The Dartmouth 04/21/2023

Library workers announce plans to unionize, continuing campus trend

New Student Assembly campaign laws regulate election day rules

BY EMILIA WILLIAMS The Dartmouth

On April 16, student campaigning began for positions on Dartmouth Student Government, Class Councils and the Committee on Standards & Organizational Adjudication Committee.

The Election Planning and Advisory Committee updated the 2023 election code to limit campaigning during the election period, payments for campaign services and vote-buying.

BY CHARLOTTE HAMPTON The Dartmouth Staff

This article was originally published on Apr. 20, 2023.

On Tuesday, approximately 35 library workers gathered in Novack Cafe to announce their plans to unionize. After walking through BakerBerry library, the workers marched to the ofces of dean of libraries Susanne Mehrer and College Provost David Kotz to deliver a letter asking for support from the College.

According to acquisitions services supervisor Tim Wolfe, the plan to unionize has been in progress for at least a year, prompted by budget cuts, continued staf reductions over the past decade and stalling promotion

programs during the pandemic.

“Primarily, it’s about compensation and benefts that keep up with cost of living increases,” Wolfe said. “It’s about a system of promotion and advancement that is uniform and fair to everyone in the library staf — and it’s about having a seat at the table.”

Research and learning librarian for humanities and social sciences Daniel Absosso read the group’s letter aloud to the group gathered in Novack, calling for “compensation that makes living in the Upper Valley viable and clear paths to advancement for all staf.”

Over the past year, group members have researched union creation and worked to get signed cards in support from at least 50% of library workers, according to Wolfe. He added that the eforts of library workers to unionize

at MIT and Northwestern University in 2019 and 2021, respectively, contributed to their “nerdy approach” — involving signifcant research — to the process of calling for a union.

“We talked to other libraries that had gone through the same process of fguring out how to unionize,” Wolfe said. “We talked to a bunch of union [representatives] from diferent unions to fgure out what was the right one for our people.”

According to Wolfe, library staf also compiled testimonials, information about their platform and an FAQ page onto their website, constituting a large part of the past year’s work. The group’s 19 testimonials, published on the website, call for transparency and

SEE LIBRARY PAGE 2

Activist Chloe Cole sparks campus protest

BY ARYANNA QUSBA

The Dartmouth Staff Republicans president Chloe Ezzo ’22 moderated the conversation.

This article was originally published on Apr. 20, 2023.

On April 17, the Dartmouth College Republicans hosted activist Chloe Cole — an 18-year-old woman who detransitioned and now advocates against gender-afrming healthcare for youth — and guest speaker Carrie Mendoza, a doctor for Advocate Health Care in Hazel Crest, Illinois. The lecture, titled “Regrets of a Former Trans Kid,” triggered backlash from members of the Dartmouth community, who protested outside the event in support of transgender rights and healthcare.

Before the event, around 150 students from various campus groups, including the Asian American Studies collective, the Dartmouth Democrats, The Dartmouth Radical, Spare Rib and the Student Workers Collective at Dartmouth, chanted in support of gender-affirming healthcare for transgender individuals. Organized clubs were joined by other students hoping to challenge Cole’s message and support the transgender community.

“A lot of [SWCD] members are either trans or non-binary or queer and we want to support them,” SWCD organizer Polly Chesnokova ’24 said. “We think it’s abhorrent that the College is helping this event happen and giving space to hate speech and misleading information.”

In response to students’ frustrations, College spokesperson Diana Lawrence referred to the College’s policy on freedom of expression and dissent.

“Dartmouth prizes and defends the right of free speech and the freedom of the individual to make their own disclosures, while at the same time recognizing that such freedom exists in the context of the law and in responsibility for one’s own actions,” the policy states. “Protest or demonstration shall not be discouraged so long as neither force nor the threat of force is used, and so long as the orderly processes of the institution are not deliberately obstructed.”

The event itself was open to the public, with a security guard and Safety and Security ofcer positioned outside and within Moore Hall. College

The event and protest come amid a growing national debate over transgender rights — especially with regard to participation in athletics — which has mobilized conservatives around the issue, the New York Times reported this week. After a brief introduction, Cole — who is from California, according to the Los Angeles Times — explained that she was assigned female at birth and decided to transition during her sophomore year of high school. She said she was introduced to the concept of being transgender through social media, adding that she also connected with other LGBTQ+ youth through video games, cartoons and anime.

At age 13, Cole said she then began using puberty blockers and testosterone. She said she continued to struggle with body image issues and was medicated for depression later that year.

“I told my therapist I wanted to get top surgery, and she referred me to a gender specialist who wrote a letter of recommendation to a surgeon,” she said. “Within six months, I went under the knife.”

Cole said recovering from her top surgery was difcult, adding that she began to understand the “reality of the situation” a few months postoperation. While Cole said she was initially “happier” after her transition, she said she began to feel “unhappy being a boy.”

“That was when it really started to come crashing down,” Cole said. “Now I probably can’t have a child, and I’ll certainly never have the option to breastfeed. I’ll never know what that’s like. This ripped a hole in my heart, and I couldn’t go on any longer like that.”

Cole said she chose to detransition at age 16, adding that she was “shamed” by the transgender community online for her decision. Cole is now suing Kaiser Permanente, her healthcare provider and the hospital where her surgeries have taken place.

Cole explained that she thinks children are “too young” to make lasting medical decisions, adding that adults are justifed to receive gender-afrming care.

“Giving kids life-altering surgeries

EPAC updated their rules to prohibit candidates from “spending additional funds” and participating in “in-person campaigning” on election day, though online advocacy is allowed, according to the 2023 election code. The rule change, which afects the 24-hour period beginning on April 24 when students vote for their representatives, is intended “to limit coercive behavior,” according to the code.

