MIR ROR 2.21.2018
legacy HOW TO LIVE FOREVER | 6
SIBLINGS OF DARTMOUTH | 4-5
TTLG: DARTMOUTH DUCK SYNDROME | 8 ARIANNA LABARBIERA/THE DARTMOUTH
2 //MIRR OR
Editors’ Note
Celebrating Heritage on Campus STORY
MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Dartmouth is a college with a long history and strong traditions, known for building even longer and stronger bonds between the ones that call it home. As students we come to understand that this place, no matter how hard, how intense or how busy it has been, has shaped us in some way — know that green shutters, pine trees and pink New Hampshire skies mean something different now then they did before. Dartmouth imprints values, knowledge and memories on our young, barely adult souls. We understand that Dartmouth’s legacy on our lives will be important, even if we aren’t quite sure what that legacy is just yet. What is the legacy of the people before us who learned, loved and lived in this place? Amid the history, the traditions and the ever-lasting pride, what is our personal legacy to Dartmouth? Outside of Dartmouth, there are other questions of legacy. As we grow up, we are faced with ever more serious questions, questions that we want to delay answering. “What do you want your legacy to be?” “What will the legacy of our generation be?” “How do you want to leave your mark on this world?” Whether you intend to leave a lasting impression through your relationships, your career or ideas, one thing is clear: we all strive to be remembered in some shape or form.
follow @thedmirror 2.21.18 VOL. CLXXIV NO. 186 MIRROR EDITORS MARIE-CAPUCINE PINEAUVALENCIENNE CAROLYN ZHOU
By Tina Lin
Dartmouth, small and isolated as it is, has a rich abundance of different cultures, and students celebrate a multitude of different holidays. Holidays are representative of different heritages, and different groups and organizations on campus help to facilitate the celebration of these respective holidays. The celebration of holidays on campus as opposed to at home will be inevitably different, and a few students have offered their thoughts on the differences and challenges of celebrating their respective holidays at Dartmouth. An important holiday that many Jewish people celebrate is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This is a day for reflection and repentance when people consider everything that they have done in the past year and look for ways that they can do better in the next year. It is a day where many Jewish people fast and pray in examination of their lives. In observance of Yom Kippur, Dartmouth Hillel, an organization on campus for thwose who identify with or are interested in Judaism, hosts a religious service. Since people fast on this day, there is a large prefast meal, and many people gather and eat together. After the fast, there is a post-fast meal, when the fast is broken. Michael Bodek ’19, a member of Dartmouth Hillel, said that the gathering is an experience that allows him to bond with others. Bodek said that there are some challenges to celebrating Yom Kippur on campus. “It’s a day of reflection, you have to detach yourself from Dartmouth to truly examine your life,” he said. “The challenge is taking yourself back from all the hustle and bustle of midterms and social drama and just think about what’s going on in your life and put that all aside and think in the present and past, what you’ve done, what you can do better. I think it’s definitely a struggle to detach yourself and truly look inward.” Taking a day to step back from the fast-paced life at Dartmouth to reflect on one’s life is not something that is easy. Another important holiday that is celebrated on campus is Chinese New Year. This year, there were events hosted by the Dartmouth Chinese Students and Scholars Association and Dartmouth Asian Organization in celebration. CSSA is a graduate student organization dedicated to building a social network among Chinese students, and DAO is an undergraduate Asian and Asian-American interest organization that plans social and
educational programming to promote latter. Diwali is the festival of lights, and unity and awareness amongst students it occurs on a different date every year; on campus. DAO hosts open dinner in 2017 it began on Oct. 19 in India. discussions for students to talk about Shanti, a religious group on campus cultural events or about Asian culture for Hindus, oversees the celebrations of in general. both holidays. This group usually meets In celebration of Chinese New every Friday in the Hindu Temple in Year, DAO hosted a dinner discussion, Rollins Chapel allowing people to share their Diwali is the biggest Hindu holiday experiences and how they celebrate celebrated on campus. This past year’s the holiday. The main event DAO celebration featured a service in Rollins hosts is DAO Culture Night, an annual Chapel, lighting of over 5,000 lamps event that features performances on the Green, a cultural show featuring from different dance groups such as dance performances at Alumni Hall in Dartmouth Asian Dance Troupe, the Hopkins Center for the Arts and a Middle Eastern Dance Club, Street home-cooked Indian dinner. Soul and Raaz. Tanish Raghavan ’20, a member “I feel like only international of Shanti, reflected on Diwali’s Chinese students care most about importance to him. [Chinese New Year],” DAO president “What’s special about Diwali on Eric Zhang ’20 said. “When we see campus is that since the Upper Valley each other, we might say ‘Happy region is sort of remote from other Chinese New Year!’ That’s why it’s Indian communities such as Boston, more important to have these kinds of Massachusetts, we’re heavily involved events for DAO to host. It’s like a place with a lot of people from the Upper where everyone can come together and Valley region who don’t necessarily truly celebrate it.” have any ties to Dartmouth per se,” When asked how it is different he said. to celebrate Chinese New Year at Holi is a youthful, fun festival that Dartmouth, occurs in the spring Zhang said, where people throw “In China, “What’s special about colored powder there is a Diwali on campus is on each other, week-long celebrating love, the that since the Upper holiday for beginning of spring people to go Valley region is sort and the triumph of home and get of remote from other good over evil. Since together with people on campus their relatives Indian communities ... are of a different for a reunion we’re heavily involved age group than those d i n n e r. who partake in the with a lot of people Since we’re festival globally, the in America, from the Upper Valley holiday is more toned w e d o n ’ t ...” down, according to h ave t h at Raghavan. People opportunity.” also gather in Rollins Z h a n g -TANISH RAGHAVAN ’20 Chapel and have a still keeps in meal together. touch with his Raghavan noted family and said he enjoys celebrating the differences of celebrating the the same holiday, even though his holiday on campus. family is overseas, and he is in the “Definitely back home, I have my middle of the woods. In China during family with me and nothing can top Chinese New Year, there are typically that. I think at a lot of places ... we try fireworks shows, and many houses to create that sense of home for a lot display red banners on their doors. of people because at the end of the There is also a Lantern Festival to day, it’s just being with people who conclude Chinese New Year where you like, who share the same ideals and the lanterns symbolize the hope for a spirituality and enjoy that spirituality bright future. At Dartmouth, however, with them which is something that we Chinese New Year can be just another do on an everyday basis as Shanti,” he regular day, and Zhang says that DAO said. tries to create a place for people who All of these holidays are celebrated celebrate the holiday. on campus despite the challenges of For the Hindu population on celebrating away from home, with campus, Diwali and Holi are both groups creating spaces on campus for holidays that are widely celebrated on people to come together and enjoy and campus, the former more so than the celebrate their heritage.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RAY LU PUBLISHER PHILIP RASANSKY EXECUTIVE EDITOR ERIN LEE PHOTO EDITORS TIFFANY ZHAI MICHAEL LIN
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth. com for corrections. Correction Appended (Feb. 20, 2018): The original version of the Feb. 19 article “Laura Rippy ‘89 to lead Green D Ventures” misstated the number of the firm’s alumni investors. The article has been updated to correct this error.
Bequests: Threads of Legacy at Dartmouth STORY
MIRROR //3
By Amanda Chen
While well-known traditions such or even the ’80s,” McCoy said. “For as running around the bonfire during example, I have a pair of shorts from Homecoming or participating in the the ’70s.” polar bear plunge during Winter For Allie Reichert ’18, a member Carnival contribute significantly to of Chi Delta sorority, bequests have Dartmouth’s legacy, smaller traditions included a pair of tights that have such as bequests help shape the approximately fifteen names of College’s legacy on a more personal previous members and a floral buttondown shirt that came in a shoebox with level. the names of Bequests, which all its previous are items that are “Even though a owners. As a cyclically passed former member from a senior to person that you know of the rowing an underclassman, personally gave [the team, she typically within an bequest] to you and has also been organization, are bequested usually clothing it was very local in a DVD copy items, but they that sense, you see a of “She’s the can be just about Man” that has anything that the history behind it and been owned by senior wishes to pass you see the 10 names seven different down. For example, before you.” members. as a member of While Phi Delta Alpha bequests may fraternity, Max -ALLIE REICHERT ’18 serve practical McCoy ’19 has uses, they are been bequested sweaters that he wears on a daily also imbued with special meaning or basis and noted that people have sentimental value from their previous also bequested entire boxes of items, owners. For Reichert, the copy of “She’s the Man” is meaningful because including objects such as basketballs. “[Many of the bequests] are it was bequested to her by someone clothing items designed for events in who saw a lot of herself in Reichert. the past, so we have sweaters that we Traditionally, the DVD is also given to designed for an event in 2012 or 2010 the “most naive, innocent freshman” on
the rowing team according to Reichert. Like the DVD, the gifting of the floral button-down follows a theme: it’s given to someone whom the graduating senior will keep in touch with after graduation. By reminding students of those who came before them, bequests tie individuals more deeply to the organization itself. “Even though a person that you know personally gave [the bequest] to you and it was very local in that sense, you see a history behind it and you see the 10 names before you,” Reichert said. “It’s so cool that you’re connected to all these people through this random little item. [Bequests] help connect the years of people within those communities.” Moreover, bequests do not necessarily have to be physical items. Oftentimes, bequests can be a special nickname or title that a senior assigns to an underclassman. For example, Lily Xu ’18 was bequested the nickname “Ragey Lily” by Lily Albrecht ’15. Reichert attributes bequests to the College’s fun culture around clothing. Thus, bequests such as flair can be humorous and ridiculous, but also meaningful such that they are loyally worn during events. For example, Reichert always wears the floral-button down to Chi Delt events. For dance
