VOL. CLXXVIII NO. 26
FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2022
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
‘We’re not going back to the way we did Sig Ep to return to things last year’: Dartmouth presses campus this winter forward with in-person operations
NAINA BHALLA/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
The fraternity will not have access to its former house until the summer.
BY LAUREN ADLER The Dartmouth
Students arrived on campus this week to chilly January weather.
BY KRISTIN CHAPMAN The Dartmouth Staff
On Dec. 29, the College’s COVID-19 leadership team, led by interim provost David Kotz and executive vice president Rick Mills, announced that Dartmouth will move forward with in-person classes and move in despite surging COVID-19 cases across the nation due to the omicron variant. In a video Q&A recorded on Jan. 5, Kotz and Mills stated that Dartmouth’s high vaccination rate, as well as the booster requirement, mask mandate and weekly testing, should work together to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and help permit in-person learning. “We are beginning to recognize [COVID-19] isn’t going away,” Mills explained in an interview with The Dartmouth on Jan. 6. “This isn’t, ‘we’re going to wait it out,’ and we need to start to move forward on a path toward being able to operate with COVID being endemic
rather than pandemic.” According to Kotz, planning for residential operations and in-person learning while also “maintaining people’s physical and mental health” required “careful balance.” Kotz added that he hopes students will take agency and use their best judgment to reduce the spread of COVID-19. “We’re not going back to the way we did things last year, where we had really strict rules and we were kind of policing social gatherings,” Kotz said. “What we’re doing instead is asking students to be responsible, to make good choices, to socialize outdoors or in very small groups to avoid creating these situations where there might be a significant spread.” The College’s push to maintain inperson instruction contrasts with the approaches of some peer institutions. Yale University delayed move in to Jan. 25, a week later than originally planned, and shifted the first two weeks of spring semester classes online. Cornell University opted not
HANNAH LI/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
to delay move in but to push classes online for the first two weeks. Kotz and Mills noted in an interview that although they “closely monitored” what peer institutions were doing, they decided that because of Dartmouth’s unique schedule, it would not make sense to delay the start date for courses and move in or to resume online instruction. “Winter term is the shortest of the terms at Dartmouth –– it’s really a nine-week term, not a 10-week term, so that already constrained things in terms of compressing content,” Mills said. “And the other piece was we weren’t sure that a delay of a week or two was going to get us past whatever we were going to encounter with [the omicron variant].” Still, some peer institutions on quarter systems did choose to modify winter term plans due to the omicron variant. On Dec. 23, the University of Chicago announced that they would delay student arrival by one week to Jan. 10 and offer remote-only SEE IN PERSON PAGE 2
NH House tables bill that would have barred businesses, schools from imposing vaccine mandates
SNOWY HIGH 29 LOW 12
BY Andrew Sasser The Dartmouth Staff
NEWS
AAPI ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ESTABLISHES FUND PAGE 2
OPINION
ALLEN: WORKERS OF THE COLLEGE, UNITE! PAGE 3
ARTS
“SPIDER MAN: NO WAY HOME” CELEBRATES BELOVED CHARACTERS PAGE 4
SPORTS
SPORTS TEAMS FACE POSTPONEMENTS PAGE 5 FOLLOW US ON
@thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2021 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.
As the New Hampshire state House of Representatives returned to session this week, representatives voted Thursday on several bills pertaining to COVID-19 vaccination and mask mandates. One of the most controversial of these bills, H.B. 255, would have prevented private businesses, schools, universities and gover nment agencies from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations from people who object for medical reasons, religious beliefs or “personal conscience.” The bill was tabled by the House on Thursday by a vote of 213142, meaning that it will be postponed for consideration until a later time. 163 Democrats and 49 Republicans voted to table the bill, with 141 Republicans and 1 Democrat voting against the motion to table. All four of Hanover’s Democratic representatives — Russell Muirhead, Mary HakkenPhillips, James Murphy and Sharon Nordgren — voted to table it. Originally proposed as a bill to limit the liability of businesses and colleges for illness resulting from exposure to COVID-19, representative Rick Ladd, a Republican from Haverhill, added an amendment on Nov. 8 to prohibit private vaccine mandates. The amended bill passed the House Education Committee on Nov. 15 by an 11-8 vote, with one Democrat, Barbara Shaw of Manchester, voting in favor of the bill. State representative and government p r o f e s s o r Ru s s e l l M u i r h e a d , D-Hanover, said that the amended bill was another “thoughtless” and “destructive” piece of legislation that would stop private businesses from enforcing a “perfectly reasonable” condition of employment. He added
that the bill’s incongruencies with President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring private businesses with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccines or testing of their employees by Jan. 10 raise an “enforcement question.” “The bill would generate a lot of litigation, a lot of expense and distraction for the attorney general’s office,” Muirhead said. “In the end, I don’t think it would prove to be enforceable.” Muirhead added that this bill was promoted by “extremists” in the Republican governing coalition, who he argued have made it their goal to promote “controversial” bills during this legislative session. He mentioned that while the state Republican Party generally “hates regulation,” this bill would involve the government telling private companies what they “can or can not do.” Similarly, state representative JC Allard, a Republican from Pittsfield, said that the bill represented a “grotesque overreach” of the state government’s power. Allard also said that he was opposed to the bill because the amendment to H.B. 255 is a “nongermane amendment” — a rare type of amendment that is largely unrelated to the original bill. Allard also voted to table the bill. “Under this bill, the state would be dictating that Dartmouth could not make a decision for itself based on the health needs of its faculty, staff and student body,” Allard said. “It’s not the business of the legislature to do this.” Under the College’s own vaccine mandate and Biden’s executive order requiring federal contractors to comply with vaccine mandates, Dartmouth SEE BILL PAGE 2
After a three-year absence from campus, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity will return to Webster Avenue this winter. The chapter’s return, originally scheduled for fall 2020, was delayed by over a year due to COVID-19, and will begin before the fraternity regains access to its house this summer. The Sig Ep house is currently being used as college housing. Assistant director of residential operations Bernard Haskell wrote in an emailed statement that “there is no change in the use of the house at this time.” However, according to new chapter development director Jake Schozer, the reopened chapter will begin recruiting new members this term, despite not having access to the house until the summer. The fraternity has already established a new website and Instagram page, and Schozer and new chapter development director Adrian Galera have temporarily moved to Hanover to facilitate the reopening and recruitment process. “This winter presented the best opportunity to begin to meet with students and begin recruiting,” Schozer wrote in an emailed statement, adding that he and Galera will remain in Hanover into the spring to “work with [new members] to create a healthy Sig Ep chapter at Dartmouth.” Schozer wrote that most of Sig Ep’s recruitment process will consist of oneon-one or small group meetings, which allows the fraternity’s representatives to get to know potential new members personally. He also wrote that this method of recruiting should minimize the impact of COVID-19 on the house’s reopening process. Greek Leadership Council chair Brandon Zhou ’22 said that while Sig Ep’s recruitment will begin this winter, he expects that the house will see a larger rush class this coming fall when the main fraternity rush cycle takes place. He added that while Sig Ep is starting the recruitment process from scratch, the fraternity is returning as an old chapter rather than establishing a new chapter, as the Office of Greek Life is not currently accepting the establishment of new Greek houses on campus.
