VOL. CLXXVIII NO. 13
FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Professors pleased, students One year ago, report frustrated by indoor mask mandate predicted problems with COVID-19 response BY Arielle Feuerstein The Dartmouth Staff
OLIVER DE JONGHE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Masks are required in most indoor spaces, including dining halls and libraries.
BY LAUREN ADLER & ANDREW SASSER The Dartmouth Staff
FollowingtheCollege’sannouncement last week that the indoor mask mandate would be reestablished on campus, members of the on-campus community have expressed mixed feelings, but were not surprised, at the return of the policy. “I certainly wasn’t surprised, and I agreed fully with the decision,” physics and astronomy professor Ryan Hickox said. “There were rising cases around the country and in New England, but also then there was a spike of people on campus, and so it seemed natural to me that we would want to have some response to that right away.” Hickox, who has two young daughters who cannot yet receive the vaccine, said wore a mask while teaching in person. He switched to not wearing a mask when none of the COVID-19 tests administered to students upon arrival on campus came back positive, but began masking again days before the reestablishment of the mandate when he noticed a spike in cases on Dartmouth’s COVID-19 dashboard. Public policy professor Charles Wheelan also said that he was “not surprised” by the decision to reinstate
PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH 92 LOW 70
the indoor mask mandate, as many other schools and businesses have reimplemented mask mandates. Wheelan said that because he was going to serve as a stem cell transplant donor for his brother, he and students in his class began to wear masks prior to the new mandate. “For me, keeping everyone in person and keeping a low caseload for a normal fall is my number one priority,” Wheelan said. “Anything we can do to make that happen is worth doing in my mind.” Some students, however, have voiced frustrations with the mask mandate. “pretty disappointed” with the College when the mandate was reinstated. He added that because of the 94% vaccination rate on campus and the fact that over 90% of people ages 65 and older are vaccinated in Grafton County, he felt that the mask mandate isn’t doing much to protect people. “During the height of the pandemic, I was more than willing to take a few small hits to my life by wearing a mask to protect the elderly and immunocompromised,” and readily available to all, and I don’t feel that by wearing a mask I’m really helping anyone.”
The Dartmouth Staff
With Dartmouth preparing for a full reopening for the fall term, the demand for on-campus housing has outstripped supply, resulting in a housing shortage that has left dozens of students without a place to live come September. Though the and work to expand the housing supply in other ways, a perceived parents of students on the housing
ALLEN: KEEP IT UP PAGE 3
ARTS
REVIEW: BILLIE EILISH’S “HAPPIER THAN EVER” PAGE 4
SPORTS
RECAP: DARTMOUTH AT THE OLYMPICS
alternatives. During the July 21 Community Conversations livestream, interim provost David Kotz said that in response to the current shortage of beds, the College has begun to convert some double rooms into triples and some common areas into dorm rooms. These changes are on top of the $5,000 lottery that was used to cut the waitlist down earlier in the summer. He also stated that planning is “underway” for a new undergraduate residence hall that is targeted to open in 2023. Jim Klaas, a parent of a member of the Class of 2023 who currently remains on the waitlist, was disappointed with College’s response. “I wasn’t surprised by the shortage, but I was surprised by the perceived limited options that Dartmouth was
PAGE 5
MIRROR
SNAPSHOTS FROM SOPHOMORE SUMMER PAGE 6 FOLLOW US ON
@thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2021 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.
also said that the requirement contradicts vaccines. “Anyone in our age group is already at low risk of getting a serious infection, and with vaccination, that number plummets even more,” Weintraub said. “[At the time of the mandate], we only had eight cases — mostly among vaccinated individuals — and yet that was enough for them to bring the mandate back.” “Some people, most of my friends, are choosing to comply, I just think because they’re more spineless than I am,” he continued. “I think it’s just totally wrong.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all three approved COVID-19 vaccines “continue hospitalization and death” and “fully vaccinated people with breakthrough infections from [the Delta variant] appear SEE MASK MANDATE PAGE 2
Parents frustrated with fall housing shortage seek alternatives BY Ben KorkowskI
OPINION
those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine don’t have to “worry about” getting severe disease and that he does not feel “remotely in danger” from COVID-19. He added that those who are unvaccinated should get vaccinated. Max Weintraub ’22 said that he felt the decision to reinstate the mandate was
said. “It was easy to predict that all students would want to be on campus for the fall term this year, and with study abroad and internships largely shut down, there was going to be a housing crunch.” Elinor Spokes, a parent of a member of the Class of 2022 who forfeited their spot on the waitlist and was “disappointed and disgruntled that the College was putting students
“It seemed like it was very apparent that there was going to be tremendous demand for housing this fall, given that so many students spent so much time away from campus last year due to the pandemic,” Spokes said. Since the College announced the housing shortage for the fall, a group of parents with students in a similar situation to Spokes’ and Klaas’ children have been meeting regularly over Zoom, according to Spokes. “There were a number of us on numerous Zoom calls together brainstorming ideas to present to the administration, because it didn’t seem to us [that] the administration or anyone who was responsible for housing was really thinking out of the box,” she said. During these discussions, both Spokes and Amy Lord ’88, a parent of a member of the Class of 2023, noted that peer universities like Colby College had repurposed their college-owned hotels for student use to of available beds. The majority of the group’s ideas were dismissed by the College, Spokes said. “While Dartmouth is not unique in having a housing crisis, Dartmouth seems to be unique in that they seem to be saying no to every alternative that some very creative parents have spent time producing,” she added. In response to the housing crisis, some of the parents in the group have taken matters into their own hands by researching other housing options. Klaas contacted multiple modular housing companies, including Vesta Modular and Stallion Rents, to inquire about what the process and costs would be for the College to use their services to avert the current housing shortage. “When you look at the costs involved in renting the units, they are SEE HOUSING PAGE 2