costumes bequested to members of dance teams like Fusion, which Xu participates in, the costumes are worn like flair but hold more symbolism because they relate specifically to the team’s history. A bequest is also viewed as a piece of history that honors the time that the individual spends at the organization. For example, Xu was bequested a vintage, mint-green Ledyard Canoe Club jacket from the ’90s by Conor Cathey ’15. “This is the most special bequest that I’ve received because it’s part of Ledyard history,” Xu said. “While I have my own [modern] jacket that I’ve purchased that is mine, this [vintage jacket] is my special jacket for the four years that I am here.” Many organizations hold their own ceremonies at the end of spring term specifically to pass down bequests. For example, at Phi Delt, McCoy noted that the event can last all day, as graduating brothers announce one-by-one who will receive each bequest, with a small explanation or a quick humorous story about the history behind each bequest. At Chi Delt, for the sake of time, graduating members often only single out the most meaningful items and then bequest the other items privately. Other organizations may not necessarily have a special ceremony,
but seniors personally bequest items to underclassmen regardless. For the graduating seniors, bequesting to the next generation of members is exciting. They can create their own bequests with items with which they have had personal or emotional attachment, in addition to passing on bequests they received as underclassmen. The bequest becomes symbolic of passing down the special connection the senior has had with the organization, in addition to the excitement of letting new members shape history. “Seeing all the new members in [Chi Delt] makes me excited for them, [especially when] I think about them getting the items and coming into positions in the house and ... shaping it into their own thing,” Reichert said. Most importantly, by tying together long lines of members in organizations, bequests contribute to the College’s legacy as a whole. Xu recognizes that while many of the College’s organizations have decades of history, the institutional memory of each organization is often short — firstyears will only know the history that seniors know. Smaller, more intimate traditions like bequests can evoke strong memories and are proof of a longer story and significance behind each organization.
COURTESY OF LILY XU
Lily Xu ’18’s favorite bequest is a vintage Ledyard Canoe Club jacket from the ’90s handed to her by Conor Cathey ’15.
4// MIRROR
Siblings of Dartmouth: Legacies in the Making STORY
By Annie Farrell
COURTESY OF ISABEL BURGESS
Isabel Burgess '20 (left) and Jack Burgess '20 (right) enjoy having each other as friends on campus.
Isabel Burgess ’20 and Jack Burgess ’20 What do you like most about going to school together? JB: I have someone who I can eat food with, hang out with, talk about things with. Isabel will get my jokes and we can laugh about things that we both know about. IB: It’s nice having a really good friend on campus. It is also really nice having someone to fly with when we come out here. What do you not like about going to school together? JB: I guess I can’t go crazy because Isabel would hear about it, but I don’t know that I would go crazy anyway. IB: I don’t know if there’s anything that I don’t like because we spent our whole lives being together, so I don’t know what it would be like to not have to have a sibling with me. What do you like best about being a twin? JB: I have someone to talk to about things that are going on. Not just personal things, but any sort of thing. IB: Well, generally, we usually know what’s happening in the other’s life, so we can understand the background for something, whereas a friend you just met at Dartmouth may not understand why you are so excited about something or why you may feel bad.
COURTESY OF EVAN MUSCATEL
Garett Muscatel's '20 (right) friends often give Evan Muscatel '21 (left) random hugs.
Evan Muscatel ’21 and Garrett Muscatel ’20 Do you two spend time together on campus? GM: Yeah, I’ll hang out with him at [Beta Alpha Omega fraternity] sometimes, we played IM sports, we play video games sometimes. We’ll get meals every now and then, but it’s nice that it is a small enough campus that we run into each other randomly a good amount. And my friends run into him and give him hugs. He loves getting a big public display of affection from people he has never seen before. EM: But then they are my friends, and I hug them back now. GM: See, I am just helping him make friends. That’s the whole goal. Describe each other in three words. GM: How sarcastic can I be? EM: Okay, I got it. Way too political. GM: Calm, compassionate and handsome. EM: Can’t argue with that one. How are you two most alike? EM: Everything we’ve said in this entire interview was probably sarcastic. GM: We do love sarcasm.
Madeleine Généreux Th ’20 and Marguerite “Margot” Généreux ’21 What is it like going to Dartmouth together? MarG: I think it is really nice. I am a freshman so it’s my first year of college. It is Madeleine’s first year too because she’s a 3-2 engineering student. It was nice in the first few weeks to have someone to go through that adjustment with. We get a meal a week with each other a lot of the time. It’s nice to check in with each other. MadG: It is also really nice to just bump into each other and just quickly catch up. Some weeks we see each other a lot, some weeks we barely see each other, but it is just fun to see each other around. What do you like about going to school together? MadG: For me, it is something else that we share. We’ve grown up together, and now it is just nice that we can talk about Dartmouth and know what the other one really means, and I think that brings us closer in a way. What is one personality trait that your sibling has that you wished you had? MarG: Madeleine is just so sweet. She is so kind. She will not say anything bad about anyone ever. She is just very kind-hearted. MadG: I think Margot is very kind too. She is so nice to the people that she cares about. Something I wish I had is how outgoing she is — she has a lot of energy, and that’s really cool. COURTESY OF MADELEINE GÉNÉREUX
Marguerite Généreux '21 (left) and Madeleine Généreux Th '20 (right) started attending Dartmouth the same year.