The updated election code also establishes new rules surrounding “vote-buying” and “payment for campaign services.” The new rules prohibit purchasing or exchanging goods or services for votes, as well as promising future goods or services for votes. The regulations further stipulate that students only “be paid a reasonable rate” for campaign services.

The changes follow last year’s election code updates, which provided candidates with the ability to more freely use social media for campaigning. Those changes, which afected the frst in-person Student Assembly race since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, also included several budgetary increases for candidates.

EPAC chair Will Elliott ’25 explained that this year’s election day rule changes mark a transition to more open campaigning.

“In the past, campaigning was not allowed during the 24-hours at the end of the campaign period,” Elliott said.” “[EPAC is] slowly walking towards allowing it to be completely okay.”

Elliott said that the campaign fnance changes were intended to “promote fairness” within the election process, adding that he was “actually surprised” the EPAC code had not explicitly prohibited such practices prior.

“Not that [EPAC] has run into issues with [providing goods and services for votes] in the past, but we wanted to make it concrete,” Elliott said.

Favion Harvard ’26, who is running for reelection as a West House Senator, said that EPAC is an important organization for regulating social media cam-

paigns. EPAC’s new campaign fnance changes were “very understandable,” he added.

“You shouldn’t be buying votes either way,” Harvard said. “And if people don’t want to vote for you, they’re not going to vote for you.”

At an institutional level, EPAC has also been subject to recent changes, Elliott said. EPAC, which has historically consisted of a maximum of seven members, recently updated its total to nine, he added. Elliott said that this revision was made “to make sure that we have class representation every single year” across diferent grades.

Elliot said these regulatory and organizational changes to EPAC align with the group’s core principles to “maintain the kind of conduct that you would expect out of a Dartmouth student: to be respectful.”

“[EPAC] wants campaigns to be issue-oriented and policy-oriented, not attacking candidates,” Elliott said. “So we enforce a no negative campaigning clause in our code.”

Kiara Ortiz ’24, who is running for Student Body Vice President alongside presidential candidate Jessica Chiriboga ’24, praised EPAC for its oversight.

“I think generally having EPAC is great because they mitigate a lot of the bias people may be concerned about, and they are also a body that is interested in change and very open to it,” Ortiz said. “And what they want to do is just have clean, easy elections for students, which is really appreciated.”

Ortiz added that she “had not really run into any issues [in previous elections] because [EPAC] has been very clear.” EPAC provided clarity on the election code by setting up a Q&A for all students on the ballot, according to Ortiz.

“I already knew how to set up my budget sheet, how much I could spend, which events I can host [and] who to email,” she said. “So it’s all been pretty clear and fun. I’m very glad that there’s a separate body on campus handling it.”

Student government organizations such as DSG and the Student Assembly “hold a lot more weight and power” in the College’s decision-making process compared to last year, Ortiz said.

“Especially with the new administration coming in, I want that to be communicated to them efectively — which is why it’s important to vote, so that we can show President Beilock and her new administration that students want student perspective involved, [that] we want Student Government involved in making these decisions,” Ortiz said.

PHOTO BY CHARLOTTE HAMPTON

Dartmouth hosts first in-person Dimensions in four years

BY LAUREN AZRIN

The Dartmouth Staff

This article was originally published on Apr. 18, 2023.

On April 17, Dartmouth hosted its frst in-person Dimensions — a program aimed at allowing admitted students to experience a snapshot of life at the College — since 2018, admissions director Paul Sunde said. According to Sunde, a collective 650 admitted students in the Class of 2027 confrmed attendance to Dimensions, which will ofer a second event on April 24.

Members of the Class of 2027 can choose whether to come for the day or stay overnight with a current student, Sunde said. He added that student hosts will also be available on alternate dates for admitted students who missed the scheduled Dimensions programming.

The robust schedule for both weekends includes academic open houses, campus tours, a student activities and support services fair, the chance to sit in on a class with a student host, family welcome events, faculty presentations and meals on campus, Sunde said.

“What we’re trying to do is ofer as much of an opportunity to get to know as much of Dartmouth as possible in one day,” Sunde said.

Sunde said that the full Dimensions experience requires the efort of many distinct groups on campus.

“We reach out broadly across the faculty and the administration and student organizations and every part of Dartmouth to say, ‘We’d love for you to be involved,’” Sunde said. “And people are incredibly responsive and generous with their time.”

Sunde explained that this year’s Dimensions is a “hybrid” of prepandemic and pandemic programming, combining the best aspects of both to create a memorable experience.

“I think the frst thing that we learned from COVID is how important virtual programming is, and so the frst two weeks of the month are dedicated to virtual programming.” Sunde said.

“Now [the admitted students] coming are even better prepared to make the most of their time here.”

Student host and admissions blogger Chidera Duru ’25 said that she hopes admitted students will see what their college experience might look like if they decide to attend Dartmouth.

“I think it’s just nice for people to know what their college environment can bring them for the next four years, what they’re signing up for and how that can help them really come into themselves,” Duru said.

Sunde noted that he hopes those who attend Dimensions get an “authentic appreciation” for how the College could match their interests and aspirations.

“One of the big things I think about is Dartmouth is [that it’s] a unique place,” Sunde said. “I think what we ofer and the way we ofer it is unique –– I think our community is unique. This is an amazing place.”

Anisha Singhal ’27, an admitted student from New York City, said she has not yet decided on where to attend college but is looking forward to seeing Dartmouth’s campus for the frst time and meeting potential future classmates.

“I feel like one of the biggest indicators of how your college experience is going to be is the people you’re around all the time,” Singhal said. “I just want to gauge the vibes

of those students.”

Singhal said she is excited about what Dartmouth’s location can ofer her as a city native.