One unique aspect of the national fraternity is its emphasis on the Balanced Man Program, which the fraternity’s website calls the “cornerstone of the Sig Ep experience” and says provides members with “opportunities for personal growth and achievement.” The program focuses on knowledge of the fraternity, leadership skills and professional growth, as well as intellectual achievement and physical health and wellness — including maintaining substance-free fraternity houses. “You cannot drink your way to peer solidarity, mastery, ownership, or meaningful relationships,” vice president of finance for Sig Ep’s Alumni and Volunteer Corporation Board Isaiah Berg ’11 wrote in an email. “How many of Dartmouth’s particular treasures or expectations of the future are created or sustained by alcohol? None. There is room for a new kind of fraternity at Dartmouth focused on principles.” In order to attract students to the Balanced Man Program, the fraternity is offering $2,000 Balanced Man Scholarships to “students who have shown academic excellence, leadership skills, and a commitment to their health and well-being,” according to the fraternity’s website. All students who identify as men and who have a 3.0 GPA or higher are eligible for the scholarship, regardless of their intentions to join the fraternity. Tommy Cor rado ’25, whose father was a member of Sig Ep at Villanova University, said that he was excited to hear about the fraternity’s return to campus and that he is “definitely planning on rushing next year.” However, he said that Sig Ep’s lack of current members may deter potential new members hoping to form connections with upperclassmen, and their substance-free policy may be “unappealing” for some students. “Maybe some people are looking for a dry fraternity to still have all the positives and benefits of having a brotherhood and having a group of people that have your back, but not have the alcohol involved, which for some people might be really enjoyable and valuable,” he said. “It’s exciting to see [Sig Ep] come back and just to have another option.”
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
AAPI Alumni Association launches fund to support program establishment
JASON ROMERO/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
B Y CASSANDRA THOMAS The Dartmouth Staff
The Dartmouth Asian Pacific American Alumni Association announced the launch of the College’s first Asian American and Pacific Islander Academic Enrichment fund in an email early last month. This fund is the latest achievement in a 25-year-old campus movement to establish an official Asian American Studies Department at Dartmouth. 2021 was also marked by Asian American student activism on campus: The Dartmouth Asian American Studies Collective garnered nearly 1,200 signatures in a campaign to inaugurate a new Asian American Studies Department. Women’s gender and sexuality studies professor Eng-Beng Lim, who has been a leading faculty member advocating for the creation of an Asian-American studies department, expressed his excitement in reaching this achievement. “This is the result of alumni efforts, first and foremost,” Lim said. “It’s so wonderful that this is finally happening.” According to the AAPI academic enrichment fund’s website, the goal of the fund is to recruit Asian American faculty and fellows, provide funding for faculty and undergraduate research and support new courses and off-campus programs. “Our hope is that this fund will evolve into an Asian American studies department,” DAPAAA member Stephanie Westnedge ’92 said. “I think it’s an important milestone, but we still [have] got a long way to go. It’s encouraging that the administration is working with us and listening to us, but Dartmouth has to decide what’s the right
place for Asian American studies in the curriculum.” According to Westnedge, the AAPI Academic Enrichment fund currently has approximately $203,000. The DAPAAA’s goal is to raise an additional $200,000 by June 2022. Following three shootings in March 2021 at several spas near Atlanta that killed eight people — six of whom were Asian women — and subsequent activism surrounding violence against Asian Americans, Lim helped to organize a petition for an Asian American Studies program immediately following the shootings. He said he recognizes that this tragedy galvanized activists but also emphasizes the longer historical struggle for Asian American civil rights. “If you were to line this up in the history of anti-Asian violence, it’s a very long history,” Lim said. “So we can’t possibly attribute [the campus activism] to that one moment [after the Atlanta spa shootings], but it’s certainly one that has been quite formative of some of these energies.” Lily Ren ’23, a member of the Dartmouth Asian American Studies Collective that spearheaded the Dartmouth petition last fall, said that although the petition has not yet led to the creation of an Asian American studies department, the specific allotment of funds toward Asian American learning initiatives is a step in the right direction. She added that the mobilization effort involves coordination among students, alumni and faculty who are passionate about the cause. “Something that we are doing to strategize is we’re trying to work with alums and faculty on these initiatives because we believe it’s important to align our interests together,”
Ren said. “We’ve met with faculty and Asian American alum a few times during the fall, and they have been keeping us in the loop about the AAPI fund that would help to bolster a stronger Asian American studies presence at Dartmouth.” Westnedge explained that the alumni group that took charge on fundraising and establishing the academic enrichment fund initially formed out of a book club. Westnedge said that at a moment of racial reckoning in the U.S. in 2020, Asian American alumni were tired of being “invisible as a group.” “We’re just a scrappy little group who were angry and pissed off and we needed to put our energy somewhere,” Westnedge said. “One of the big gaps at Dartmouth is there’s no course code for Asian American studies. We are just systematically not represented as a group or the study at Dartmouth.” Strong alumni involvement has helped the movement sustain momentum even after the news cycle trended away from violence against Asian Americans. However, Lim said that proponents of creating an Asian American studies department must keep moving toward their goal. For now, the fund without a department is like “putting the cart before the horse,” he added. As to whether he thinks the Asian American studies department will ever come to fruition, Lim said “never say never.” “But the proof is in the pudding,” Lim added. “So, without an actualizable plan [that] is committed to Asian American studies and Asian American students, in the context of national comparative understandings of race and ethnicity, [it] is, so far, only a hope.”