MIRROR //5
COURTESY OF GAURAV VARMA
Twins Guarav Varma '20 (left) and Anuj Varma '20 (right) are less homesick with each other's presence.
Gaurav Varma ’20 and Anuj Varma ’20
COURTESY OF MAIAH POLICE
Were you excited when you found out you both were going to Dartmouth? AV: I was just excited to go to Dartmouth in general. GV: Me too. I was just really happy to go to Dartmouth. It was all the better that I had someone there who I already know. I already had a friend at Dartmouth. How is your relationship different on campus rather than at home? GV: Well, I would say we communicate a lot less on campus just because we are so busy. We have a lot more responsibility when we come to Dartmouth. We can’t see each other as much. Whereas at home, we will see each other like 10 times more. It is not like the nature of our interactions are different, it is just that there is more interaction, I would say. AV: Yeah, I agree with that. Things are a lot different when you’re living right across the hall as opposed to across campus. Does going to school with your sibling help with homesickness? AV: I don’t really feel homesick. I don’t feel homesick at all. I’m not just saying that, I am being very honest. GV: Yeah, it might. I don’t know. I haven’t really imagined a world where he’s not on campus. What would that look like? I think in the backdrop of everything, just because he’s on campus, it makes everything okay. AV: I didn’t think about that until now, but maybe I am not homesick at all because he’s here. I never really thought about that. Very interesting. GV: Mind blown.
Kepa Police '17 (left) and Maiah Police '19 (right) were closer on campus than they were at home.
Reeves “Kepa” Police ’17 and Maiah Police ’19 How was your sibling relationship different on campus compared to at home? MP: What’s funny is we were way closer here. We’d only see each other a couple times a week, but at home we are side-by-side doing everything together, so of course we get way more annoyed with each other. Here it is fun when we run into each other at Late Night Collis or I’d run into him at the library or study with him. We are more separate here so that made the moments we were together way more fun I think. What’s it like to now be at Dartmouth without your brother here? MP: Well, I was so sad the last night. He was actually on for my sophomore summer, and then I left to go home before he did. I remember that night realizing that that was the last time we would be students together on campus and it was devastating. Now, it kind of seems like a distant memory because now I am in my second term without him. It was always nice running into him and being all excited, and I know he misses it, so it’s hard for him to watch all my Snapchats and stuff. Was there anything you didn’t like about going to school together? MP: I guess not being about to make Dartmouth my own from the start. I was labeled immediately when I came in because people already knew me through Facebook and Instagram and as “Kepa’s sister.” I totally loved coming in and people kind of knowing who I was, but it would have been fun to come in and kind of shape it as my own. But I definitely would never swap that for not having him here. I would rather have him here.
Christopher Quintero ’18 and Stephanie Quintero ’20 Were you excited when you found out you both were going to Dartmouth? SQ: I was super excited. I was kind of worried that I was going to be intruding since this was his school first, but at the same time, I was super excited. I just wanted to bond with him more. CQ: For me personally, I think I was a little bit hesitant at the beginning just because we had been going to school together for so long. SQ: Very hesitant. CQ: I guess I wanted my own thing a little bit, but I really warmed up to the idea. I felt like mentoring her is something I have done my entire life, and I wanted to continue to do that throughout college, especially because our parents didn’t go to college. It’s been really great seeing her journey throughout Dartmouth. Does going to school with your sibling help with homesickness? SQ: For sure. It is kind of like a piece of home that is with me here so I never really feel like I am far away from my family. CQ: Yeah, I’d say the same. It was kind of lonely the first two years being alone far away from my family. It’s nice having her here as well. COURTESY OF STEPHANIE QUINTERO
Christopher Quintero '18 (left) and Stephanie Quintero '20 (right) are two years apart but are still close.
How are you two most alike? SQ: Our smile. People tell us that we have the same smile. These interviews were edited and condensed for clarity and length.
6 //MIRR OR
How To Live Forever FEATURE
By Eliza Jane Schaeffer
Art Definitions are inherently limiting. How can you define something that is by its nature so expansive? No combination of words could possibly make room for pigments swirled on parchment, clay structured by careful hands, aerated paint cutting across the underbelly of a bridge, air sculpted by the interior of a room, symbiotic words lovingly strung together like beads on a bracelet, the crescendo of a narrative and sound waves that vibrate your heart. All of these things are united not only by an undefinable definition but also by a quality of permanence. Their creator has peeled back the casing of her soul and pressed its precious face against the psyche of the world, leaving a trace for all those who care to see. Bequest An item imbued with the life of a friend who has moved on or a loved one who is long gone. A memory that can be touched. Charity With enough money, you could become a library or a department building. Students could agree to meet in [YOUR LAST NAME HERE] for group projects. Your name could invoke memories of eyes half-closed with exhaustion, of stress-induced headaches, of fingers on keyboards fueled by much caffeine and little sleep. Alternatively, for less money, you could become a park bench. Day of the Dead I am a fiend for Pixar movies, and you best believe that I saw “Coco” in theaters. On its surface, it’s a movie about a boy who loves music and who must travel to the Land of the Dead to secure the blessing of his ancestors. But, like any good children’s movie, it’s about far more than just that. Central to the thematic core of the film is an Aztec and Mayan tradition which holds that every human dies three deaths: the first when the life leaves their body, the second when they enter the ground and the third when they are forgotten. In one of the opening scenes, we see a famous musician singing a song entitled “Remember Me.” Halfway through the song, a prop drops from the sky and Miguel dies (I thought this was supremely ironic and laughed, the rest of the theater thought I was a sociopath). Later on, we learn that the song was intended as a touching exchange between a never-around father and his young daughter. Implicit in the resolution of the film is the assertion that being remembered by one’s family is far more important than being remembered on a superficial level by large, adoring crowds. Remember me, begs the film, because if you don’t, I am nothing.