“I’ve heard that Dartmouth has this really magical charm to it and this close-knit community,” she said. “That’s something that I’m excited about.”

Matthew Dame, another member of the class of 2027, echoed Singhal’s hope that attending Dimensions would help him decide between multiple potential colleges, looking most for insight into classes and the social scene on campus.

“I feel like I’ve heard a lot about Greek life and want to hear from students what their opinions are on the dominance of Greek life and what options there are outside of fraternities and sororities on campus,” Dame said.

Duru explained that she chose to host two admitted students during Dimensions, so that she can ofer them insights and information that she did not know entering her freshman year.

“I want them to know what Dartmouth has for them, so they can see if Dartmouth is what they actually want,” she said.

According to Sunde, hundreds of current students volunteered to act as both day hosts and overnight hosts. He attributed this year’s “great response” to the return of in-person programming for Dimensions for the frst time in four years.

“I think all of us in admissions are really excited for this time with our admitted students who we’re so invested in,” Sunde said. “On the other hand, for us, it’s this appreciation for how the Dartmouth community responds and rallies. We’ve been reading applications for months and now we all get to have fun. This is the fun part.”

Library sta march for compensation and bene ts

FROM LIBRARY PAGE 1

accountability from the College.

Assistant conservator at the Book Arts Workshop Lizzie Curran said she had been thinking about unionizing for many years. “Our promotions track got taken away [during the pandemic],” Curran said. “None of us got raises while the College’s endowment doubled. So that was unfair to say the least. It started long before that. I think there’s a culture of administration making decisions that afect us, without us.”

Head of digital scholarly engagement Laura Braunstein echoed Curran’s sentiment, adding that the “wellbeing of [library] staf has not always been a priority for the College.”

At the same time, Wolfe said recent advancements regarding the Graduate Organized Laborers of Dartmouth and the Student Worker Collective at Dartmouth have been “encouraging” to

Omega Psi Phi reestablishes local chapter on campus after 31-year absence

BY ANGUS YIP The Dartmouth Staff

This article was originally published on Apr. 18, 2023.

On April 8, four students — Cameron Maddox ’24, Joey Richmond ’24, Q Jones ’25 and Satchel Williams ’24 — took part in a new member presentation commemorating the re-establishment of a local chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity on campus. The new member presentation, held outside Dartmouth Hall, “celebrated the revitalization of the Theta Beta Beta chapter that has not been active at Dartmouth for 31 years,” according to an April 10 newsletter from assistant dean of residential life and director of Greek life Josh Gamse. Theta Beta Beta is Dartmouth’s local designation from Omega Psi Phi, which attributes unique Greek lettering to each of its chapters, according to the national organization’s website.

founder go to a college, and yet that college does not have [the fraternity] on campus?”

Jones said that he and Richmond became interested in re-establishing a local chapter of Omega Psi Phi on campus last year after attending a conference in Boston organized by the fraternity headquarters.

“We got to meet some of the [members of other chapters] and had a good time … we were like, ‘this energy is what we need back on campus,’” Jones said.

According to the Ofce of Greek Life handbook, a student group that wishes to establish a new or returning National Pan-Hellenic Council organization must submit a written petition to the Ofce of Greek Life. The Ofce of Greek Life and the national or international organization will then determine whether the petitioning group will be “viable and a healthy addition to the campus.”

the library workers. The unionization announcement comes about one week after GOLD-UE won their union vote and one year after the College recognized SWCD.

Following these developments, SWCD raised the hourly pay of Dartmouth Dining Services student employees to $21 an hour in February, and the College then increased the minimum wage of all non-union student employees to $16.25 an hour.

Scholarly publishing librarian and a member of the union’s organizing committee Stephen Krueger believes that “everyone should just have a union,” adding that the group’s organizing “wasn’t necessarily an indicator of something that is wrong with the institution or workplace.”

“This is just a fundamental way for workers to have our rights heard and respected,” Krueger said. “We’re not trying to antagonize [the College] … We’re not seeing the library leadership

or the campus leadership as any kind of enemy.”

After marching to Parkhurst Hall, the group answered questions from the public about their plan in Howe library. According to Abosso, next steps include getting support from the community and holding a vote on unionizing in the summer. Wolfe said that he thinks they will have “far more” than 50% support from their colleagues when the issue goes to a vote.

Classics senior lecturer Jennifer Lynn said she hopes the College community engages with the union because of how “integral” the work of the librarians is to academics at Dartmouth.

“My teaching and research is so dependent on the library,” Lynn said. “They’re so integral to the intellectual life of the College, so of course I support them.”

Dean of libraries Susanne Mehrer declined to comment.

Dartmouth college republicans host controversial activist

FROM ACTIVIST PAGE 1

when they don’t understand the consequences — I certainly didn’t — is irresponsible,” she said. “And if you are a fully grown adult and you have undergone physiotherapy and completely understand the consequences, yes, I support you getting that surgery. The issue is young kids being fed this information.”

Ezzo echoed Cole’s platform, asserting that children are not able to ofer informed consent for genderafrming procedures.

“The whole point that we’re trying to emphasize in this event is that in medicine, you need to have informed consent,” Ezzo said. “And you can’t have consent when you’re so young, and you can’t really be properly informed.”

According to Mendoza, the medical community is “so quick to present gender dysphoria as the issue” because treatment for gender dysphoria is “a lot easier” — with a more straightforward standard for care — than treatments for other psychiatric conditions. At the same time, Mendoza said treatment for gender dysphoria can have lasting impacts on the patient.

“Once a person has undergone these treatments, they’re guaranteed to be a lifelong patient, because once you have the gonads and the genitalia, you are no longer capable of normal

sexual function,” Mendoza said. “They can’t have their own children and can’t function normally without exogenous hormones.”