conducted a study on student perspectives regarding the College’s planned COVID-19 policies. The Aug. 3, 2020 report, titled “Achieving Public Health Success at Dartmouth: The Student Perspective,” outlined concerns from the student body about student mental health, many of which materialized later in the year as student mental health declined and the College saw three freshman suicides. Among other concerns, the report, which surveyed 58 Dartmouth students in 11 focus groups, highlighted student fears about “the psychological impacts of the 14-day quarantine and physical distancing policies,” as well as concerns year students” in particular, “who will lack social networks when arriving on campus.” The report also stated that students feared the possibility of suicide on campus after two suicides occurred the Air Force Academy in April 2020. Students expressed that they “did not believe that existing mental health resources at Dartmouth would be adequate.” The report suggested strategies for addressing student concerns with the College’s pandemic response. To isolation and deteriorating mental health, the report suggested the College “provide safe and structured opportunities for socialization … consider adopting a ‘pod’ system in which students can socialize within small designated groups … [and] ensure existing campus mental health services during quarantine/isolation.” An investigation by The Dartmouth, released earlier this summer, found that campus mental health resources were consistently lacking throughout the pandemic. The College made some adjustments in response to student concerns following the suicides of freshmen Beau DuBray, Connor to the suicides, did not make changes to its policies. The authors of the report sent copies to then-COVID-19 Task Force co-chair Lisa Adams and clinical medical services director Ann Bracken, both of whom declined to comment for this story. Hannah Lang ’21, one of the paper’s authors, said Bracken sent the report to other Dick’s House employees, and it seemed that both Bracken and Adams were receptive to the report. Bracken and Adams paid less attention to “comments about it possibly and more attention to what kinds of comply, according to Lang. Brandon Hill ’23, another one of the report’s authors, said that, to his knowledge, the College did not take any tangible steps to improve its mental health infrastructure prior to students’ return to campus, despite concerns. “Rereading the report, seeing how clearly some of these student concerns were outlined and then the fact that no precautions got put in place in anticipation of the returning students in the fall — it’s a crime,” Hill said. Lang also feels that the College missed opportunities to improve mental health infrastructure proactively, rather than retroactively. “Even if [Dartmouth] had hired their two or three new counselors this time last year instead of two months ago, I think that could have possibly
Dick’s House director Heather Earle wrote in an email that in response to declining mental health due to the worked to think ‘outside the box’ in delivering services during COVID.” She also emphasized that Dick’s House has and one more will arrive in September. Earle wrote that Dick’s House is also searching for two more clinicians to and outreach programs, in addition to counseling. Lang highlighted the “extreme number of logistics” that Dartmouth students’ return to campus, including pressure from local residents, but noted that the College’s response was still lacking from a mental health standpoint compared to peer institutions. “I think that there’s more that could have been done in looking at other schools where they didn’t have three people commit suicide in one year with comparable demographics and similar, very careful public health plans,” Lang said. “I think there was an opportunity for them to listen more, change course a little bit once they knew that the situation was pretty under control.” The report also raised student concerns about a “lack of clarity regarding punitive measures for infractions [and] the severity of punishments for minor mistakes.” As students were sent home from campus last fall, some felt that the lack of transparency fostered a culture of fear among students living on campus, Student Assembly president Cait McGovern ’21 told The Dartmouth at the time that the College’s unclear rules “fueled speculation, rumors and panic among students.” “I think that maybe more could have been done especially to help get the ’24s really integrated in the community and feel comfortable with each other and feel like [they] could socialize without breaking the rules, or without getting doesn’t help any of the mental health things.” Hill felt that the College’s punishments contributed to a divide between the student body and the administration. “It did not feel like the College was on our side, and I don’t know if you’ll call that blame, but it certainly didn’t feel like we were in this together,” Hill said. Hill said he feels that the College should have been more receptive to student feedback. He expressed that the research team’s goal in writing the report was to advocate for the student viewpoint, and he was “continually frustrated” with the lack of avenues for students to promote change. policies that are centered around a input from that group of people in order to make sure that your solutions are actually going to work,” Hill said. “If you sort of make policy decisions in a vacuum, then you don’t know how they’re actually going to translate to your target population.” In addition to Bracken and Adams, Health service director Mark Reed and former COVID-19 Task Force co-chair Josh Keniston did not reply to requests for comment. Additionally, report authors Alex Eyvazzadeh ’21, Nina Kowsosky ’21 and Prathna Kumar ’21 did not respond to requests for comment.
NAINA BHALLA/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
PAGE 2
FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
North Park to move to External report clears professors, staff McLaughlin cluster BY The Dartmouth senior staff
BY ANDREW SASSER The Dartmouth Staff
As most students return to living on campus for the fall term, many North living in new dorms this year. According to associate dean of residential life and residential education director Michael Wooten, all students living in North Park student housing will be living in the McLaughlin cluster beginning this fall. The house is moving from its former location in Ripley, Woodward and Smith halls located near East Wheelock Street. According to Wooten, the primary reason for the decision to move North Park to McLaughlin was to increase the size of the house community to be Allen, East Wheelock, School, South and West Houses. He added that those other houses each have at least twice as many students as North Park does. “Because North Park was so much smaller than the other houses, it made it hard for members of that house to feel like they were having an equal experience,” Wooten said. “In the past, this made it teams or bring in guest speakers, as they had a smaller budget than the other houses.” Wooten added that in addition to creating more bed space for North Park residents, McLaughlin also has more single occupancy rooms and social study spaces than Ripley, Woodward and Smith halls have available. However, he added that some students have voiced concerns about being located farther away from the Alumni Gymnasium, Leverone Fieldhouse and other athletic facilities. Student feedback on the decision to move to McLaughlin has largely been positive. Maeen Arslan ’23 said that she was “surprised” to hear about the decision to move the house, but that she was happy to hear about the move, as she felt that Ripley, Woodward and Smith were not the “nicest” dorms on campus. “I lived in Woodward last winter, and having lived in McLaughlin my freshman year those buildings felt much
nicer,” Arslan said. “There were a lot of open pipes and other things like that in Woodward.” Grace Lu ’23 said that she supports North Park’s move to McLaughlin since she feels that the dorms there have a more “modern vibe” to them. She added that when she served as an undergraduate advisor in Smith last fall, some of her residents had issues with heating and “AnothernicethingaboutMcLaughlin common room,” Lu said. “There was only one common room in all of Smith Hall, and the dorm is also pretty old.” With North Park residents moving to McLaughlin, Wooten noted that many of
that occupied the space will be moving to other dorms on campus. He added that because it is going to “take some may remain in McLaughlin for the next few years. “We want the LLCs to spread evenly across campus and not just clustered in McLaughlin,” Wooten said. “We are just going for a less localized version of what we have been doing.” As for Ripley, Woodward and Smith, Wooten said that those dorms will not be associated with any one house. He mentioned that some transfer students and seniors will be housed there, in addition to students that could be pulled “With the housing crisis this year, we’re focused more on getting beds for as many students as we can and less on the house system,” Wooten said. As of Aug. 5, the day that fall room assignments were announced for students who have housing, the waitlist for fall housing had fallen “into the 50s,” according to an email from Wooten to students on the waitlist at the time. He added that beds will continue to open up “as we adjust for those who expected to be here but won’t be coming, and those who’ve made other housing or enrollment plans.”