Kotz and Mills emphasize mental health FROM IN PERSON PAGE 1
instruction for the first two weeks. On Dec. 20, Northwestern University also sent a message to students that all classes and extracurriculars will shift to a remote model for the first two weeks. Kotz explained that mental health was a main factor in the College’s decision to prioritize in-person learning. “Being in-person, both for learning and for out of the classroom experiences, is so important to the learning experience and student mental health –– and frankly, to everyone’s mental health,” he said. Kotz added that professors are fully prepared to move to online instruction in the case that many students contract COVID-19 and need to isolate. “In a few cases, especially if there are a large number of students who are out, [professors] may decide, with so many people sick, let’s just go online for a week until people are better,” Kotz said. “I just ask everyone –– students and faculty alike –– to be flexible and adaptable at this time.” Samantha Palermo ’24 said she is grateful for Dartmouth’s decision to maintain in-person classes, although she noted that one of her classes, PSYC 37, “Behavioral Neuroscience,” has moved fully online. “I thought it was going to be two hours of Zoom lecture, but then I realized that the format was actually going to be some group work, some discussion, some problem solving, and I think that [the professor] is really doing a good job of transforming the class onto Zoom,” Palermo said. According to the email sent to campus on Dec. 29, Dartmouth would offer grab-and-go dining for “at least the first two weeks of January” and ban Collegesponsored indoor social gatherings to combat the spread of the virus as students return to campus. The email stated that “limited social gatherings” will be allowed. Palermo said she had a mixed reaction when she learned of the College’s graband-go dining policy. “Obviously it’s disappointing, especially living in McLaughlin –– it’s about a 15 minute walk to the nearest dining location, and then a 15 minute walk back, so that adds time having to go all the way back versus being able to just grab a meal in the dining hall,” she said. “I understand why they did it, and if closing dining is what it takes to have in-person classes, I’m all for
it, but I’m also really looking forward to being able to grab food with my friends again.” Mills said that the College’s main intention with the policy was to encourage students to spread out around different locations on campus while eating. “We just really wanted to encourage people to distribute around campus and not cluster together in one room or one area,” Mills said. As for what constitutes a “limited social gathering,” Kotz explained that data from Dartmouth and other institutions has shown that the virus “tends to spread in social contexts” more than the classroom. However, he said students can gather for academic purposes or outdoors and stressed that the goal is not to “impose size constraints.” “What I don’t want people to think is that you can’t get together with a friend, play your favorite video game or watch a movie –– you can hang out,” Kotz said. “What we don’t want is to have that become 30, 40, 50, a hundred people hanging out and drinking in close quarters because that’s obviously a risky context.” On Dec. 31, Kotz and Mills sent a follow-up email announcement detailing the COVID-19 isolation protocol for winter term. According to the email, the isolation period upon a positive test result can be reduced from 10 to five days if the person receives a negative rapid antigen test result on the fifth day of isolation and symptoms improve. The protocol also stated that students will self-isolate in their dorm rooms if they contract COVID-19, regardless of whether they have a roommate. Nicolás Macri ’24 said that the College’s plan to isolate students who contract COVID-19 in their dorm rooms is particularly “unfortunate” for those students’ roommates “because they’re sort of like sacrificial lambs.” Macri added that he thinks isolation housing should have been an option, if not for the housing shortage on campus. “I wouldn’t want to isolate in a room with another person who has [COVID-19] because I wouldn’t want to get myself sick,” he said. “I think it circles back to a recurrent issue –– the College doesn’t have enough housing to quarantine all these people in an independent place without resorting to using dorm rooms.” During the Jan. 5 Q&A, Mills said while he recognized that the College’s
new isolation policy may cause discomfort among students and their families, COVID-19 symptoms for the student age group typically involve upper respiratory infections similar to a “bad cold” or flu –– diseases that have not prevented students from coming to campus in the past. He added that students with medical conditions will still be able to move to isolation housing in the event their roommate contracts the virus. Kristine Suritis ’25 said that upon her arrival to campus on Jan. 3, her roommates in her two-room triple informed her that they had already been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Suritis said she immediately isolated herself from her roommates, who both ended up contracting the virus, and has been staying with a friend in the meantime. “Ever since I got to campus, I basically had no exposure to [my roommates], and so I didn’t want to risk getting COVID by living in the same room where I’d probably be sure to get it –– just because it’s so contagious,” Suritis said. The College announced in an email on Dec. 13 that they would be requiring a negative pre-arrival PCR test result from its COVID-19 testing partner Vault Health. The announcement stated that students must get tested and send in their spit samples no later than Dec. 27. Suritis said that she felt that the prearrival testing was done too early, and should have been done closer to students’ arrival dates to reduce the spread of COVID-19. “The whole arrival testing was so far in advance of people actually coming to campus, and was right before New Years –– people go out for New Years,” she said. “It was right after Christmas or something that you were supposed to send the arrival test in, but I feel like a lot of people have the opportunity to get infected [between] the time they send the arrival tests [and] when they actually get [to campus].” Palermo said that although she thinks guidelines about social gatherings have been a bit unclear, she has appreciated the increased communication and transparency from the College this term compared to the past. “I feel like we have more reasoning behind the decision,” she said. “It’s less of a decision being handed down and more of, like, ‘here’s our decision, and here’s why we made this decision.’”
FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2022
Vermont expected to elect first woman to Congress
Photo by GearedBull at English Wikipedia. No changes made. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/
B Y FARAH LINDSEY-ALMADANI The Dartmouth Staff
Barring a major upset, Vermont’s sole seat in the House of Representatives appears likely to be filled by a woman in the next Congress. Whoever is elected to the seat will replace current Rep. Peter Welch, a Democrat, who is running to replace Sen. Patrick Leahy, also a Democrat, as he retires after nearly half a century in office. The 2022 election would, then, mark the first time the state has ever sent a woman to Congress and end its status as the last state in the country to have never done so. Vermont Lt. Gov. Molly Gray and state Senate president Becca Balint, both Democrats, and Republican candidate and businessperson Marcia Horne have announced their intentions to run to fill Welch’s seat. All three did not respond to requests for comment. Horne, a marketing consultant and the sole Republican running so far, opposed representative Welch in the 2020 election as an independent, according to the Boston Globe. Gray, a human rights attorney and native Vermonter, was raised on a farm in South Newbury, according to her campaign website. After graduating from the University of Vermont, Gray interned for Leahy and later worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross. According to the campaign website, Gray is running “because the challenges [Vermonters] face — from our workforce shortages to our child care crisis — won’t be solved by [the state] alone.” Balint, another Democratic candidate, made state history in 2014 by becoming Vermont’s first female and first openly gay President Pro Tempore. The impetus for Balint’s campaign is that “together [Vermonters] have to deliver on some big promises for Vermont’s working families, and that is going to take courage and kindness,” according to Balint’s website. Another potential Democratic contender for the congressional seat is Vermont state Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, who has not yet confirmed her intention to run. “For the decade I’ve served in the House and Senate, it’s been about what
I can do for people, not what title I hold,” Hinsdale wrote in an emailed statement. “These are complex challenges that require collaborative, national solutions, and I have an extensive track record of addressing these challenges head on,” she wrote. “You’ll be hearing from me soon!” Both Gray and Balint are alumni of Emerge Vermont — a local chapter of the nationwide Emerge program, an organization that trains and supports female politicians in their campaign endeavors, according to its national website. Emerge Vermont executive director Elaine Haney called Gray and Balint “trendsetters.” She noted two reasons that she believes explain why the state has yet to send a woman to Washington: Vermont’s small population means that few seats open up on a regular basis, and women often have familial responsibilities that prevent them from running a successful campaign. Vermont Democratic Party communications director Asha Carroll said that sexism may have also prevented Vermont from sending a woman to Washington. “I think it’s for similar reasons that we have not yet seen a female president,” Carroll said. “For whatever reason, I think it’s a gender [inequality] to overcome.” Carroll said that the party will not endorse any candidate until after the first congressional primary on Aug. 9. Students also reacted to the prospect of Vermont electing a woman to Congress. Selina Noor ’22, who serves as the public relations and membership director of the Dartmouth Political Union, said she had discussed the race with other DPU leaders. “[The DPU executives] were also talking about … the long-standing bias against anyone, other than white men, who hold office in Vermont,” Noor said. “In the 2018 gubernational race, Christine Hallquist [a Democrat] was defeated, and she would have been Vermont’s first female governor and first transgender governor in the country.” She also added that representation is key in encouraging women to run for office. “When women start seeing results, … [women] will start to come out of the bubble and be more engaged,” Noor said.