Anastasia Rodzianko, a community member from Etna, New Hampshire said she attended the event because a friend forwarded her an email from the College Republicans. As a parent with young children, Rodzianko said she and her husband “weren’t really aware of the gender spectrum” until this year.

Rodzianko added that she was “surprised” and “scared” by students protesting outside, adding that she “didn’t realize this was such an emotional issue.”

On the other hand, many students said the event was harmful to the transgender community.

Quinn Allred ’26, who identifes as a cisgender, gay man, said he attended the protest and intentionally boycotted the event to show the Dartmouth transgender community that they are “supported and loved.”

Allred added that he took issue with Cole’s platform to restrict minors from getting gender-afrming medical treatments.

“Conservatives are all about preserving the family unit but children can’t transition without parental consent in the majority of cases,” Allred said. “[Cole’s platform] actually takes the power away from families and

gives it to the government, which is so incongruent with the [Conservatives’] own ideology.”

As a non-binary student, Chesnokova said that they were “surprised” that the College allowed this event to happen, especially given the increased risk of suicidal thoughts or suicide for transgender youth.

According to an email sent to the student body, the Ofce of Pluralism and Leadership and LGBTQIA+ Student Advising hosted a joint “Drop In Space” during the Cole event with beverages, coloring books, information about campus resources and pastries.

“As part of Pride Month, events and opportunities, such as the drop-in space, were created to enable students to connect with one another, discuss the ever-changing political climate and just be together in the space,” senior assistant dean and OPAL director Rachele Hall wrote in an email statement.

The Dartmouth Democrats also released a statement on April 18 in response to the event.

“Gender-affirming healthcare is life-saving healthcare and the demonization of this practice occurring in state legislatures across the country is abhorrent,” the statement wrote. “Conversations like these seek to invalidate the existence of trans siblings.”

A historically African-American fraternity, Omega Psi Phi joins three other member organizations of the National Pan-Hellenic Council — Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and Delta Sigma Theta sorority — according to the Ofce of Greek Life’s website. The National Pan-Hellenic Council is in charge of the “overall welfare of historically Black Greek organizations” on campus, according to its constitution.

Jones said that while the fraternity does not have a physical space on campus yet, Omega Psi Phi hopes to eventually have “some type of space” by the fall. Gamse added that the Ofce of Greek Life is planning to provide Omega Psi Phi with an apartment in the Channing Cox or Maxwell senior apartments starting in 2024.

Gamse noted that Greek houses under the National Pan-Hellenic Organization have separate bylaws from those under the Interfraternity Council and Inter-Sorority Council, including rules and timelines for rush. Omega Psi Phi’s new member recruitment process has not yet been clearly defned, Gamse said.

According to the Omega Psi Phi national organization’s website, the fraternity was the “frst international fraternal organization founded on the campus of a historically black college.”

Founded in 1911, Omega Psi Phi was established by three undergraduate students at Howard University — Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman — together with their faculty advisor Ernest Everett Just, the website added.

Jones added that the reintroduction of Omega Psi Phi at the College is especially “important” as Ernest Everett Just, a Dartmouth valedictorian from the Class of 1907, was “denied” a valedictory address by the College for being Black.

“We thought that there needs to be men of Omega on campus because of that,” Jones said. “How does [a fraternity’s]

Gamse said that he frst met with the four students last May to discuss the possibility of re-establishing a local chapter of Omega Psi Phi. After their meeting, Gamse said he contacted representatives of Omega Psi Phi — who were “really interested in the opportunity” — and coordinated meetings between the national organization and the students, he added.

Williams said that the Ofce of Greek Life was “extremely helpful” and “very welcoming” throughout the process, adding that the OGL was always willing to provide support for him and the other three petitioners.

Gamse added that he is “beyond thrilled” at the re-establishment of Omega Psi Phi.

“The members have worked very hard to get the fraternity back [to the College,]” Gamse said. “The times that I’ve spent with them have been incredible.”

Williams said that Omega Psi Phi is currently planning a step show during this year’s Green Key weekend with the other National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations on campus. The organization is also planning to collaborate with the American Red Cross to hold a blood drive and other events, such as barbecues and study groups, Williams added.

Jones also noted that Omega Psi Phi will be collaborating with Delta Sigma Theta to organize more community events.

“We want to show our enthusiasm … we’re back, we’re here for good and trying to show everyone the good side of our fraternity and bring everyone along with us,” Jones said.

Williams also said that the local chapter will take part in a district conference with other regional chapters of the fraternity from April 20 to April 23 in New Haven, Connecticut, where members will discuss how Omega Psi Phi can engage with campus communities.

“We’ve been gone [from Dartmouth] for over 30 years, so the biggest thing we have to lean on is our support system from other members of the fraternity who have been around longer than us,” Williams said.

ZOE OLSON/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Shores: A Semi-Official Petition to End Dartmouth’s Puritanical War on Outdoor Drinking Games

The College’s rules regarding pong and other activities common in Greek Life are counterproductive.

This column was originally published on April 18, 2023

The weather is warm, the birds are chirping and Dartmouth students are once more emerging from their respective dens of sin and iniquity to bask in the ephemeral glory of the New Hampshire spring. Just a few days ago, a few of the good brothers of Theta Delta Chi fraternity and I decided to play a game of pong. This game of pong, however, came with a twist. Instead of playing in the muck and squalor of the TDX basement, we thought, hell, why not go play pong outside? So we set up a table on our lawn, cranked up a speaker and got to work. It felt pretty innocent, perhaps even wholesome — just a couple of good friends having a few beers on a Saturday afternoon and enjoying the good weather.