Eulogy Words so hard to write, I don’t know how to write about them. Facebook When you die, your loved ones may request that Facebook either delete or memorialize your account. According to Facebook, memorialized accounts are characterized by the following: the word “Remembering” is placed next to the name of the deceased; photos may be shared by others to the deceased’s timeline; the account is locked to log-ins and to changes; and all account content remains accessible indefinitely. A digital gravestone. Gravestone Thomas Jefferson had strict instructions for the masons responsible for constructing his gravestone. The engraving would read “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, & Father of the University of Virginia.” These, he believed, were his finest accomplishments. The stone would be sturdy, yet coarse and unattractive. This would deter thieves. His legacy would be carefully worded, and it would last forever. Henrietta Lacks She was an African American woman with cervical cancer in the 1950s. Her cancer cells were sampled, stored and cloned without her knowledge, and to this date, they have been used in over 10,000 patented medical research initiatives. Her story, which lives on through an award-winning BBC documentary and through a book entitled “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” has raised important questions about ethics in medical research. Intellect How tragic that Thomas Edison is the man who invented the lightbulb, not the man who proposed to his wife using morse code. How unfortunate that Abraham Lincoln is a long face and a tall hat and the glue of a country, not a father or a lover or a man who withstood chronic depression. In being remembered, they are forgotten. Journalism A collection of articles linked to a name. A human-interest story, corrupted to make a broader point. Kitsch “R.I.P. Joe, 1983 – 2015, Gone but Never Forgotten” reads the bumper sticker on the back of the car in front of me. Likeness Imagine yourself as the portrait artist for an autocrat. Who wants to
be remembered as ugly? Who wants to estimate their subject’s standards of ugly? Who wants to search for the gossamer thread that equilibrates the recognizable and the acceptable? Who wants to choose between honest work and certain punishment? Minds The girl dancing by herself in a public bathroom, lost in release until she saw my reflection in the mirror; the man who, arms and legs scissoring, dashed through oncoming traffic; the woman, impeccably dressed, sprinting through the Atlanta airport; people whose names I do not know and whose faces are forever preserved in fleeting memories coded in my conscious. Thousands of strangers will remember them from a distance. A handful will remember them as co-workers, friends or family. Our beings, fragmented and stored in the minds of others, live longer than we do. Nanotechnology In 2005, an inventor named Ray Kurzweil published a book entitled “The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology.” In it, he argues that within 40 years, humans and computational technology will become one, allowing us to live forever. Our veins, nerves, muscles, bones, even our personalities and thought patterns, will be made immortal by engineering. Obituary Public, impersonal, permanent. How those you know commemorate you. How those you don’t know will meet you. Policy He describes it as an “impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful, southern border wall.” One thousand miles of it. Permanent. President Donald Trump would never be forgotten. Quaking Aspen I once met a hiking guide, who was, as my grandfather would say, a “character.” The sort of man who would fertilize his backyard garden with his own excrement (this he did). The sort of man who would say that he’d like to be buried with an aspen seed clasped in his hands, so that a tree may grow down and up, nourished by his decaying flesh, with his bones at its heart. Reasoning Famous philosophers have talked their way into immortality. Their thought patterns, coded into words, are an open maze through which others can fumble. We read their words, try on their words, make their words say what that which they didn’t but might have said. Their minds live on in the mouths of students.