Masking compliance varies FROM MASK MANDATE PAGE 1
to be infectious for a shorter period.” The CDC recommends both vaccination and wearing masks in indoor public spaces to reduce the spread of the Delta variant. Weintraub added that he has not been wearing a mask anywhere on campus unless instructed to do so and that he has had conversations with his mandate. He also mentioned that prior to vaccination, he would “always” wear a mask when around others, but he now feels that there is no “no reason” for him to wear one. “Forcing people to put masks on,
outside classrooms or in [Class of 1953 Commons] — as far as I’m concerned, I don’t think anyone should be enforcing Weintraub also noted that workers at ’53 Commons, are “choosing to enforce” the mask mandate, and said that he now “can’t go up and out of my seat without someone kind of eyeing me down or saying something” about masking. According to ’53 Commons general manager Brandon Crosby, “the overwhelming majority of students that we see are complying with the mask mandate.”
College rejected modular housing proposal FROM HOUSING PAGE 1
extremely economical,” Klaas said. “Most of the costs are bringing in and removing the units. Once on site, they are inexpensive to maintain.” Klaas also said that, on top of relative cost, there is a precedent for this approach. Peer institutions such as Tufts University and Emory University, he said, have both contracted with the businesses he contacted during the pandemic for housing and classroom-related reasons. Klaas said that Dartmouth has “been very quiet,” since he submitted the proposal for temporary housing. “When you do hear back, there is always a reason why something can’t be done or that it is being worked on,” Klaas said. For example, Klaas said that when he initially submitted the proposal, it was immediately denied due to a lack of sprinklers in the blueprints for the housing units. Klaas responded that sprinklers could be easily added, but said that he had not yet received a response from the administration as of August 3. “Dartmouth has had ample time and opportunity to resolve the housing shortage, but as each day passes the solution will require more resources to solve,” Klaas said. Hanover town manager Julia discussed modular housing with the College, it is an improbable option. “Between the code restrictions and the long lead time to acquire this sort of housing, it is highly unlikely
the College or anyone else can move quickly enough to respond to the Lord said that the current housing crisis has also underscored other long-term issues that impact both the College and the local community. “We’re also concerned about the campus housing in the Upper Valley who live in the Upper Valley and are just trying to make a living,” she said. adding that the combined shortage of student housing and the overall housing shortage in the Upper Valley is equal to approximately 10,000 units. “[This shortage] results in unrealistically high rental prices — and often for fairly substandard, less-than-well maintained housing,” that progress must be made on new dorms so that the College does not see further housing shortages in the future. would be for the College to build a minimum of 600 additional [dorm rooms] and for the vast preponderance of Dartmouth students, both undergraduate and graduate students, to be provided housing in Collegeowned units, properly constructed of its students, that would likely free up well over 1,500 housing units for others in need of housing, including [Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center].”
In an external investigation into former computer science Ph.D. student Maha Hasan Alshawi’s allegations of retaliation and discrimination against
and Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies administrators, the final report has found “insufficient information” for any of the allegations. Released on July 29, the dense, 122page report details Alshawi’s allegations of retaliation and, in one case, religious discrimination against eight Dartmouth employees: deputy Title IX coordinator Gary Sund, Title IX coordinator Kristi Clemens, computer science professor Prasad Jayanti, computer science professor Amit Chakrabarti, former director of institutional diversity and equity Antonio Ferrantino, then-associate dean for the sciences Daniel Rockmore, associate director Keriann Ketcham and registrar and assistant dean at the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies Gary Hutchins. The Dartmouth reviewed a copy of the full report provided four-page executive summary. The report is the second of two produced by the institutional response unit at the Philadelphia-based law firm Cozen O’Connor. The first, released on April 30, found computer science professor Alberto Quattrini Li not responsible for any of the sexual harassment or retaliation allegations made by Alshawi. It drew on over 1,000 pages of interviews, email exchanges and other evidence. The July report is broken into eleven sections of varying length. Overall, it provides an overview of the allegations and of all eight respondents’ initial responses, the evidence collected, a 25page timeline of events, additional detail on respondents’ responses and a 35-page two-sentence conclusion reads simply that the report found “insufficient information” that any of the respondents engaged in retaliation or discrimination on the basis of religion. The executive summary noted further that the report is based on over 3,000 pages of interviews and other evidence, and that information, the investigators found all eight respondents “not responsible” for the allegations. In response to a request for comment, Alshawi referred to a June 29 Facebook post in which she detailed concerns about her ability to respond to the report. In the post, she wrote that she was sent 2,700 pages of documents on June 26 and was concerns and asking for thirty days to respond, she wrote, she was granted a 10-day extension. “This is an important procedural step in the investigative process and forcing me to respond in less time than is needed to read the entire document calls into question the fundamental fairness of the entire investigation,” she wrote at the time. The executive summary states that after submitting a response to the report on July 22, Alshawi objected to its public release. The investigators reviewed her preconditions for public release and found them to be “without merit.” CollegespokespersonDianaLawrence declined to comment beyond the contents of the report. All eight respondents to the report did not respond to requests for comment, referred comment to Lawrence or could not be reached for comment. Deputy Title IX coordinator for response Gary Sund: Alshawi made one report of retaliation from Sund. Alshawi met with Sund in February 2020 to report that Quattrini Li, Alshawi’s research advisor, touched his “private area” during their meetings without her permission. She alleged that Sund “did not properly investigate or evaluate” her reports against Quattrini Li, Jayanti and Chakrabarti. She added that Sund “intentionally misstated facts” that she provided during an initial assessment and falsely concluded that the alleged conduct would not qualify as a potential Title IX Policy violation. She also reported that Sund refused to provide her a written copy of the assessment. Alshawi alleged that such actions were complaint against Quattrini Li. Sund responded that he was only involved in addressing Alshawi’s report about Quattrini Li and not the reports about Jayanti or Chakrabarti. He stated that he accurately recorded the information Alshawi shared and did not provide Alshawi with a written copy of the assessment since no such documents are created under the College’s policies. He also stated that he reviewed the information Alshawi shared Policy and determined that the reported facts against Quattrini Li did not qualify as a potential Title IX violation.
evidence to support the claim, by a preponderance of evidence, that Sund failed to properly investigate Alshawi’s report. The report found that his actions were instead “consistent with his role.” The report also found that Sund was not involved in responding to Alshawi’s reports about Jayanti and Chakrabarti.