Vote to table was bipartisan FROM BILL PAGE 1
currently asks its employees who have access to campus and work remotely to submit proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or obtain a medical or religious waiver. College spokesperson Diana Lawrence declined to comment on the “hypothetical situation” of the bill’s passage. Allard added that he had previously served on the House education committee but was reassigned by House speaker Sherman Packard, a Republican from Londonderry, to the fish and game and marine resources committee due to his concerns about the bill. State representative Betty Gay, a Republican from Salem, said the she was “strongly” in favor of the bill, claiming falsely that the COVID-19 vaccines are “ineffective” at preventing the spread of COVID-19 and can cause “dangerous” side effects. There is no evidence for either of these claims — numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of vaccines at reducing the risk of serious illness and death, and while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified instances of patients experiencing severe side effects, these cases are exceedingly rare. Gay voted against the motion to table.
“It’s really critical that we pass this bill to give people personal freedom to decide what goes into their body,” Gay said. “Personal rights trump business rights.” Upper Valley officials have expressed mixed reactions on the matter. Hanover town manager Julia Griffin said that H.B. 255, which is among 30 other bills currently under consideration involving COVID-19 vaccination and masking requirements, could impact Upper Valley businesses that operate in both New Hampshire and Vermont. “I feel bad for businesses like Coop food stores, which has locations in White River Junction, Hanover and Lebanon,” Griffin said. “It’s complex legal terrain.” Upper Valley Business Alliance director Tracy Hutchins said that UVBA as an organization has not taken “any official position” on the bill but is trying to “stay on top” of the legislation to keep its members informed. “Some of our members, both large businesses affected by the federal mandate and smaller businesses, have implemented their own vaccine mandates,” Hutchins said. “On the other hand, we have some businesses who are worried that imposing a vaccine mandate might make it more difficult to recruit employees amid severe staffing shortages.”
FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2022
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THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
STAFF COLUMNIST SPENCER ALLEN ’23
STAFF COLUMNIST KAMI ARABIAN ’24
Allen: Workers of the College, Unite!
Arabian: Flipping the Script on Russia
A union for all Dartmouth student workers would help protect students’ rights and raise their wages. Over the past several months, two of Dartmouth’s peer institutions — Harvard University and Columbia University — saw members of their student unions strike. Harvard’s graduate student union went on a three-day strike in late-October, which later led to a contract that increased pay. Columbia student union began striking in early-November; that strike is still ongoing, upending academics as the union fights for fair pay and recognition of hourly student employees as union members. Meanwhile, no Dartmouth student worker belongs to a recognized union for their work at the College, leaving many student workers without the ability to advocate for conditions in their workplace. Though student employees with employment concerns can attempt to appeal to the College’s good graces, Dartmouth has yet to do enough on its own to best support its student employees. Without the College doing everything it can to pay its student workers justly and provide sound working conditions, student workers must unionize to protect the interests of all. A hallmark of unionization is a union’s potential to obtain collective bargaining for pay. This week marks the first pay period in which student workers at Dartmouth are now paid under the newly raised $11.50 an hour minimum wage. There is no questioning that this is an improvement from the measly $7.75 minimum wage that some students were paid up until last term. However, this pay bump still fails to meet the students’ needs. Last year, I argued that the student minimum wage ought to be no less than $13.18 — the livable wage for single adults in Grafton County — and should be comparable to the wages that employers in Hanover and the surrounding area are paying their employees in response to the regional labor shortage. Though the College has yet to raise its minimum wage to sufficiently benefit students and remain a competitive employer in the area, a union can pressure Dartmouth to pay its employees adequately, raising the campus minimum wage in order to support all employees. Fair pay is not the only benefit students can earn from union membership. Time off — whether due to sickness, vacation, or other means — can be secured for student employees through union bargaining. Currently, there is no formal mechanism for taking time off from jobs for any reason. Often, this means that it is the individual students’ responsibility to find coverage when they need time off. Furthermore, I am aware of no position that offers formal paid time off to students; for many students
who need to take some time off, they will later struggle to cover additional shifts while balancing courses and other commitments to make up for lost compensation. I do not write this in some sort of socialist fever dream; unionization for Dartmouth’s student workers seems to be on the precipice of reality. Just this past Wednesday, the newly formed Student Worker Collective at Dartmouth announced in an open letter to the College that “[a] supermajority of student workers at all Dartmouth Dining Services locations” have agreed to be represented by SWCD as a union. Even though the SWCD has not shared how many student workers have signed union cards, the sheer number of students working at Novack Cafe and other campus dining locations can give us a sense of just how many students might want to unionize. Dartmouth should voluntarily recognize this union, and hopefully, student workers in other parts of campus will have similar opportunities soon. Some may argue that these benefits could be met by employees simply asking for them. In my time working for Dartmouth — I have worked every term I have been enrolled — asking for better benefits has rarely ever worked. Some supervisors may express their sympathy for students’ concerns, but those concerns often seem to die out as they rise in the institutional pyramid, preventing the change that students need in their work. Unfortunately, some supervisors are simply dismissive of students’ workplace concerns. Some friends have shared with me that supervisors have even gaslit them by saying that students at Dartmouth have it better than at other schools in terms of compensation — something that, among the Ivy League, is mostly untrue. Relying solely on the College to treat its student employees with the respect student employees deserve has failed time and time again. At a college where the administration frequently neglects the needs of its student employees, it is finally time that a union takes shape to protect those students. Students are well aware that they are a vital component of Dartmouth’s ability to function, but they are exhausted from waiting for the College to come to its senses and treat them with the respect they deserve. In this new year, a new union is the only way for Dartmouth’s student employees to be recognized as the lifeblood of campus operations. Spencer Allen works in Baker-Berry Library as a student manager in the access services department.