Or so we thought. As soon as they got wind of our outdoor pong game, Safety and Security ofcers arrived with a response time likely faster than the local police. After a cordial greeting, we were told by the Safety and Security ofcers that our game was, in fact, against the rules. Specifcally, students are forbidden to drink “outside of, or on the grounds of, residence halls, Greek facilities, undergraduate and senior societies, academic afnities, special interest houses or other student organizational facilities and in any other specifed areas including decks, porches, fre escapes and roofs,” to quote Dartmouth’s Ofcial Alcohol and Drug Use Policy.

Understanding that we were in fact dangerous criminals whose brazen idea to play a game of pong outside was in direct contradiction with the good Christian values of Dartmouth College, we poured out the beers and flled up our cups with water. We are, after all, reasonable people, and we would hate to endanger the public with such delinquent behavior. We were quickly rebuked once more, however, by the goodly Safety and Security ofcers. “Table games,” we were told, are not allowed outside, whether they involve alcohol or not. The ofcers likely spoke in reference to the Alcohol Management Program Policy, which says that “pong and other drinking games are never allowed to be played outside.” Realizing the gravity of our sins, my friends and I fell to our knees and each said fve Hail Mary’s before we rose, dissembled our table and shufed back inside with our tails between our legs. Then, not fve minutes later, in the hallowed halls of Theta Delt, we reassembled our pong table and continued our game in the cold, dark basement, where we were a threat to nobody but ourselves. I’ll say this one positive thing about the administration: they have a knack for only letting the most determined kids into Dartmouth. If you don’t let them play pong out in the sun where they can enjoy the warm weather, they’ll go play their game inside.

I tend to abstain from politics. When people get worked up over the various issues of the day, I usually adopt a policy of “smile and nod.” However,

MATEO SUAREZ ’26: INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

sometimes, there are issues which compel me to stand up for the values of liberty and justice just as our noble forebears did in the American Revolution. Here, I’ll take my stand. Dartmouth’s policies against outdoor drinking games are simply foolish. They are a prime example of a bloated and imageobsessed administration which enacts broad and sweeping policy with little common sense or regard for the student body. They are yet another act by an administration which wants to stamp out the traditional culture of revelry and sociability which has so long attracted students to Dartmouth. Don’t get me wrong — many of Dartmouth’s alcohol rules are positive, if somewhat overbearing. The much-reviled ban on hard liquor, for instance, greatly mitigates the risk fraternities incur when they host events and is surely instrumental in lowering the number of students who have to seek medical attention due to their — err — overindulgence. Similarly, Safety and Security walkthroughs, although they can be rather annoying, help ensure fraternities are able to maintain order at their parties. Rules such as these are not issues. The issues are the silly rules, such as the stipulation that if more than 20 members of a fraternity are present and drinking, they must register an event with the school. For example, there are 21 brothers living in the Theta Delta Chi house, meaning that if we all found ourselves, say, having a few beers and watching a football game, we’d be in violation

of College policy. The outdoor drinking game ban is the most fagrant of such overzealous policies. It is time for the administration to reconsider these policies, which cause resentment among the students and provide little, if any, gain for the administration’s goals.

It is difcult to think of any valid reason for Dartmouth’s puritanical campaign against outdoor drinking games. Rumor holds that the ban stems from the belief that returning alumni would not like to see students playing pong, or the scene that might occur should one require emergency medical treatment outside. While I’ve yet to meet an alum of the College who’d take ofense to a few kids playing a game of pong on a Saturday afternoon, I can understand the basic logic: Dartmouth doesn’t want people drinking out in public all the time, and that’s all well and good. Nobody thinks we should be playing pong on the Green or setting up coolers and tailgating in front of Baker-Berry. But, when an alumnus walks down fraternity row, are they really going to be that insulted to fnd a few guys playing a game of pong on the lawn of a fraternity house? I struggle to believe that Dartmouth alumni are, on the whole, of such a neo-Victorian disposition that they would be ofended by the mere presence of an outdoor drinking game. And if I’m wrong? Well, then, perhaps what those alumni need most is to join in a game of pong and relax a little.

EVAN KAYE ’25: THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS

Before the Curtain: Arts on Campus Week 4

BY John renda

The Dartmouth

Friday, April 21

The Hopkins Center for the Arts will screen “My So-Called High School Rank” at 7:00 p.m. in Loew Auditorium, followed by a discussion with the directors, Ricki Stern ’87 and Annie Sundberg ’90. Part of the Dartmouth Alumnae film series, the documentary examines the unique response of a group of students in Sacramento, California, to the increasing pressures of college admissions. These students stage a musical called “Ranked” that places a scrutinous eye on America’s culture surrounding college admissions, delving into the assorted pressures three high school seniors involved in this production endure amidst the trials and tribulations of admissions. Tickets are available at the Hopkins Center’s website, with general admission tickets on sale at $10 per person and student tickets available for $5.

Saturday, April 22

The Hood Museum of Art will hold the Hood Highlights Tour, an inperson, guided tour of the museum’s current displayed art, at 2:00 p.m. Tour-goers are suggested to meet their guide five minutes prior to the start of the tour in the Russo Atrium of the Hood. The tour is open to the public and free of charge.

At 4:00 p.m., Sawtooth Kitchen will host a concert with Tommy Crawford, one of its artists in residence for the spring. Crawford, a Vermontbased singer-songwriter specializing in traditional folk music, has been covered by publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker and Entertainment Weekly. Appropriate for all ages, the concert is free and

open to the public. The Hopkins Center will host the Women’s Adventure Film Tour at 7:00 p.m. in Loew Auditorium. The event is billed as “an exhilarating evening of short films featuring women doing extraordinary things in the name of adventure,” and will consist of seven short films centered around women who embark on adventure in a variety of ways. The event will highlight a pervasive need for diversity, equity and inclusion across cultures and backgrounds. Tickets are available at the Hopkins Center’s website, with general admission tickets on sale at $12 per person.