Title IX coordinator Kristi Clemens: With regard to Title IX coordinator Kristi Clemens, Alshawi alleged that Clemens “did not properly investigate or evaluate” Alshawi’s allegations against Quattrini Li and two other professors, which she alleged constituted retaliation against her for her bringing allegations against Quattrini Li. Alshawi reported that Clemens did not look into her harassment claims until she raised it for a sixth time, improperly appointed Rockmore to investigate her claims permission, and incorrectly concluded that Li’s entrance was not a potential Title IX violation. Clemens responded that she “promptly and accurately analyzed the facts [Alshawi] provided,” and that she answered Alshawi’s questions and provided Alshawi with copies of all of the reports. With regard to Li’s entrance into the College’s Title IX policies, “the facts, as reported, did not qualify as a potential Title IX Policy violation.” The investigation found that Clemens properly investigated and evaluated Alshawi’s reports and that there was of retaliation. Computer science professor Prasad Jayanti: Alshawi was a teaching assistant for Jayanti’s COSC 31, “Algorithms” class. Alshawi made three reports of retaliation and discrimination on the basis of religion against Jayanti. Alshawi alleged that Jayanti withheld solutions to problem sets from her, gave her a “low pass” grade for her TA mark and interfered with her ability to advance to COSC 231, “Advanced Algorithms.” She alleged that these actions were all in retaliation for her Title IX complaint against Quattrini Li, as well as discrimination on the basis of her religion. Jayanti responded that he did not withhold solutions and that he sent the solutions to all TAs once he completed them. He said that he gave Alshawi a “low pass” — which is still acceptable for graduate credit — due to criteria in Dartmouth’s Graduate Student Handbook. Jayanti added that he did not interfere with Alshawi’s ability to advance to COSC 231, but instead “took extra steps to help.” Jayanti also said that religion was irrelevant to his actions. Jayanti intentionally withheld solutions from Alshawi. On one occasion, Jayanti did not send a set of solutions to any of his TAs in advance. The report did not Alshawi a low pass and her Title IX report against Quattrini Li, since Jayanti noted In regards to Alshawi’s claim that Jayanti interfered with her being able to take COSC 231, “Advanced Algorithms,” the investigation found that Jayanti “went beyond what was required of him.” For all three allegations, the investigation found support the claim that Jayanti engaged in retaliation or discriminiation on the basis of religion. Computer science professor Amit Chakrabarti: Alshawi made four reports alleging retaliation against her by Chakrabarti, including disagreements over whether she needed a research advisor, whether Chakrabarti would serve as that advisor, whether her graduate fellowship would from Jayanti and a disagreement over a COSC 31, “Algorithms” problem set that Chakrabarti asked Alshawi to complete and discuss while the rest of the class was “permitted to pass it without being subjected to such treatment.” PhD students do need to work with a research advisor, that he and Alshawi had only discussed “the possibility and suitability of his serving as a stopgap advisor,” that the information about her fellowship had come in the form of a letter from the computer science department as a whole that was also reviewed by Guarini Dean F. Jon Kull and that he had asked Alshawi to complete the problem set in order to evaluate her understanding of the class material. The report finds that there is insufficient information to establish that Chakrabarti agreed to serve as Alshawi’s advisor and then did not do so, that Chakrabarti required Alshawi to identify an advisor when her peers were not required to do the same, that Chakrabarti misled Alshawi about the potential impact of her “low pass” or that
Chakrabarti treated Alshawi unfairly by administering the problem set. Overall, that Chakrabarti engaged in retaliation against Alshawi. Former director of institutional diversity and equity Antonio Ferrantino: Alshawi also made one report of retaliation against former director of institutional diversity and equity Antonio Ferrantino, claiming that Ferrantino did not address her report of retaliation against professor Deeparnab Chakrabarty. Ferrantino responded that Alshawi had in fact not made a complaint against Chakrabarty, and instead had mentioned Chakrabarti as one of the professors who had discriminated against that Ferrantino intentionally failed to he did not engage in retaliation against Alshawi. Then-associate dean for the sciences Daniel Rockmore: Alshawi made two reports of retaliation against her by Rockmore, who was assigned to investigate Alshawi’s report of retaliation by Jayanti. that in his investigation Rockmore did not speak to her, listen to her, or investigate and that he only gathered information from Jayanti. Rockmore responded that he did reach out to Alshawi and gathered evidence about her Title IX complaint against Jayanti. He then reached out to Jayanti to speak to him about his response and issued a decision “concluding that Jayanti had not violated any professional obligations or College policies.” In the second report, Alshawi alleged that during the investigation of her complaint against Jayanti, Rockmore sent her an email which contained “false statements” and that when she replied to correct those statements, Rockmore did not respond and told her that the information in question was regarding whether or not it was permissible for Quattrini Li and another student to enter “did not believe it was necessary to consult further with [Alshawi] after determining that the entry was permissible.” “properly investigated and evaluated [Alshawi]’s reports” in each case, and that therefore, he did not engage in retaliation against Alshawi. Services associate director Keriann Ketcham: Alshawi made one report of retaliation against Ketcham. Alshawi reported that when she spoke with Ketcham about Dartmouth, and transferring to another school, Ketcham provided her with incorrect information that if she did take within 15 days, and that when she took an approved leave, he contacted her and told her that she would need to do so. Alshawi also alleged that Ketcham did not provide her with the proper paperwork to transfer her international student paperwork to another school and did not respond in a timely fashion to her requests for meetings to discuss her visa and transfer options. Ketcham responded that she misunderstood Alshawi’s request for “leave” as a request for a “leave of absence,” which, legally, does trigger a student’s obligation to leave the country within fifteen days. In response to Alshawi’s claim that Ketcham did not respond in a timely fashion to her request from transfer to another school, Ketcham “provided a timeline of events supporting that she did not delay [Alshawi’s] transfer process.” The report finds that Ketcham did not intentionally mislead Alshawi with regards to her visa and that her communications with Hutchins about rather than an “intentional decision to Ketcham engaged in retaliation against Alshawi. the Guarini School Gary Hutchins: Alshawi made one report of retaliation against Hutchins, in which she claimed that Hutchins gave her “misleading, she was referred to him for assistance with academic issues such as changing her advisor, and that Hutchins refused to help her identify a new advisor after she reported Quattrini Li had sexually harassed her. Hutchins provided emails showing that he had in fact assisted Alshawi with various academic issues, but that Alshawi had never asked him to support that Hutchins committed any adverse action towards Alshawi, and retaliation.