Scorn Time Magazine’s algorithm in 2013 determined Adolf Hitler to be the seventh most significant figure in history. Tradition On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote to his wife that the anniversary of the American independence would be forever “commemorated … with Shews, Games, Sports, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations.” On July 4, 2017, I stood on the roof of a building in our nation’s capital, the air sticky with moisture and sparkling with technicolor flares. Utterance Words have power. They are heard by our ears, processed by our brains and felt in our hearts.They have the potential to save and the potential to kill. They can lift a woman off her feet or drive a man mad. They may be read for centuries to come. I have heard words that made my life infinitely better, and I have heard words that made my life infinitely worse. I hear them still. Victim In August of 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a boy named Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer. He was then reborn as a hashtag, a call to action, a plea to policymakers, the face of a public campaign. Worship The Kwaio are a people in the Solomon Islands that live in small clan groups. In the 1980s, anthropologist Roger Keesing conducted an ethnographic study of Kwaio culture and religion. When Kwaio die, they become “adalo,” or spirits of the dead. “Adalo” satisfying certain criteria become “walafu,” or ancestors. In order to become a walafu, a Kwaio must have been dead for at least five generations and be associated with a claim to land, among other ritual requirements. These conditions are deceptivelysimple,astheKwaio’shostile
environment decreases the likelihood of an ancestor’s clan surviving for the requisite five generations and increases the likelihood that the dead will be forgotten. Long-lasting clans attribute their good fortune to the protection of an ancestor. Xenogamy Procreation for plants. Yearning “A dream is a wish your heart makes,” goes the song. That’s not true. Neuroscientists haven’t quite figured out what dreams are. They may be the result of random firings of neurons, they may be a way of processing information. They are certainly not wishes from the muscle that pumps blood through your body. But I do think a wish is a dream your heart makes. We wish for that which we can’t have, that which is as false as a dream. We wish for the disappeared, for the once but no longer, for the would be nice. And to yearn is to remember. Zamperini Louis Zamperini grew up poor, bullied and drunk. He began running in high school and for three years was undefeated. He set the world record for the mile for his age group, won a scholarship to the University of Southern California and qualified for the Olympics in the 5,000-meter race at the age of 19. After college, Zamperini enlisted to fight in World War II. His plane crashed, most of his fellow crewmembers died during their nearly 50 days in a life raft at sea, and he was captured as a Japanese prisoner of war. After release, ravaged by memories, he began drinking heavily, until finding God as a bornagain evangelist Christian. He forgave his captors. His story is portrayed in a book-made-film “Unbroken” and is so inspiring as to be unbelievable. For the average man, the first sentence of this story would have been the last. But all who read his memoir are reminded that they can add another clause to their own.
GEORGIA FEAR/THE DARTMOUTH
MIRROR //7
Leaving a Sustainable Legacy STORY
By Timothy Yang
Humans have come a long way to arrive at this point of history, in which human expansion and activity has altered the course of the world’s climate. For the first time, we are aware of the profound impact we have on the environment. Rising temperature, rising sea levels, intensified storms, increased irregularity of precipitation and other alarming effects of climate change present with us a multitude of challenges and problems regarding sustainability. Temperatures are rising at an abnormally high pace, and it seems that humans are at least partially responsible for this worsening trend. At this watershed moment, we have to ask ourselves if we wish this trend of intensified climate change to continue. We have to think about the implication of climate change and contemplate on how future generations are going to be affected by the current trend towards uncertainty that we have set for them. We need to ask ourselves: what kind of legacy are we building for future generations? What kind of responsibilities do we have to maintain a better environment for them? As the world continues to increment its impact, a deep commitment to and understanding of sustainability by each of us seems to be more necessary than ever. “To me, sustainability is really about common sense,” said Rosi Kerr ’97, director of sustainability. “[It’s about] being a net positive contributor. And being really mindful of the resources you use, how you use them and how you can do a better job.” Kerr expressed that regarding people’s responsibilities to maintain a better environment for future generations, people need to ask what kind of fingerprints they want to leave on the world. “We can all think of examples where people before us have made things easier for us, and we can all think of examples where people before us
have made things worse or harder for ourselves and for others,” Kerr said. “You want the people who come after you to not have to struggle, to have a life without hardship.” To Kerr, sustainability and legacy come together. “We get to decide what our sustainability legacy is going to be,” Kerr said. “And that’s the thing about legacies; you get to decide [how] it’s going to be by the effort you put into it. And if you think about the impact you have on the people around you, you get to decide sort of every day, how that legacy will continue in the world.” Kerr explained that the Dartmouth Sustainability Office hopes to bring up issues of sustainability for Dartmouth, to guide students to understand and tackle the sustainability problems and to produce ideas that may contribute to the future. “Questions such as, how do we enable everyone in the world to have access to healthy, wholesome food, how do we enable to enable everyone in the world to have access to clean water and how do we enable everyone in the world to have access energy without sinking ship,” Kerr said. “Those are really interesting questions to me, and I think that [producing ideas by these answering questions] is fundamentally what our office is about.” Working as an intern this year in the Sustainability Office, Madison Sabol ’18, who created the “Green2Go” reusable takeout container program for the Class of 1953 Commons, shared her thoughts on sustainability. “I think that sustainability, the word in and of itself is about legacy,” Sabol said. “Because it’s about future generations, and sustainability is a matter of leaving something for the next generations that is not so broken apart — broken apart in so many places that it can’t be placed together as a whole.”