NINA SLOAN ’24: A CHILLY START TO THE TERM
Although the Kremlin has issued a difficult ultimatum regarding Ukraine, Biden still has a third option. This column was originally published on January 1, 2022. Months after its catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States faces another major challenge to its unipolarity: a belligerent Russia. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that his country will pursue “appropriate retaliatory military-technical measures” if the West maintains its “obviously aggressive stance.” To back this threatening statement, Russia has amassed an estimated 100,000 soldiers — supported by an assortment of tanks, supply lines and field hospitals — along its border with Ukraine and in Belarus and Crimea. Putin has demanded an American commitment to exclude Ukraine from NATO on a permanent basis and refrain from deploying short-range missiles and certain other weapons in the region before he calls off his troops. Essentially, Putin has pushed the following ultimatum on the West: surrender Ukraine or face war with Russia. Neither of these options are particularly appealing, but fortunately, U.S. President Joe Biden still has a third way out. Putin’s geopolitical posturing is particularly — if not, primarily — intended for domestic consumption. The autocrat has been using this stand-off to distract Russians from the plethora of problems they face at home, such as surging inflation, a lackluster response to COVID-19, rampant corruption, widespread unemployment, political unrest and declining oil prices. From this perspective, Ukraine is the perfect card to play; in addition to being a post-Soviet state and having cultural and linguistic ties to Russia, Ukraine has long been a “boogeyman” for the country. From the Russian perspective, Ukraine is an essential cornerstone of the post-Cold War regional order; after all, the threat of a NATO partner on the Russian doorstep is enough to keep any Moscow general up at night. And it’s not just the generals either. So far, Putin’s plans seem to be working — as many as 66% of Russians blame either the West or Ukraine for escalating tensions, while only 4% blame Russia, according to one survey cited in the Moscow Times. Apart from distracting Russians from internal problems, Putin aims to demonstrate that Russia, despite its troubles, still possesses significant influence in the post-Soviet world and can hold its own against the West. The logic is this, according to chief Kremlin propagandist Dmitry Kiseolyov: “if you put a gun to our head, we’ll do the same to you … we have the capability for that.” For Putin, it’s a win-win. If the West capitulates, he scores a major moral and strategic victory; if it doesn’t, he gets to demonstrate the might of his military by overwhelming Western-backed Ukraine. For the West, of course, it’s a lose-lose. While the Ukrainian military has seen much development since the invasion of Crimea in 2014, most analysts agree that the country is not yet capable of defending against an invasion without intervention from the West. But the West cannot possibly risk full-scale intervention against nuclear-armed Russia because, as Kiseolyov so elegantly put it, “everyone will be turned to radioactive ash,” and Putin knows this. The U.S. can, however, flip the script by opting for a third option: changing the calculus. By raising the cost of an invasion, the West can deter Russia and ensure
the sovereignty of Ukraine without the need for direct military intervention. To begin, the U.S. should accept that there is nothing it can do — with the exception of a nuclear strike, which clearly would not be wise — that would prevent Russia from invading Ukraine. Despite its post-Soviet decline, Russia continues to possess top-notch ground and cyber-warfare capabilities, nuclear weapons, an abundance of resources and a canny leader at its helm. It has also demonstrated that it’s no pushover; the country has performed solidly in Syria and Libya, and it’s questionable at best whether the U.S. can say the same. However, as the U.S. learned in Afghanistan and Iraq, occupying a country is much more difficult than invading it. While the U.S. cannot prevent Russia from invading Ukraine, perhaps it can help raise the costs of occupation to such an extent that Russia would choose not to. Of course, this would require the U.S. to increase the amount of logistical and technical support that it grants Ukraine, which should only be doled out with great restraint. Any support that is not purely defensive would — perhaps rightfully — anger Russia and contribute to the security dilemma. To this end, the U.S. must publicly define the exact conditions under which it will provide or deny assistance; by adding a degree of certainty to the situation, this approach would alleviate Russian paranoia without endangering Ukraine. For instance, the U.S. may commit itself to arming Ukraine with surface-to-air missiles to intercept Russian aircraft, while refusing to sell any such aircraft of its own. This approach would deny Putin the victory — either in the capitulation of the West or the annihilation of Ukraine — he so desperately needs and benefits both the U.S. and Ukraine. While sanctions are another way to raise the costs for Putin, this approach is doomed to fail. The Kremlin has time and time again demonstrated its ability to endure sanctions by instead dealing with other autocracies — including China — and its own Eurasian Economic Union. Some have proposed that Russia be blacklisted from SWIFT — a global electronic payment-processing system — but there are two major problems with this approach. First, as one analyst correctly points out, SWIFT “doesn’t actually have to listen to the United States.” Second, Russia is still the 11th strongest economy in terms of GDP, and removing it from financial institutions may be too big a price for many of our allies to accept. Russia still has significant leverage over Europe thanks to energy exports, and some EU players have lobbied against sanctions against its Nord Stream 2 pipeline, for instance. Blocking Russian institutions could indirectly harm American allies and risk turning some of its traditional partners toward a more autocratic state. By refusing to accept Putin’s ultimatum, Biden can demonstrate that he has learned from his errors in Afghanistan and will not end a war without preconditions or guarantees for American safety and that of its partners. The U.S. should not settle for a “Peace in Our Time” agreement, but it also shouldn’t drag itself into another costly war that is not immediately a matter of national security. For Biden, the only way to win Putin’s game is not to play.