Sunday, April 23

At 4:30 p.m., the Hop will screen “One Fine Morning,” the recent film from Mia Hansen-Løve, best known for her hit 2021 film “Bergman Island.” In French, with English subtitles, the film tells the story of a woman who faces a conflict of responsibility when she falls in love with a married man amid caring for her aging father. Tickets are available at the Hopkins Center’s website, with general admission tickets on sale at $8 per person and student tickets on sale for $5.

Wednesday, April 26

At 8:00 p.m. in Rollins Chapel, the Hopkins Center of the Arts will host a performance from Abdallah Ibrahim & Ekaya, followed by a conversation with both artists. Ibrahim, whom the Hopkins Center describes as a pioneer of jazz music in South Africa, will play compositions that reflect a fusion of traditional African music with more modern sounds such as Gospel and Raga. Joined by his ensemble Ekaya, Ibrahim will perform 90 minutes of original compositions. Tickets are

available on the Hopkins Center website for $5 for Dartmouth students and $15 for general admission.

At 8:00 p.m., Sawtooth Kitchen will host a lineup of seven comedians, including North Carolina Comedy Festival headliner Will Purpura and Vermont Comedy Festival headliner Matt Vita, for a night-long performance. Billed as “a night of laughter you won’t soon forget,” tickets will be available at the door for $5 per person.

Thursday, April 27

At 5:00 p.m., the Hood Museum will host a panel discussion on its new “¡Printing the Revolution!” exhibit,

SPORTS e Look Ahead: Week 5

led by artists Scherezade Garcia and Sonia Romero and curator Caludia E. Zapata and moderated by art history professor Mary Coffey. The panel will focus both on the concept of the exhibit and the contributions of Chicanx artists to the history of printmaking, as well as the use of printmaking as a medium for social justice. The event is free and open to the public, though space is limited.

At 7:00 p.m., the Hopkins Center will screen “Man Push Cart” as part of its Asian Diaspora on Screen series, a collaboration with the Dartmouth Asian American Studies Collective. Described as a portrait of a successful Pakistani musician while he attempts

to make a life for himself as a workingclass food cart vendor in New York City, the film explores the immigrant experience in post-9/11 New York. Tickets are available on the Hopkins Center website for $5 for Dartmouth students and $8 for general admission. At 9:00 p.m., Sawtooth Kitchen will host student band JUNGLE ROOM for what it describes as possibly their final public performance. Described as “high energy groovetastic [sic] rock,” tickets will sell for $15 per person in advance and $20 per person at the door. Sawtooth encourages interested fans to buy tickets early, expecting them to sell out by the date of the performance.

BY LANIE EVERETT and stephanie sowa

The Dartmouth Senior Staff

Friday, April 21

Women’s golf will compete in the Ivy League Championship in Purchase, New York, at the Century Club. The team has had a record-setting season thus far, consisting of three tournament victories, a record for the program. The Big Green hopes to secure an Ivy title this weekend after winning the Navy Invitational by 19-strokes.

Men’s golf will travel to the Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, to

compete in the Ivy League Championship. Co-captain Mark Turner ’22 has fourstraight top 10 fnishes, leading the Big Green in average score (72.87) and average vs. par (+1.57). Turner’s average against par has earned him fourth place in program history.

Women’s and men’s track will compete at the Virgina Challenge in Charlottesville, Virginia. Julia Fenerty ’23 and Anya Hirschfeld ’23 will compete in the 1500m race. The men will compete in the 5000m race and 800m race. The rest of the team will travel to the George Davis Invitational at University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Saturday, April 22

Women’s and men’s golf will continue to compete in their respective Ivy League championships.

Women’s and men’s track will continue to compete at the Virginia Challenge, while the remainder of the team will compete at the George Davis Invitational at UMass Lowell.

Women’s rowing will race against the University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Institute of technology at Lake Morey in Fairlee, Vermont. Last week, women’s rowing competed at the Ivy Invite in Princeton. The Big Green fnished second in front of Cornell

University in both the Varsity Eight and Varsity Four.

Sailing has several regattas this weekend, including the Reed Trophy (NEISA Women’s Fleet Race Championships) taking place at Brown University, the Boston Dinghy Cup at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Admiral’s Cup hosted at King’s Point by the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the Mendums Pond Invite at the University of New Hampshire. The team recently qualifed for the Collegiate Sailing Association Team Race National Championship events in both the women’s and open divisions. The women’s team will start as the fourth seed and the open team will start as seventh seed for their regattas.

After coming in second to Harvard University last weekend at the Biglin Bowl, men’s lightweight rowing will compete against Yale at the Durand Cup held in Derby, Connecticut. Dartmouth’s First Varsity Eight trailed the Crimson by less than fve seconds last week fnishing with a time of 5:18.0.

Heavyweight rowing will race against Brown University at Lake Morey in Fairlee, Vermont. The Men’s Fifth Varsity Eight will start at 8:55 a.m. with the Men’s Varsity Eight boat closing out the day at 10:15 a.m. On April 8 ––The last time the heavies raced –– their Second Varsity Eight beat Yale by less than a second.

Women’s rugby will host the Ivy 7s Championship at Brophy Field in Hanover. The day will begin with pool play at 9 a.m., continuing to knockout rounds at 3 p.m. The last time the Big Green played in the Tropical 7s tournament, the team made it to the fnal round of play in the Open Division, losing only to Davenport University in the championship.

Baseball will travel to New York to play Columbia University at Robertson Field. The three-game series will kick of at 11:30 a.m., with a second game to follow at 3 p.m. and a fnal game on

Sunday. Most recently, Dartmouth was defeated by Siena College on April 19, 2023, with a score of 1-20.