Sabol reflects that not only will we want to leave a world that is in good condition for future generations, but also in a condition that will allow them to build off of it. She comments that even though we are doing our very best to leave the world in a better state, people often think their actions today are not going to affect the future and resist sustainability. “So that’s why I think sustainability is very tied to justice,” Sabol explained. “And not just justice for the present, but intergenerational justice. That’s to say that, it’s justice that spans far past our own years. That’s why I think sustainability is tied to legacy.” Sabol said that when she thinks about sustainability, she thinks not only about the environment but also about the people and the way the economics work. To her, sustainability is all-encompassing. “You just can’t disconnect people and sustainability, or justice and sustainability,” Sabol said. “[For example], the people that are going to experience some of the most devastating experiences of climate change with rising sea levels are [people in] different island nations.” Catherine Rocchi ’19, a member of Divest Dartmouth, added that environmental justice is not only about future generations but also about the current one. “[Legacy] implies that our actions related to climate change are only impacting future generations, but climate change is having a negative effect on many communities right now,” Rocchi said. “I think acting on climate change and other social justice issues is about looking beyond your immediate privilege of not having to worry about climate change to do something good for other people.” Rocchi explained that Divest Dartmouth hopes to achieve its sustainability goals by influencing the political discourse through
HANNAH MCGRATH/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
The Dartmouth Sustainability Office is working to help students understand and address sustainability issues on campus.
GEORGIA FEAR/THE DARTMOUTH
Dartmouth’s divestment from fossil fuel companies. Divest Dartmouth wants climate change to be a politically pertinent issue. “It makes climate change more of a political priority,” Rocchi explained. “Political pressure allows international governments to be more aggressive about the international policy that will help ease our dependency on fossil fuels and help renewables become more prevalent as the means of producing energy.” Rocchi stressed the urgency of climate change and identifies fossil fuel divestment as an initial action that the College can take for the cause of sustainability. “It’s critical; in climate change there are so many thresholds, so many positive feedback loops,” Rocchi said. “The sooner we act, the easier it will be to halt the damage.” Elizabeth Wilson, the director of Irving Institute for Energy and Society, which has the stated mission to “[transform] humankind’s understanding of issues at the intersection of energy and society,” said the institute takes a different approach to sustainability. She first acknowledged Dartmouth Divest. “I know there were great controversies with the school when they took money from the Arthur L. Irving family and the Irving foundations, but the way I think about it, this is our legacy energy system,” Wilson said. “This is how we all got here. This is how you have a house that warms, this is how we have cars that go, and in my case, the airplane that just took me to Seattle.” Wilson emphasized that energy is an integral part of our daily living. She advocated for conversations about energy and explained that the Irving Institute aims to establish and strengthen conversations about energy across campus. “If you read the earliest Dartmouth documents, people would have to
[do things] like digging up stumps in the green and chopping your own firewood,” Wilson said. “So, if we think about how energy has changed, and how we are using it on campus and how we are using it for the future, for me, this conversation of energy and society faces not only ... where we are going, but also where we come from.” Conversations about energy are significant because they allow sustainability to be addressed more practically and more in line with our current world, where energy is ubiquitous and necessary for our society to function. “[Energy] underlies us all, it’s all revolving around the most basic system that most of us take for granted,” Wilson said. Aside from promoting conversations about energy, the Irving Institute hopes to contribute to sustainability by educating students and conducting energy-related research across multiple fronts. “What I hope is that energy becomes something Dartmouth students appreciate on campus, just like you appreciate the trees, the river and the nice air,” Wilson said. “And for the institute itself, I really want it to become an internationally-renowned destination for creative energy thinking and problem solving for future energy systems.” Sustainability has never been more critical. While every one of us has our own motivation for sustainability, what is essential is for us to be aware of the responsibilities each of us has to maintain a better environment not only for ourselves but also for future generations. Sustainability is about building an environmental justice legacy that transcends self-interest and embraces humanity as a whole. On a personal level, Sabol expressed an inspiring passion for sustainability as our legacy: “I think future generations should have the opportunity to live better than we do now.”
