what really sells it. Some other highlights include a stufed moose head, a 70s-style wood refrigerator and a framed illustration of redcoats on horseback.

My personal favorite feature of this room has to be the view overlooking the cemetery.

“It’s nice to be visited by the spirits every once in a while, especially when I’m lonely,” Baxter said.

It appears, though, that this doesn’t happen often — a big goal for Baxter was to make his room the ultimate social space.

“The foor is a great place to construct a Shrek puzzle with friends, and I’ve been known to host the occasional bridal shower,” he said.

Among his many party games are a dart board, jumbo playing cards and a chessboard — infnite entertainment for any bored student.

And yet, none of these are the main attraction of Baxter’s room. If you ask anyone that’s come by on a Friday night — or attended one of those infamous bridal showers — they’ll mention one thing: Baxter’s odd collections.

“I was horribly distraught when I heard Coca Cola was no longer carrying their Honest Tea brand,” Baxter said. “So what I did, of course, was collect them from [Dartmouth Dining] locations using swipes and DBA over the course of multiple weeks.” Now, his two fridges are full of the

discontinued beverage.

But that’s not all — he’s also managed to amass a collection of thirty-three unique mugs that he displays on shelves around the room. They range from a Dartmouth Ethics Institute mug to one saying “Best Grandma in the Whole World.”

During our interview, I asked how he cultivated such a huge collection.

“These mugs were ethically sourced from locations on and around campus, and one is a gift from my mother,” he explained.

I can only describe my experience in Baxter’s room as wonderfully absurd. If you’d also like to experience this room frsthand or play a game of darts, Baxter invites you to reach out.

“It’s all about community here,” he said.

Imagine: You enter a seemingly normal dorm room, only to fnd two desks arranged side by side, with someone seated and speaking into a landline. They direct you to take a seat in a plastic folding chair. Maybe you read the stack of magazines on the nearby shelf, or take candy out of the bowl on the desk. The person — clearly a receptionist — puts down the phone. “The doctor will see you now.” They direct you to go through the curtain at the other end of the room. Where on Earth are you?

If you guessed Paolini-Greene Pediatrics, LLC, you’d be correct. Located in an undergraduate society house, this unique room setup was designed by roommates

the organ’s pipes.

And that is a lot of pipes — “in excess of 4,000,” according to Czelusniak, who expressed an air of confdence in the longevity of his handiwork on the complex instrument.

Rollins Chapel’s organ is the largest pipe organ in the state of New Hampshire, Czelusniak added. After some brief mental fact checking, Czelusniak said that a church in Dover — a town about two hours and 15 minutes east of Hanover — attempted to refute the title of largest pipe organ in the state. However, the church’s system is not completely acoustic and relies on electronic intertwinings to blend the pipes.

“Us old die-hards do not abide,” Czelusniak assured me, concerning his denial of Dover’s claim to the title. According to Czelusniak, Rollins’s prominent, fully acoustic organ is in “the perfect location” for the space.

“When you hear it all together,” Czelusniak began, before moving me from the organ bench to the center of the nave, “it’s a grand sound.”

He asked his coworker, organist Gary Smith, to play me a few chords. As Smith played, the sound swirled around us. Czelusniak’s clear appreciation for the grand instrument and the building around it added to the warmth I felt permeating the sacred space of Rollins Chapel.

During my frst visit to the Chapel, and my frst time unexpectedly bumping into Czelusniak, we sat on the organ bench and talked about organs, chapels and our lives for longer than my impending English paper would have bargained for. Nevertheless, I walked out of the conversation and the Chapel with humility and appreciation for this building and the organ repairman who never fails to bring it a joyous sound.

Clark Paolini ’25 and Tate Greene ’25.

According to Greene, it all started with a very simple problem: their room only had one window. Despite being a one room double, former occupants had easily partitioned the room into two using a curtain. However, Paolini and Greene weren’t satisfed with this.

“Neither of us were willing to force the other one into a windowless room,” Greene explained. “So we moved our beds, both into line with the window, and then just had fun with the other side.”

But how did the duo decide on a pediatrician’s ofce as their inspiration?

“I think it started as, ‘Wouldn’t this be a really funny bit?’” Greene recalled. “We knew that we wouldn’t be in here a ton.”

And so, they committed. They had Residential Operations install a landline and purchased magazines for the “waiting area” — including issues about Billy Joel, Betty White and Guy Fieri. New guests to the room could expect to be walked through the whole experience.

Despite the fun of having half a room dedicated to a bit, Greene says that their favorite memories of the space are because of the company.

“[Paolini and I] make popcorn and watch an episode or two of a show until it’s so bad we can’t watch it anymore,” they said. “Honestly, the best part of the room is having [Paolini] as a roommate.”

CATHARINE HERRERA/THE DARTMOUTH

KAIJA CELESTIN/THE DARTMOUTH

KAIJA CELESTIN/THE DARTMOUTH

KAIJA CELESTIN/THE DARTMOUTH