Women’s lacrosse will face of against No. 24 Princeton University at home. While the team most recently fell to the University of Vermont in a nonconference fnale, the Big Green defeated the Columbia Lions 16–8. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ at 12:00 p.m.. Softball will play at Yale University at New Haven at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m in New Haven, Conn. The team is 12-17 overall and most recently boasted a 5-2 win against Merrimack University on Wednesday, April 19.

Men’s lacrosse will play the No. 15 University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on the Franklin Field at 1:00 p.m. The Big Green fell to Princeton on Alumni Day and now looks to secure another Ivy League win like their defeat of Harvard University in overtime earlier this season.

Women’s tennis will play at home against Princeton at 1:00 p.m. on the Thompson Outdoor Courts. The team looks to secure its frst Ivy League win of the season and shift momentum in the Big Green’s favor.

Men’s tennis will compete against Princeton at 1:00 p.m. in Princeton, New Jersey.

Sunday, April 23

Women’s and men’s golf will play during the fnal day of competition for the Ivy League Championship.

Sailing will continue to compete in its various regattas.

Baseball will face of against the Lions in the fnal game of the series at 12:00 p.m. Softball will continue their series at Yale, with their last game starting at 12:30 p.m.

Women’s tennis faces off against UPenn at the Thompson Outdoor Courts in Hanover starting at 1:00 p.m.

Men’s tennis will travel to Philadelphia to compete against UPenn at 1:00 p.m.

ZOORIEL TAN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

ELAINE PU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

New Hampshire Marijuana Bill Advances, Prompting Discussions About Marijuana At Dartmouth

By Katharine Bramante STORY

This article was originially published on April 19, 2023.

On Feb. 22, New Hampshire House of Representatives advanced a cannabis legalization bill to its Ways and Means Committee. Although the bill still needs to clear the Senate, this recent action marks a crucial step in potential legalization. In a state where seatbelts are optional for adults and people scream “Live Free or Die” from the rooftops, the state government will now decide whether residents can use marijuana legally. One day before April 20, the informal holiday that celebrates all things marijuana-related, The Dartmouth explores the plausibility of legalized usage on campus.

Due to the College’s need to remain eligible for federal funding for several programs and grants, including fnancial aid, legalization in the state legislature would likely not affect Dartmouth’s rules regarding marijuana.

Currently, “smoking is not permitted on the Dartmouth campus,” Jana Barnello, Dartmouth’s media relations strategist from the Ofce of Communications wrote in an email statement. The College “will continue to follow federal law in [its] policies, including regulations regarding marijuana.”

For Dartmouth to even consider allowing marijuana usage on campus, federal legalization of the substance would need to occur. But as more states, such as New Hampshire, take steps to legalize marijuana use, federal legalization seems increasingly plausible. In fact, two predictive models from researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the Santa Fe Institute have forecasted that the likelihood of federal legalization before 2028 is just under 70%, suggesting that federal legalization is very likely within the next fve years.

Scientist and epidemiologist Jacob Borodovsky, who researches cannabis

at the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health at Dartmouth, explained how a wave of state legislation in an area typically leads to similar legislation federally, particularly with regards to marijuana.

“If you go back to like 1900 to 1933, in that period, about two thirds of US states independently made cannabis illegal on their own before the federal government stepped in and created the Marijuana Tax Act,” Borodovsky said. “And now it’s kind of the fip. It’s happening in an opposite way, as since 1996, states have started legalizing.”

At Dartmouth, there is support both for and against legalized marijuana use on campus, according to three students who spoke with The Dartmouth under the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about their experiences.

“I think if it were federally legalized, I would support Dartmouth changing its rules because enforcing such strict consequences for something that’s federally legal would just seem unfair,” a member of the Class of 2026 said.

Another member of the Class of 2026 also said that Dartmouth should change its policies around marijuana if federally legalized, though she felt conficted about legalization and its potential efect on campus culture.

“If weed were federally legalized, I think Dartmouth should accept the fact. If we took the same approach that we take to alcohol laws, that would be fne,” she said. “However, personally, I don’t think I’d want to be walking to my 9L and smelling someone smoking a joint on my way.”

Borodovsky also emphasized that despite the changing social and health norms regarding marijuana, the drug can still be dangerous.

“I think an important message is that [legalization] doesn’t mean [marijuana] can’t mess you up –– it can mess you up, especially now with how potent [it] is,” he said. “If you don’t respect that drug, it’s not going to respect you back.”

One student also acknowledged that

he is aware of the potential negative efects of marijuana, yet he may not oppose its legalization.

“I defnitely think that marijuana, in excessive use, does have negative efects. It’s been shown to atrophy your brain and make you less motivated,” a third member of the Class of 2026 said. “I think that that’s obviously not good, but I don’t see any issue with recreational use.”

Borodovsky also discussed the complexities of disciplining marijuana use in a college setting.

“I think you want to discourage use,” Borodovsky said. “But at the same time, if some poor college kid is caught with like a gram of weed, you don’t want to ruin their life by kicking them out of college, right?”

However, Borodovsky also made it clear that colleges should also prioritize students’ well-being even if the federal

government legalizes marijuana.

“I think colleges in general are in a tough spot because they want to take care of you, and they want to help you grow as a person intellectually and socially,” he said. “So they don’t want to be too punitive, but they don’t want to be too lax either.”

This responsibility is heightened by the prevalence of substance abuse at many schools.

Brian Bowden, the lead counselor at the Student Wellness Center, explained that his role is to “provide resources [and] services to decrease high risk substance use, alcohol and other drugs.”

However, he also thinks that at colleges in states that have legalized marijuana, there hasn’t been a huge increase in marijuana abuse.