MARLEIGH PETERS ’24: THE LONG WALK FROM FOCO
DOMINIQUE MOBLEY ’22: DARTMOUTH BLACK GIRL’S CRYSTAL BALL
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2022
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
Hanover High alum Julian Higgins on his upcoming film “God’s Country” BY ARMITA Mirkarimi The Dartmouth
In his first feature film, “God’s Country,” Hanover High School alumnus Julian Higgins explores morality in an immoral world. Struggling against racism and sexism in daily life, a Black female professor has her strength of character put to the test when hunters trespass on her land. “God’s Country” will premiere in the 2022 Sundance Film Festival this month. Over a decade ago, Higgins discovered a quintessential New Hampshire short story called “Winter Light” by James Lee Burke. The tale follows an aging professor’s confrontation with two hunters trespassing on his property. Higgins adapted the story in his 2015 short film by the same name, which was screened at The Nugget Theaters in Hanover. Now, he is reenvisioning this short story in “God’s Country,” a neo-Western thriller. “I had a gut reaction to the short story,” Higgins said. “Growing up in New Hampshire, it was part of why I identified with it so strongly. I was so familiar with the winter landscape and the certain type of people who lived in the mountains and the trees and the snow.” Higgins anticipated the 2015 film to be his final engagement with the short story. However, around the 2016 presidential election, Higgins and his screenwriting partner Shaye Ogbonna returned to the story’s themes, drawing creative inspiration from the political moment. “We were really motivated by the feelings we were having about America in the Trump era,” said Higgins. “We wanted to deal with those feelings
through what we do, which is write scripts and make movies. The whole point is engaging with the world as it is and trying to figure out what we felt the truth of the situation was through the process.” The filmmaker began “God’s Country” by changing the main character from “Winter Light” entirely. “Thandiwe Newton plays a college professor, Sandra, who lives and teaches in this small Western town, and she’s the only Black woman for miles around,” Higgins said in a “Meet the Artist” video on the Sundance Institute YouTube channel. “In changing the main character from an older white man to a 40-something Black woman, we were able to really engage with the issues and the questions and the anger that we feel about America today.” In “God’s Country,” Sandra faces a moral dilemma when she encounters two white hunters trespassing on her property. “The film is quite a departure from the source material,” said Higgins. “The 2015 short film was very close to it, and this is a whole other take on it.” At Frances C. Richmond Middle School in Hanover, Higgins took classes with drama teacher Kate Schaefer, who inspired him artistically. “Julian was always so imaginative and creative,” Schaefer said. “I loved having him in class, and it was so wonderful to see him grow as an artist.” Higgins acknowledges the impact Schaefer had on him. “I took something with Kate every chance I could possibly get,” Higgins said. “She was an incredibly important teacher for me.” The director also took classes at Dartmouth while he was in high school. “[I took] a screenwriting class with
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[film and media studies professor] Bill Phillips when I got interested in filmmaking, and I took an acting class with [theater professor] James Rice — both phenomenal teachers that were formative for me,” said Higgins. “I will say the Hanover school system really made it possible for me to be an independent-minded, filmmaking teenager.” Higgins is not the only Hanover native involved with the project. He collaborated with fellow Hanover High alumnus, Anthony Ciardelli, the film’s executive producer. “This is my first experience being in this role as an executive producer — I’m a freelance journalist — and it has been so rewarding seeing how things developed from when I first read the script, which I loved so much because it was so timely,” Ciardelli said. Higgins also expressed satisfaction
in the production process. “It was the first day driving to set when I realized that the idea for this movie we had months, maybe years ago, is actually coming into fruition,” said Higgins. “And now there are 40 to 50 people on location in Montana, all working really hard to make it as real and believable as it can be, you know? That is a very moving experience.” As with many other films, the pandemic temporarily halted the making of “God’s Country.” Production started in early 2020, during which about half the movie was shot. After a break, the latter half was captured a year later in 2021. Ciardelli and Higgins said that the break actually served as an advantage. “It was hugely valuable, creatively, to take a break and think about what we are doing,” said Higgins. As they anticipate the debut of the
film in less than three weeks, Higgins and Ciardelli look forward to the conversations that will arise from the film. “The movie raises more questions for the audience,” Higgins said. “The point of it is to challenge the audience, to think about what it means to be in America and what it means to participate in the society that we’ve set up.” Ciardelli also commented on the thought-provoking nature of the film. “The whole idea is to make the audience think differently,” Ciardelli said. “But not necessarily in any particular direction, just to make people question the things they might’ve taken for granted.” “God’s Country” will premiere inperson on January 23 and online on January 24 at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ celebrates beloved characters (Spoilers) BY Eleanor schifino The Dartmouth Staff
One of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” incited a mass exodus of fans from the comfort of their couches back to the theater’s big screen. With various spoilers circulating on the internet since the movie’s release on Dec. 17, the movie demands an in-theater viewing for the most genuine experience. Racing to see it myself, I was struck by the emotionality woven into the action of this film that celebrates SpiderMan’s legacy and future. “No Way Home” begins immediately after its predecessor, “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” in which Spider-Man’s identity has been revealed as Peter Parker. Reeling from the immense consequences of this revelation and desperate to save his friends from its negative effects, Parker (Tom Holland) approaches Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to magically erase people’s memories of his secret identity. However, the spell goes awry. It opens the multiverse by inviting in everyone who knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, including the villains Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Electro (Jamie Foxx) and The Lizard (Rhys Ifans). Rather than immediately sending them back to their predestined fates to die at Spider-Man’s hand in their respective universes, Parker strives to cure the villains of their various ailments. Balancingnostalgiawiththedevelopment of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, “No Way Home” exceeds its predecessors as it shoots to the top of Marvel fan-favorites. With poignant portrayals, well-timed cameos and a perfect balance between the old and new, Spider-Man’s iconic characters are elevated by phenomenal acting and exceptional writing. By bringing in Tobey Maguire to honor his beloved performance and finally giving Andrew Garfield a fair shot at the role with lucid plotlines, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” identifies the core of its character — formed of heartbreaking loss, intense love, vast intellect and quick wit. The power of Spider-Man’s character is in his morals, something “Spider-Man: No Way Home” emphasized through a return to and subsequent breakdown of the “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.” His incorruptible view of the goodness in the world and unmitigated genius were lost in previous Holland portrayals, as he was used to develop the agenda of other Avengers and sculpted to fit into the larger Marvel universe. “Spider-Man: No Way
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Home” removes Parker from this grander tale and instead refocuses on his story. It is emphasized that he is, fundamentally, just a kid who makes mistakes. Why else would he risk the fate of the multiverse to gain admission for his friends and himself into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology? What makes this movie so special is the elevation of seemingly mundane problems by presenting Holland’s Parker with a challenging dilemma: in order to save his world and the multiverse, he must accept a spell that erases him from peoples’ memory. Anyone who has ever known him would forget him. Essentially wiping out the past six movies that featured Holland’s Spider-Man, the Marvel filmmakers created a fresh slate for the character to grow as an individual by his own doing. Viewers are reminded of Parker’s selfless nature as he loses everyone and is left alone, without family or friends. The emotion in Holland’s acting proves his matured worth alongside acclaimed actors Maguire and Garfield. The age-old debate between comic
fans about the best Spider-Man continues: Maguire’s performance is iconic and quirky, Garfield has sarcastic wit and a perfected web-slinging style, while Holland’s portrayal is youthful and eager. With each actor comes various strengths and weaknesses, but most forums agreed that Garfield’s version was the worst (a sentiment I have always detested). Stand-out acting came from both Garfield and Dafoe, who elevated their previous roles of Spider-Man and Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) by delving into the essence of their struggles, heartbreaks and complex mental states. Dafoe’s Green Goblin is the key to uncovering the true Spider-Man — a task he fulfilled for both Maguire’s and Holland’s renditions of the character by forcing their isolation. His indescribable insanity is the perfect foil to Parker’s pure morality. With subtle and skillful switches between Osborn and Goblin, the nuances of Dafoe’s performance demonstrate his depravity as he finalizes the “coming-of-age” portion of