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021
STAFF COLUMNIST SPENCER ALLEN ’23
Keep It Up
Students must follow Dartmouth’s mask mandate to protect the community from COVID-19.
Last week, the Hanover Selectboard voted It is also vital to recognize the vulnerable to reinstate its indoor mask mandate, citing members of our community who are still recent spikes in local COVID-19 cases as the at risk of infection. 6% of the on-campus Delta variant of the virus spreads nationally. community is still unvaccinated, be it for The following day, Dartmouth announced a medical reason, a religious exemption that it would also reinstate indoor masking. or because they have not yet finished their These decisions seem decidedly unpopular vaccination sequence. What’s more, there are among students, as evidenced by student some in the 94% of vaccinated community sentiments seen in several pieces published members for whom the vaccine does not in The Dartmouth last Friday. provide the same immune response because Returning to a mask mandate feels like of medical conditions. We also interact with a step backwards after over a month of many unvaccinated and high-risk people being mask-free on campus. However, the outside Dartmouth, including older adults, calculus surrounding the pandemic has immunocompromised people and children changed dramatically in recent weeks; most under 12 years old who are not eligible for alarmingly, there is new evidence that the a vaccine. Adhering to local mask mandates Delta variant is capable of starting outbreaks protects all of these people from infection even in highly-vaccinated communities. and keeps the Upper Valley safe. Despite their frustrations, students must In lieu of a mask mandate, students follow the mask mandate — both to protect have called for the College to increase the community and subvert the need for the frequency of surveillance testing and harsher policies. If the mandate is ignored, to close campus buildings to the public. students risk further delaying the College’s I agree that the current once-a-month return to normal. testing regime cannot adequately detect First, it is important to note that the Centers COVID-19 in the community; we ought to for Disease Control and Prevention recently return to at least weekly testing. That said, updated its mask guidance for fully vaccinated testing must complement — not replace — people. This new guidance says that, in a mask mandate, since someone can spread areas of substantial or high COVID-19 the virus before they test positive or show transmission — in other words, in areas with symptoms. Likewise, restricting campus 50 new cases per 100 thousand residents — access does prevent COVID-19 from entering masks should be worn by everyone, regardless the community. That said, students are of vaccination status. This updated CDC currently free to travel outside the Upper recommendation reflects new data showing Valley, increasing the chances that a student that the Delta variant is brings the Delta variant more transmissible by “I say this recognizing that from outside. A mask vaccinated people than a necessary tool to the odds of a vaccinated isprevent other variants. transmission Despite t h e person getting COVID-19 while students are still abruptness of the town are slim. However, the able to travel to areas and College’s decisions, higher transmission odds are not zero, and with the decision to reinstate rates. indoor mask mandates getting COVID-19 means Indoor masking is are backed by this new risking spreading the virus also one of the most mild guidance. According effective preventative to those who might face yet to CDC guidelines, strategies the College Grafton County has seen worse outcomes.” c a n e n f o rc e. L a s t enough transmission in week, Natalie Dokken recent weeks to become ’23 argued that the a “substantial” spread mask mandate must county; it has held that not serve as a gateway status for the last week. We have also seen for Dartmouth to enforce “draconian” “high” spread in the Dartmouth bubble: Four COVID-19 policies, like those we saw last fall. cases of COVID-19 were recently diagnosed Dokken is right that the next set of COVID-19 among 2,422 on-campus students, putting restrictions the College could implement — us at 165 cases per 100,000 students. While social distancing and event gathering limits, Hanover and Dartmouth both appeared among others — will be stricter than the mask to jump the gun with announcing their mandate. However, stringent restrictions will mandates, it is clear that local community not come about because of some hidden transmission is high enough to warrant an agenda; interim provost David Kotz even indoor mask mandate. said that Dartmouth is not looking to do It is true that, even if a vaccinated person so at this time. Instead, these restrictions is infected by COVID-19, they are far less will come about if students ignore the mask likely to face serious illness or death than mandate — as any walkthrough Baker-Berry an unvaccinated person. In the face of this, Library will show — and COVID-19 spreads some students have argued that there is less on campus as a result. need to wear masks if few people will face I say this recognizing that the odds of a serious outcomes. vaccinated person getting COVID-19 are That said, protecting oneself from serious slim. However, those odds are not zero, and illness or death has never been the main getting COVID-19 means risking spreading goal of masking. Instead, we all wore masks the virus to those who might face worse because of the immense power universal outcomes. We currently find ourselves in masking has. A CDC study from February an incredibly fragile point in the pandemic; showed that the spread of COVID-19 our actions right now will have lasting between two people can be cut by at least consequences on how the next year will look. 84% if both are masked. Masks are also Students can choose not to mask and risk an important tool to stop the spread of the increasing case counts on campus, which virus — even if someone feels well — since would justifiably usher in new COVID-19 it is possible to transmit the virus before an restrictions. Or, students can take the small infected person shows symptoms. It is true that step of continuing to wear masks until vaccines provide similar protection against community transmission is better controlled. the virus compared to universal masking, but Masks continue to be vitally important. I combining strategies can certainly enhance hope all students recognize that and take up protection even further. masking once again.
PAGE 3
STAFF COLUMNIST KATHERINE ARRINGTON ’24
Put Your Money Where Your Kids Are The funding structure for U.S. public schools demands changing.