8// MIRROR
TTLG: DDS — Dartmouth Duck Syndrome TTLG
By Sarah Salzman
For those of you who haven’t When I experienced periods of heard of “duck syndrome,” it is a extreme loneliness, I felt like the concept often applied to college rest of the students I saw around students who appear calm on the me seemed to have friends and surface but are frantically suffering communities to support them. u n d e r n e at h . A t D a r t m o u t h , They seemed to be happy and students can struggle to juggle have it together. In reality though, numerous commitments and how many students were truly like expectations. So many seem to ducks furiously paddling to get do it all and still have their life by? How many were just like me? together. Dartmouth students Reflecting on my composure at the pride themselves on the ability to time, I wonder if I also appeared “work hard, play hard,” but are to be calm on the outside. Was I we happy? just another duck on the water? Of course Dartmouth has Since this period I have done many flaws, and so does society a lot self reflection and thought at large. Larger-scale structures extensively about ways to make can impose various adversities myself feel more supported and that impact individuals unequally. self-confident. Looking back, here I don’t want to ignore the fact that are some things I wish I could tell some of the structural flaws of this my first-year self: campus affect a lot of people’s ability to be happy. Privilege plays S u r ro u n d yo u r s e l f w i t h an important role in challenging people who make you feel some, while enabling others. In this good and loved. piece, though, I am going to focus This is so important and has on the inner and interpersonal taken me so long to truly embrace. side of happiness and ways we Actually think about the people can become more content in our you choose to spend time with and Dartmouth lives. how they make you feel. You should D u r i n g m y D a r t m o u t h be able to trust and be vulnerable experience with your friends I h ave without worrying q u e s t i o n e d “Dartmouth about how they my o w n students pride will react. Maybe happiness and it sounds simple the happiness themselves on the and obvious, but of my peers ability to ‘work it can be easy to time and wrapped up hard, play hard,’ but get again. Looking in other things back on my are we happy?” — the fun, the years here, I adventures, the cannot believe memories — and what a roller not realize that coaster ride it a friendship is has been — doing you more I have grown harm than good. and matured Don’t stay friends in ways I could with people who never have imagined. For the first continually make you feel bad time in my Dartmouth experience, about yourself. Friends should I am so content with where I am in support each other, not bring each my life right now. I am thankful to other down. be surrounded by a loving support system of friends, I am passionate Don’t go out if you don’t feel about the classes and discussions I like it. am engaged in intellectually and In fact, do less of what you I love all of the fun activities and don’t like to do. Granted, your adventures I have been avidly homework and campus job are less partaking in as #senioritis sets in optional, but a lot of things we do strong. Things are far from perfect at Dartmouth are. Social life and in my life or at Dartmouth, but extracurricular activities are two I feel like I have finally found a areas where you can focus and act comfortable place where I am able on what makes you happy. to manage what comes my way. Be mindful of how you are My Dartmouth experience has feeling as you prepare to trek to included encounters with mental frat row. Do you truly want to go? illness, losses of friends, family Or are you going because your and acquaintances and a number friends are or because you need to of other massive sources of stress get your facetime in? I can’t even and struggle. These situations have count the number of times I have understandably led me to feel upset unwillingly pushed myself to be but also very confused and alone. social, only to return a few hours
later dissatisfied. We have so many choices available to us that we can opt for what will make us the most content on any given night: board game or movie nights, Collis After Dark activities, hanging at home with friends, shows at the Hop or maybe even catching up on sleep. These days I have been spending most nights watching the Winter Olympics with friends and cheering on my beloved Team Canada. Perhaps this is a lot of senior Sarah talking, but I do think that there are immense benefits to thoughtfully choosing how you spend your social time. Extracurricular activities can take up a lot of time, and I know from certain experiences that a half- (or empty) hearted commitment to an activity is not very enjoyable. Have you ever questioned if your extracurricular activities are genuinely fulfilling? Are you just doing a particular activity for your resume? Ideally, if you are going to spend a lot of time on something, let it be worthy to you. Recognize frustration and try to avoid it. Try to recognize situations that make you irrationally agitated and, as much as possible, try to avoid them — especially when the outcome is out of your control. There are so many situations I have encountered at Dartmouth that have made me viscerally angry. While some anger is certainly a good thing, and spurs us to take action, too much anger can be unhealthy. I have been deeply frustrated by the flaws of this institution, the Greek system and people with different politics than
COURTESY OF SARAH SALZMAN
me. Sometimes I couldn’t really more grounded in my feelings. figure out why my reactions were One easy way to journal is to write so strong, or if I was the one with three positive things from your the problem. Upon reflection day, every day. I have found this I have come to recognize that method very effective at getting me it is sometimes the situations to focus on the good in each day. themselves that are toxic. Once I It encouraged me to create or find realize that I am feeling especially happy moments where I otherwise agitated with a wouldn’t given situation, I have. You can try to surrounded “Perhaps this is a also include m y s e l f w i t h lot of senior Sarah the bad and friends instead the ugly, or or just remove talking, but I do just write a myself from a think that there are ranting entry discussion. While you feel immense benefits to when listening to others like it, but I and being open thoughtfully choosing do think that t o d i s c u s s i o n how you spend your making space is c ritical, let to emphasize yo u r s e l f h ave social time.” the positive space from can be very environments helpful. And that agitate you. don’t worry if And of course, you miss a day, don’t be upset or days — it is because you are hard to always upset — you are allowed to feel make time for journaling. anger, but to some extent can also control how much you expose At Dartmouth we don’t need to yourself to it. fall into the trap of duck syndrome. In doing so, we may ignore how Experiment with journaling. we really feel and not be as happy Journaling seems like the classic as we could be. When you stop recommendation to deal with paddling so hard, you can still emotions and with life. Getting float. You don’t need to conceal counseling is up there too. There yourself from others or hide the are many ways to journal, and truth from yourself. We can work I have tried a few of them in on being more vulnerable and my time at Dartmouth. This is more open with how we feel. something I wish I made more By being more aware of what time for, especially so I could is fulfilling to us, outside of the remember all the good things in “work hard, play hard” mentality, my college experience. Before we can work towards a fuller sense sophomore summer, I had two of happiness. In doing so, I hope older friends recommend that I we can make room for more honest take up journaling to get more human connection in communities out of the summer and keep me at Dartmouth.