our hero’s story by spurring Spider-Man’s rebirth. Garfield’s acting is the highlight of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” as he explores the potential darkness in his character and finally earns his shot at redemption. In “The Amazing SpiderMan,” Garfield was a Parker immersed in a grittier, darker universe. Going as far as to study the comics and how spiders behave, he never got his fair chance at the role, as poor writing and plot execution cut his tenure short. When given distinctive writing, an interesting plot and the opportunity to explore Parker’s depth, fans are now able to see what could’ve been for “The Amazing Spider-Man” franchise — and have already begun to circulate petitions demanding the production of a third film. After failing to save Gwen Stacy in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” Garfield’s Spider-Man finds redemption by saving MJ, overcoming some of the trauma that haunted him in an emotional moment that could bring tears to even the most stoic of viewers.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” successfully weaves together two decades of Spider-Man-related content, celebrating the nuances of different versions to create a cohesive universe in which the versatile experience of each Spider-Man comes together to fight for a single cause. At the core of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” are the themes of redemption and legacy, giving actors like Garfield and Foxx new chances at old roles while teaching Holland’s Spider-Man the lessons learned already by Garfield and Maguire. As the movie celebrates the past to create Holland’s future, it expands its scope while getting at the core of Spider-Man’s character and value. The creation of a film with three Spider-Men and five villains in one conflict seems like an impossible task due to the complexity of competing storylines, but it turned out to be a stand-out production that reveals why Spider-Man’s character is so beloved — no matter the actor who plays him. Rating:
FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2022
PAGE 5
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS
SPORTS
Winter sports teams face postponements and spectator restrictions as omicron surges nationwide
BY Will Ennis
The Dartmouth Staff
This article was originally published on January 5, 2022. As the winter term gets underway and the omicron variant surges nationwide and on campus, Dartmouth’s athletics department has continued to reevaluate restrictions placed on athletic competition for the season. Until at least Jan. 18, depending on the continued evolution of the College’s broader COVID-19 policies, the athletics department will restrict the number of spectators at events. Within that time frame, Dartmouth’s athletic events will be closed entirely to the general public. For the Dartmouth community, a limited number of preapproved guests of student-athletes and coaches will be placed on a “pass list” for entry, with the specific number allowed differing based on the capacity of the relevant venue. All guests will be required to show either proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test recorded within 72 hours of the event. Eleanor Zwart ’22, a member of the women’s swimming and diving team, said that each athlete is allowed four spectator invites to each meet. With respect to the protocols athletes themselves must follow, interim athletics director Peter Roby ’79 said that the requirements have remained relatively unchanged from the fall term. According to Roby, a group made up of various people within the athletics department — himself, head athletic trainer Ben Schuler, senior athletics director for varsity sports Tiffani-Dawn Sykes and executive associate athletics director Richard Whitmore, among
others — is primarily responsible for crafting these policies in conjunction with the College. “We’re all in constant conversation with each other about the status of our athletes and teams, and everybody’s working in good faith,” Roby said. “The priority is to try to help keep the seasons alive so that the athletes can play, but obviously, we’re going to do that in a way that’s as safe as possible.” The College’s isolation length policy for athletes who test positive for COVID-19 remains unchanged at 10 days, even as the broader College policy was recently updated to conform to the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines of five days. Zwart called the decision to maintain stricter protocols for student-athletes “especially frustrating.” “Especially because the winter is our main competition season, missing 10 days now is a bigger deal than it would’ve been missing 10 days in the fall,” Zwart said. T h e i m p a c t o f t h at 1 0 - d ay quarantine period has already been felt by some teams, such as men’s basketball, according to starting guard Brendan Barry ’20. On a recent road trip to face Cornell University, the team was only able to travel with 13 players. “Whether you’re symptomatic or not, it’s tough to come back from 10 days of not playing and not going up and down to right away jumping right back in the swing of things,” Barry said. “It’s 10 days, as of now, but we’re hoping it goes down to five.” Although the athletics department initially stated that all events would be held as scheduled, that has already proven to be more difficult than anticipated, with various events scheduled for this weekend already
JUSTIN KRAMER / THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Athletic events are closed entirely to the public until at least Jan. 18.
postponed or canceled. On Dec. 20, the department canceled the Dartmouth Relays, an event scheduled to take place this weekend that usually hosts about 2,000 athletes. On Monday, the men’s basketball team’s tilt with Yale University, originally scheduled for this Friday, was pushed back due to “COVID-19 concerns and safety protocols within the Yale men’s
basketball program.” On Tuesday, the men’s hockey and women’s basketball teams’ upcoming games for this weekend were also postponed — this time due to concerns arising from the Dartmouth teams’ program, according to the announcement. Barry expressed doubt that the nonconference games will end up being rescheduled, as well as concern over how in-conference postponements will
affect the season. “I feel like any athlete in the Ivy League should be worried because of the league’s propensity to show that athletics is not a priority, especially over academics or anything like that,” Barry said. “I think there definitely is cause for worry, but, at the end of the day, we just have to play the games when they come and prepare like we’re going to play every game.”
Women’s rugby reflects on program’s second NIRA national championship in three seasons
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After winning the title in 2018, the Big Green defeated Army West Point 28-18 on Nov. 21 to complete an undefeated season.
BY Stephanie Sowa The Dartmouth
This article was originally published on January 5, 2022. On Nov. 21, the women’s rugby team won the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association national championship, defeating Army West Point on their home field 28-18. The Big Green finished the season with an undefeated record and took home the national championship for the second time in three seasons.
The championship game marked the second time that Dartmouth competed against Army in the fall. While Dartmouth secured the win in the initial meeting on Sept. 19, it was one of their closest games of the season with a score of 34-28. Fullback Bailey Hand ’22 recalled Army’s second-half comeback during the September game and attributed it to the Black Knights’ impressive fitness conditions. “One of the biggest things we did after that midseason game was that
we conditioned all week, every week,” Hand said. “Our coaches pushed us to maintain that sharp level of play we demonstrated with Army, but for that whole 80 minutes.” Conditioning played an important part of the Big Green’s road to success, and scrumhalf Sadie Schier ’25 said the team’s behind the scenes work allowed the players to evolve over the course of the season. “The goals we set for ourselves are more specific and directed towards the game itself,” Schier said. “Thanks to
[assistant coach Meya Bizer], we could reflect on our stats and implement this feedback in our practices.” In the midst of fall term final exams, the Big Green journeyed to New York to play at Army’s home field — the farthest the team traveled all season. Center Emily Henrich ’22 recounted the odd circumstances and the charged energy before the team took the field for the national championship. “Girls were taking exams in the hotel rooms the morning of the championship game, having our assistant coach proctor
them,” Henrich said. “A big thing was knowing when to turn on for the rugby game and when we could turn off and focus on our schoolwork.” Henrich, who played the national championship in her home state of New York, said that playing a rare night game added to the excitement of the matchup against Army. “We never have night games, so playing under the lights on the base felt surreal,” Henrich said. “There were so many fans there, and even if all the fans weren’t necessarily cheering for us, the atmosphere made it so exciting.” Henrich earned Dartmouth its first try of the national championship, and the Big Green jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. Army held strong after the early score, but the Big Green took a 14-3 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Big Green capitalized off the fast and flexible offensive strategy that it had been working on all season. Army was able to cut the lead to 21-13, but the Big Green eventually pulled away for a 28-18 victory. “I think the championship game came down to a lot of defensive grit,” Henrich said. “It really wears down another team when they consistently get hit in a highenergy game, but our defense truly won the game for us.” Also having captured the crown in 2018, the Big Green has now won the NIRA national championship twice in program history. Hand said that the team hopes to continue making its mark in the rugby world, not only by accumulating titles but also by reaching out to younger players. “Developing high school programs in the local community for female athletes is a way I would love to see Dartmouth rugby expand and grow,” Hand reflects. The Big Green is already looking towards competing for more national championships and will participate in specific strength training and conditioning in the winter before the smaller 7s rugby team plays competitively in the spring. While fall 15s competition is over for seniors, many will stay on to help the team grow for future competition. “It is the expectation that seniors stay on because it is a huge opportunity for us to help develop younger players, especially with the walk-on culture of the team,” Hand says.