The American education system’s dismal underperformance compared with other wealthy and developed nations is well-established. More troubling than the disparity between the U.S. education system and those of other wealthy nations, however, are the vast disparities found between schools in the United States. There is tremendous variation in school quality — including academic and extracurricular offerings, college and career counseling and teaching effectiveness — across the United States. Moreover, the reason why this variation in quality exists is clear: vast discrepancies in funding. The American public school system needs reform — funding should be based on the number of students, not the wealth of their parents and school district. The median income of the locations of the highest- and lowest-ranked high schools across the country are quite varied. For instance, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology holds the top spot on the U.S. News & World Report’s list. The median income for Alexandria, Virginia, its locale, is $59,419. El Camino High of Oceanside, California, is rated number 5,000; the median income of the county is $34,307. The 10,000th school on the list is Moc-Floyd Valley High School of Orange City, Iowa. The area’s median income is $30,737. This data suggests a striking relationship between income and school quality. At present, public school funding comes from three primary sources: about 48% comes from state sources, 44% comes from local sources — especially from local property taxes — and the rest comes from the federal government. The heavy reliance on local funding amounts to huge disparities in funding per student, even within states. For instance, in Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools spent over $30,000 per student within the 2016-2017 school year, while the state as a whole averaged just over $16,000 per student. The difference between states can be even more extreme: In Utah, public schools spend on average $7,500 per student, while in New York, that same figure is more than $23,000. With this in mind, the pattern described above begins to make sense. There are confounding variables such as differing priorities for education across states, yet even when these are accounted for, numerous studies have found a connection between income inequality and school quality, including studies by the American Sociological Association and the American Sociological Review. What all of this boils down to is that every child’s education is not equal in quality; wealth is a huge predictor of the quality of education a child will receive. It is vital that both the federal and state governments take action. States should equalize funding across districts, giving each district enough funding for teachers, programs and other academic offerings and resources necessary for each and every school. The current system of vastly unequal funding fails to ensure consistent public education; states should create a formula that distributes funding equitably, guaranteeing that every school has a similar
KYLE MULLINS, Editor-in-Chief EMILY LU, News Executive Editor NATALIE DOKKEN, Production Executive Editor
amount per student. At the federal level, Congress should pass legislation requiring equity in funding for public schools, especially because there is a precedent for federal involvement in issues of equality and equity. Secondly, Congress can provide financial incentives for states to prioritize this matter themselves. These actions have been proposed time and time again by large groups, including the Equity and Excellence Commission as well as a commission appointed by Republican president Richard Nixon nearly fifty years ago. I understand that many residents in communities across the U.S. want funding generated by that community to be used for the people within that community. However, in the interest of creating an education system in which there is equal opportunity to succeed, we must abandon that notion. If we broaden our conceptualization of community to include those living outside our own districts, we could redistribute funding in a way such that every school can adequately support its pupils, so that every student can have a quality education regardless of their zip code. Talking about policies such as these often feels distant from tangible change, but I am convinced from my own experiences that these measures are absolutely and expeditiously necessary. I attended Siloam Springs High School, ranked nationally as number 5,711 according to U.S. News and World Report, of Benton County, Arkansas, where the median income is $33,141. To my knowledge, I am the first person from my school to attend Dartmouth College, the only person in my graduating class of 300 to attend a top-50 school, let alone an Ivy, and one of only a minority of students who even left the state for higher education. Coincidentally, I happen to know someone who attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, the aforementioned number one school on the list. According to my friend, heis one of two students at Dartmouth, one of 40 or 50 who attended an Ivy League and one of 300 to 350 who attended a top 50 school, out of a graduating class of just over 400. We both attended public high schools, and we both deserved a quality education that would place us on the path to future success. But for people from my school, attending colleges of the caliber of Dartmouth is nothing more than a pipe dream. Students from high schools like mine do not generally go to colleges like Dartmouth — it sometimes feels like a fluke that I managed to somehow do it. For the students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, though, it is the norm due to the quality of education these students receive. The United States cannot continue to allow economic inequality to play such a large role in the quality of any given student’s education. The funding structure of American public schools must be changed. Every student deserves a top-tier education, and if we want to have any chance of achieving that lofty goal, we must prioritize equity.
OLIVIA GOMEZ, Publisher
LAUREN ADLER & PIERCE WILSON Managing Editors
PRODUCTION EDITORS SPENCER ALLEN & SHEEN KIM, Opinion Editors ANNE JOHNAKIN & CARIS WHITE, Mirror Editors DEVAN FINK, FINK Sports Editor MEGHAN POWERS, POWERS, Arts Editor ANGELINA SCARLOTTA, Photo Editor WILLIAM CHEN & AARON LEE, Data Visualization Editors ALEX MA, MA Design Editor GRANT PINKSTON, PINKSTON Templating Editor
BUSINESS DIRECTORS ELIAN GERARD & DYLAN SPECTOR Strategy Directors KATE BENNETT & ISABELLE KITCHEL Business Development Directors ZIRAY HAO, SAMRIT MATHUR & ALLY TANNENBAUM Marketing, Analytics and Technology Directors EMILY GAO & BRIAN WANG Advertising and Finance Directors
CHARLES CIPORIN & GEORGE GERBER, Multimedia Editors
SUBMISSIONS: We welcome letters and guest columns. All submissions must include the author’s name and affiliation with Dartmouth College, and should not exceed 250 words for letters or 700 words for columns. The Dartmouth reserves the right to edit all material before publication. All material submitted becomes property of The Dartmouth. Please email submissions to editor@thedartmouth.com. For any content that an author or artist submits and that The Dartmouth agrees to publish, the author or artist grants The Dartmouth a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide and exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish and create derivative works from such content.