“I wouldn’t say there’s been a dramatic change [in usage],” Bowden said. “Even when [the legal status] went

All In: The Only Way Out is Down

By Tess Bowler STORY

This article was originally published on April 19, 2023.

This Sunday, after many falls, curse words and newly formed bruises on my body, I discovered I’m not nearly as good of a skier as I thought I was.

It all started when I had a little too much fun on Saint Patrick’s Day in my hometown. After showing my high school friends some photos of the New Hampshire winter, I texted my boyfriend asking if we could ski Tuckerman Ravine next winter — the steep bowl of Mount Washington, the tallest peak in the Northeast. This was something he had done several times before, but I had never even attempted. His response: We can actually ski Tucks this spring.

Before receiving that text, skiing in April was something that never crossed my mind. I thought that once temperatures hit 70 degrees Fahrenheit, like they did this weekend, skiing season was dead on arrival. My assumption may have been naive, but let me defend my thoughtprocess here: Unlike the many people that come from all over New England to hunt down the few surviving runs, I don’t really consider myself outdoorsy. Sure, I’ve always been active — as a kid, I played outside a lot and competed in every sport under the sun — but in the fatlands of Nebraska, where I grew up, the closest thing we have to a proper hike is a large hill. Don’t even get me started on the skiing options.

So, standing at the base of Mount Washington in a parking lot full of experienced outdoorsmen and women with their strange, expensive-looking gear, I couldn’t help but think I was a little in over my head — that I was fying blind. Others, however, knew more or less what they were getting into.

Early Tuesday morning, I spoke to Ryan Cooper ’25 on the phone as he drove up to Mount Washington for not the frst, but the

second time this past week. Last Thursday, Cooper and fve other Dartmouth students trekked to Huntington Ravine hoping to ice climb, but they found the ice too unstable due to the high temperatures. Instead, they skinned from the base of Yale Gully in Huntington Ravine, where they then traversed from the top of Yale across the Alpine Garden to The Lip, a run on Tucks, in order to ski the bowl.

While Cooper said he had been to “Mount Washington and Huntington Ravine dozens of times” for climbing, this was the only time he’s ever skied down Tucks, which he described as the “premier backcountry destination on the East coast.”

“It was the frst time I’ve done that kind of skiing — very steep [skiing] with a lot of [equipment] on you,” Cooper said. “Committing to the steep section was mentally tough.”

Though Kiki Levy ’24, a member of Dartmouth’s Ski Patrol, was born to two ski-loving parents and has considerable experience with backcountry skiing, this weekend was also her frst time attempting Tucks.

“Doing Tucks was always something that I pushed of last year because I had a midterm or something I felt was more important,” Levy said. “But [this weekend] ended up being one of my favorite Dartmouth weekends ever. It’s kind of a [risk], but it’s so worth it.”

I thought that after Tucks I would be able to preach about how rewarding it is to try something new, and that though you might not succeed at frst, you can ultimately learn something greater about yourself from that experience.

But the reality that I faced was much less poetic than that. Skiing Tucks was more or less a cycle of falling, getting up, attempting to jump, turning, falling again, twisting my skis, getting really mad at myself and trying not to show it. And I’m not even mentioning the hike to the

top of the run which requires skiers to climb 1,100 feet at a steady, steep incline in their ski boots.

I’ll admit it: Like most students at Dartmouth, I am a high achiever — unfamiliar and uncomfortable with failure — so when I try something and I’m not good at it, that’s the end of the story. But just as I was beginning to go down a cynical rabbit hole as I refected on my lap, I thought about what I was doing this time last year – or rather, what I was not doing this time last year. And I defnitely wasn’t hiking up part of Mount Washington and skiing down Hillman’s Highway, a run next to Tucks’ main bowl. When I was younger, I skied a lot. My father’s family is full of big skiers and I had aunts, uncles and cousins on

my mother’s side that lived in Colorado, so we often went on trips to visit them or go skiing nearby in Utah. But late in middle school — the part of life where you suddenly become conscious of how dangerous things actually are — I had an incident when I was night skiing in Vail, lost control and nearly fell of a steep clif. Though I walked away from this moment injury-free, it instilled one of my frst real fears within me. As a consequence, I shied away from skiing entirely, always coming up with frail excuses as to why my family shouldn’t go on trips to Utah anymore or why I preferred hanging out in the lodge.

When I came to Dartmouth, I hadn’t skied in over 6 years. But amongst the mountains of New Hampshire, I fgured that I couldn’t avoid it, so I might as well

from illegal to medical, I think it’s still a pretty low percentage of our student population [that uses marijuana].” Bowden said that regardless of whether the laws change, he wants to make sure students have access to resources about substance abuse and recovery. At the end of the day, the health and wellness of students is his priority, even if that simply means small adjustments in their relationship to drugs.

“As for my position as a healthcare provider, as a counselor, as a substance abuse assistant, the law piece is pretty irrelevant,” Bowden said. “We provide counseling services or educational services that would help to increase a person’s commitment and support of using [marijuana] in a low risk way — [if] that’s just decreasing their usage, sometimes that [small action] can be a win for them.”

embrace it. What started as a few blue runs at the Skiway my freshman winter later turned into days spent at Sugarbush, my frst time skinning my sophomore winter and fnally Tucks this spring.

About a little more than halfway down Hillman’s Highway, I fnally managed to land a jump turn. Though I had failed to land it more times than I’d like to admit, I came out with a sense of overwhelming fulfllment and a smile on my face. For most skiers this move is nothing to write home about, but several years ago, I wouldn’t have ever imagined that I could have even attempted something like this, let alone that I picked up skiing again.

So, maybe there is something to be said for failure. Fall on your ass, get up, and try again. Bruises only last for a little while.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TESS BOWLER