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
PAGE 4
FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021
Billie Eilish’s ‘Happier Than Ever’ explores pitfalls of fame BY Eleanor Schifino The Dartmouth Staff
Billie Eilish revolutionized pop through the institution of a dark, eclectic style in her debut studio album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” Between the tantalizing whispers and her penchant for contrasting harsh instruments with soft vocals, Billie Eilish united reality and fantasy to tell the story of teenage trauma through lucid dreams. Winning a whopping six Grammys in 2020, Eilish skyrocketed to mainstream success and mass fame at just 18 years old. With her newfound notoriety came the unforgiving gaze of strangers and the ever-present institutionalized misogyny. Plagued by endless comments on her clothes, attitude and body, Eilish responded with absolute confidence and a cold demeanor that characterized her as untouchable. In her sophomore album, “Happier Than Ever,” Eilish reveals the fallacy of this public attitude through the revelation and subsequent dissection of the struggles that have accompanied her rise to the top. “Happier Than Ever” is both Eilish’s artful confession and lyrical acceptance of the trauma she has endured without filter or edit. Her foray into new musical territory supplements her decision to shed the look of her past. Eilish has left behind the clothes she described as “800 sizes bigger than she is,” which the pop star said she used as a shield from other people’s perceptions. Eilish has metamorphosed, replacing neon green hair and oversized clothes with soft blonde waves and British “Vogue” cover shoots in a corseted dress. Achieving newfound vulnerability through uniquely deep and truthful lyrics, Eilish successfully removes her mask of unwavering self-assurance to reveal her insecurities and uncertainty in an autobiographical tale of her rise to fame and the subsequent fallout. Pushing her signature sound into uncharted territories, Eilish’s bold intimacy and vocal maturity transcend the constraints of the pop genre to create a rhythmically diverse album that is comfortable in its tranquility and simplicity. “Getting Older” is the vulnerable and beautiful introduction to the raw nature of “Happier Than Ever,” opening with a soft tone over a delicate synth. Establishing the theme of unfamiliarity with both
SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGES STANDARD LICENSE; PHTOGRAPHER: BEN HOUDJIK
oneself and others, “Getting Older” alludes to Eilish’s struggle with stalkers and existentialism, as well as self-reproach for her disillusionment with fame. In the chorus, Eilish sings “Things I once enjoyed / Just keep me employed now / Things I’m longing for / Someday, I’ll be bored of / It’s so weird / That we care so much until we don’t,” explaining how she’s lost her connection with music now that she is the object of the world’s critical and expectant gaze. She is weighed down by the attention that is constantly upon her, creating a numb and desolate feeling. She sings that she’s “happier than ever, at least, that’s my endeavor,” as she pursues the happiness that was once familiar and easy but has since become hard to maintain. Her passion has lost its luster, and, like so many who feel stuck, she is left only with uncertainty about the future and an immense weight on her shoulders. Eilish has become disenchanted with her present and its harsh realities, longing for a different time to escape to by romanticizing the openness of the future and all the possibilities it holds. The themes introduced in “Getting Older” are furthered in “my future,” which highlights the potential for growth
and change that only the unknown future can bring. Beginning with a melancholic sound before shifting to a happier, more optimistic tone, Eilish presents her fans with hope as the drum crescendos with the promise that things will get better. A tale of self-love in a new jazz style, Eilish sings “I’m not comin’ home / Do you understand? / I’ve changed my plans / ‘Cause I’m in love / With my future / Can’t wait to meet her.” The simplistic beauty of the song creates a feeling of lightness. Eilish has reconfigured her definition of “home,” choosing to overcome her troubled past and crushing sadness by looking to the future — her future. Like most women in the limelight, Billie Eilish is no stranger to bodyshaming. A paparazzi photo of Eilish in 2020 went viral when the singer was seen outside in a tank top instead of her usual baggy clothes. She went viral again in 2021, this time for choosing to wear a corset in her British “Vogue” cover shoot. There was no shortage of comments about her body, ranging from blatantly insulting, subtly condescending or enthusiastically encouraging — everyone had an opinion. In “Not My Responsibility,” a spoken-word
interlude in “Happier Than Ever” which was originally debuted in her canceled 2020 “When We All Fall Asleep” tour, Eilish questions the tendency to judge other based on appearance by asking “if I wear more, if I wear less / Who decides what that makes me? What that means? / Is my value based only on your perception? / Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?” The objectification of the female body is not limited to the famous — it is a struggle that countless people understand and live through, but which Eilish experiences in the extreme. Leading by example, “Not My Responsibility” aggressively engages in the discourse that has haunted Eilish by restructuring the track to acknowledge the breadth and trauma of the issue in an effort to gain closure. Wi t h o n e t o o m a ny s l ow ballads that don’t live up to their predecessors, the album’s slight redundancy takes away from its perfection as the listener becomes exasperated hearing about Eilish’s niche industry struggles. However, the title track rights the course of “Happier Than Ever” with its relatable story of the inexplicable loss of happiness in a relationship.
Starting slow, “Happier Than Ever” has a stark shift in tone with a bridge that gives the listener goosebumps as they scream along. The consuming anger at being mistreated preaches messages of self-love as Eilish sings “I don’t relate to you, no / ’Cause I’d never treat me this shitty / You made me hate this city.” A total diversion from the rest of the album, “Happier Than Ever” is the first song where the raw talent of Eilish’s vocals is clearly articulated through her rage and heartbreak. “Happier Than Ever” is a melodic retelling of Billie Eilish’s hardships following the mass success of her debut album, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” The album maintains its roots in eclectic pop while bringing an unfamiliar simplicity to Eilish’s discography. The empathetic record’s jazz style explains Eilish’s perturbed view from the top as she unburdens her heavy shoulders with brutal honesty. Shrouded in a haunting darkness, the alluring view into Eilish’s complex psyche brings an unseen depth and power to her music as she explores a version of herself which is both more intimate and genuine. Rating:
FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021
PAGE 5
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS
SPORTS
Recap: Five Dartmouth athletes compete at 2020 Tokyo Olympics BY DEVAN FINK
The Dartmouth Senior Staff
With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics now
Big Green athletes in their respective
Madison Hughes ’15 — United States, men’s rugby
ANNIE QIU/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Dong Seon Kim ’12 — South Korea, equestrian Isalys Quiñones ’19 Th’20 — Puerto Rico, women’s basketball
Ariana Ramsey ’22 — United States, women’s rugby
achieving an overall rank of 55th at the Molly Reckford ’15 — United States, women’s rowing
Midsummer Musings: The MLB’s Haves and Have-nots BY WILL ENNIS
The Dartmouth Staff
ALEXANDRA MA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
pillars of the team that won that long sent to the Yankees, where he has
however, with the team now within
PAGE 6
MIRROR THE DARTMOUTH MIRROR
FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021
Bucket Lists: Snapshots from Sophomore Summer STORY
By Pierce Wilson
Fortunately, for members of the Class of 2023 and some members of the Class of 2022 who are on-campus, an in-person sophomore summer 2019. Now that pandemic restrictions have been relaxed — for the most part — has our post-pandemic sophomore summer lived up to the expectations and rumours we heard from upperclassmen? Freshman year, I often heard the term “camp Dartmouth” when referring to sophomore summer. The upperclassmen around me said that classes would be easier and that everyone would be focused on making new friends, bonding with their class and spending time outside. I sat down with College archivist Peter Carini to learn more about the origins of sophomore summer and trace where some of these myths originated. According to Carini, the sophomore summer requirement grew out of the beginnings of coeducation at the College in 1972 and the need for year-around operations. “The primary reason I know of for the [sophomore summer requirement] is because they were trying not to decrease the number of men on campus while adding 1,000 women to campus,” Carini said. He said that while trustees approved coeducation and yeararound operation in 1972, the sophomore summer requirement was not implemented until 1982. Between 1978 and 1982, the committee on year-around operations met to discuss problems caused by year-around operations, such as faculty concerns about course with year-around operations, according to Carini. “And so in 1982, as a way to balance it out and ensure that students were on during summer term, [the committee on year-around operation] required sophomores to be on during the summer,” Carini said. Government professor Jason Barabas ’93 said that leading up to his sophomore summer, he heard Hanover not covered in ice, and that upperclassmen told him it would be a very special time to be on campus. Barabas said that during his sophomore summer, he especially enjoyed bonding with other members of the Class of 1993 and forging new friendships, many of which lasted “a long time.”
ALEXANDRA MA/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
“It was a good chance to meet other members of the class,” Barabas said. “It’s a small college, but there’s a good chance you can go through college without knowing some other members of your class. So it’s a really good chance to meet a lot of those people.” Barabas said that one his favorite memories from his sophomore the river, something [his] mother wasn’t too happy to hear about.” Ahnili Johnson-Jennings ’23 described her experience of sophomore summer and whether or not it lives up to the expectations she heard from upperclassmen. “I was hoping the weather would be better for a longer time, but otherwise, it’s been fun,” JohnsonJennings said. “It’s been really rainy and really humid and really cloudy and just no sun. The air quality has been really poor, so it’s been really foggy lately and hard to see through.” Johnson-Jennings noted that she had a bucket list going into the summer.
“I wanted to go to the river a lot, I wanted to go kayaking, I wanted to go berry-picking and I wanted to go to the Ludlow Vermont falls,” Johnson-Jennings said. She said that although the weather has prevented her from going to the river as often as she’d hoped, she has done everything on her bucket list other than berry-picking and visiting the falls, which she hopes to make time for during the last few weeks of the term. Johnson-Jennings also said that the rumour of coursework being lighter during sophomore summer has not been the case for her. “I was expecting the classes to be a lighter load than they are, just based on what other people had said around campus and my peers in other classes,” she said. Diego Perez ’23, who is only taking two courses this summer instead of three, said that although he has less work in total, the workload from each class is still the same. In her sophomore summer, Hanna Bliska ’20 said she spent “quite a bit
of time” working on classwork, but she found her professors were more “I felt like the energy from said. “All of my professors had this understanding that it was summer. which just made things feel very Jimmy Nguyen ’21, however, said that his sophomore summer was Dartmouth. “I think sophomore summer really is what you make of it,” Nguyen said. “I went into sophomore summer very focused on trying to get the best internship possible and also taking four classes. It was very stressful, and it ended up being a very negative experience.” Nguyen said that while his sophomore summer started out fun when he did sophomore trips — which he said is one of his favorite memories from his time at Dartmouth — he ended up spending most of the rest of summer in his room studying
and preparing for recruiting. Sarah Hong ’21 shared that she had a similar experience of being stressed from classes and recruiting, but that she still enjoyed her sophomore summer, and she looks back upon it even more fondly now given that it was her last term on campus prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. camp-y’ as I thought it would be, because I ended up being bogged down by classes and recruiting,” Hong said. “But I do think I still got closer to my class and got to enjoy Hanover summer.” Hong also said that sophomore summer allowed her to meet more people in her sorority and engage more comfortably in Greek life. “Greek life was less intimidating after sophomore summer,” Hong said. “Because all of the social chairs were from my year and I knew most people when I went to a Greek house instead of it being mostly upperclassmen, so I felt like I had a little more ownership.”
Who Ran Off With Our Composite? Theft on Webster Ave. STORY
By Cassandra Thomas
Warm summer nights in Hanover lend themselves to outdoor music, late-night swimming and exploits such as hauling a 9’ by 5’ pong table across
According to a member of Bones Gate fraternity, who asked to remain anonymous, one morning this summer, the members of BG were startled to
That is, if you’re taking part in the friendly tradition of stealing from other Greek
a mounted deer head made its way to a popular hangout room on their third
retaliation. The majority of Dartmouth ample opportunity for inter-house shenanigans. Some frequently stolen items include pong tables and composite pictures of sorority and fraternity classes, but some ambitious thieves set their sights on more cumbersome or elusive objects. Typically, these clandestine operations According to Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority vice president Lily Steckel ’22, KDE had a wooden car — the wooden cut-out car that the sorority uses for their signature WoodstocKDE concert every year — stolen from outside their house by members of Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity during the 2020 fall term. The members of KDE managed to avenge grill, according to Steckel. It wasn’t until a week later, when the brothers of Chi Gam arrived in their backyard for a barbeque, that they realized their grill had gone missing. The ideal steal-worthy item is something that would be hilarious to take, for the targeted house, according to Chi Gam member Gabe Kotsonis ’22. For example, shower heads from a frat them a perfect target for thieves in this kind of prank war.
Psi fraternity that involved at least a few high-speed getaways and misleading house searches. The striking new home decor didn’t last too long in BG before returned. BG member Kieran O’Day ’22 said that geographic location has everything to do with the pranking business among Greek houses. For example, O’Day said due to BG’s proximity to Sigma Nu fraternity, the members of Bones Gate dig massive holes in Sig Nu’s backyard. This multi-person operation involves at least a few hole-diggers and someone to keep an eye on Sig Nu’s basement windows, which are — for better or worse, depending on your perspective — located at ground-level so that residents can see what’s happening in the backyard. If the lookout spots an angry brother running towards the front door, the diggers disband. O’Day also said it has become a tradition for BG to hurl eggs across the street at Chi Gam after house meetings. These shenanigans were all fun and games until an unknown pitcher from BG broke a window, causing the presidents of the fraternities to sort out the damages. “It’s nice that we have an outlet for our shenanigans,” O’Day said. “Although, we do try not to cause lasting damage.”
KATE HERRINGTON /THE DARTMOUTH
Try as they might to avoid creating lasting damage, sometimes these games get out of hand among houses. Kotsonis recalled a frantic twenty minutes during a recent weekend wherein the brothers of Chi Gam had to stop a moped thief in their tracks and, just minutes later, stomp out front lawn. Psi Upsilon fraternity member Henry Prestegaard ’22 also said that members of his house felt some guilt the morning after egging Theta Delta Chi fraternity — when they realized that the
victims were hosting an alumni event the following day. However, when it comes to stealing, students usually take the high road. The system’s informal code of conduct says that when somebody knocks on the door of a Greek house and requests a return, the stolen object must be turned over immediately. “I think it all facilitates lighthearted relations among the houses,” Kotsonis said. “[It] puts you on a level playing In addition to thievery, there are also
intra-house prank wars. According to Steckel, these endeavors bring together those carrying out the stealing. “Planning a prank is an automatic bonding experience,” Steckel said. “[In the fall,] it bonded us a lot, so we kept hanging out and got really close.” Next time you see an out-of-place object in the front yard of a house on Webster or spy a group of students hours of the night, know that you are witnessing a sacred Dartmouth tradition that plays out in secret during the night.