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MIRROR THE DARTMOUTH MIRROR
FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2022
Christmas From Quarantine: Student Omicron Experiences STORY
By Street Roberts
positive. And over break, many students had to deal with COVID-19 interrupting long-awaited holiday plans — plans that It was going to be a normal Christmas. provide a welcome respite before the My family had plans to spend the holiday challenges of the Dartmouth term. in New Hampshire with extended Maya Nguyen ’24 is one of those family, which — despite the surge of the students. She tested positive at the very end omicron variant across the country — of fall term and had to spend Thanksgiving seemed reasonable enough with the right in the Sunset Motor inn in West Lebanon. precautions. Snow resting delicately on Even though Dartmouth gave her the the trees, frozen ponds ripe for skating, option to quarantine at home in New York picturesque mountains begging for skiers City, it made more sense for her to isolate to carve down their slopes — Christmas in New Hampshire to protect her family. in New Hampshire is beautiful. I couldn’t “It was a sad moment,” Nguyen said. wait. “On Thanksgiving, my mom FaceTimed And then, within a day of our arrival, me in with my whole family there and she my father tested positive for COVID-19. had gotten me a surprise birthday cake. Panic ensued as I scrambled to get a She flips the camera around, like ‘look at rapid test — and find a space to distance this cake we’re so excited to have you back myself once it read negative. It was after your first real term of college.’ And shocking, particularly after a fall term when I wasn’t there.” COVID-19 seemed to take a backseat to Margaret Ferris ’22, who tested positive normal college life. Holiday plans were for COVID-19 on Dec. 23, had to spend canceled. Family traditions — like opening Christmas in isolation and called it a presents underneath the tree — had to be “wacky experience.” pushed back to when we could all reunite. “There’s nothing like a 13-year-old COVID-19 had reared its nasty head once brother dropping off a plate of food outside more. your door for Christmas dinner,” she said. But while it hurt to miss out on the The tangible effects of COVID-19 holiday, we knew can be difficult. But we we re l u c k y while there is the that everyone was “There’s nothing like physical battle, there relatively healthy. a 13-year-old brother is also the mental Somehow I had shift that contracting managed to escape dropping off a plate of COVID-19 can contracting the virus food outside your door create, especially after an eight-hour when trying to plan for Christmas dinner.” long drive with my for the future. With father, and despite the winter term the loneliness my - MARGARET FERRIS ’22 beginning, it’s hard father had to endure to know what the while spending the next ten weeks and holiday with just the onward will look like. company of our corgi, we were all alive “Obviously, I’m a senior, so I’d like to and in good spirits. be thinking about the future and what Just this last week, the United States is happens after graduation,” Ferris said. reporting the highest seven-day average “But in terms of issues like ‘will classes be of new coronavirus infections since the virtual? Should they be virtual?’, those are pandemic began. It seems like everyone the things that I’m willing to take on an knows someone who has recently tested as-they-come basis because I’m tired of This article was originally published on January 6, 2022.
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trying to predict it all.” Nguyen also commented on the unpredictability of the winter. “It almost seems inevitable that there will be a huge jump in cases during this term, so we’ll have to be willing to adapt to whatever we face,” she said. “But obviously the most important thing is that people are healthy.” In addition, Ferris mentioned a conversation with a family friend — who deals with many COVID-19 patients as a lung radiologist — where they discussed how COVID-19 will likely never fully disappear, but will be treated similarly to the common cold. “It reframed my idea of COVID,” Ferris said. “ I think we’ve all kind of been holding this idea that one day, COVID will go away, and that these unprecedented times will stop, but getting COVID and hearing
that from my friend’s mom reframed my mindset to more ‘this is never going away, but the way we deal with it will change.’” Duncan Caramichael ’24 usually spends Christmas with his large extended family, but had to shift his holiday plans after several members of his family tested positive before Christmas. And then, after being so cautious himself, he tested positive on Dec. 26. He said it dramatically shifted his view of the virus, particularly after a relatively safe fall term. “[COVID-19] wasn’t a massive factor in fall term,” Carmichael said. “I think we all felt pretty safe on campus. And that is a really different feeling than coming home and realizing how contagious this new variant is and how many people have it and having that be a huge factor in social decisions.”
He also mentioned the uncertainty around returning to campus after testing positive right before the start of the new term. Carmichael said that Dartmouth’s new five-day quarantine guideline made it unclear when he would be able to get back to campus. Although the email updates from the college helped clarify the guidelines for situations like Carmichael and Ferris experienced, it still made returning to campus difficult to navigate. The high transmissibility of omicron, even though it appears to be less physically harmful than the previous variants of COVID-19, has made the start of winter term chaotic. It’s forced students to confront the harsh, ever-changing reality of COVID-19 — and drastically shifted their attitudes toward it from the fall.
Accessibility at Dartmouth: A Five-year Effort STORY
By Hannah Shariff
This article was originally published on January 6, 2022. Since the advent of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, colleges across the country have grappled with pulling their campuses to the 21st-century accessibility standards. Dartmouth, whose Georgian architecture has been seemingly preserved since the arrival of Robert Frost himself, was no exception. From creaky buildings with endless stairs to the harsh winter environment, the campus has provided numerous challenges to the roughly 10% of students who have disabilities, according to Secretary of Access Dartmouth Isaac Feldman ’23. In 2017, Staci Manella ’18 brought the issue of accessibility at Dartmouth to national attention after suing the school for failing to comply with ADA standards. In a USA Today article, she recounted her disheartening experiences as a legally blind student on campus, where Manella allegedly received delayed access to resources she needed to succeed in class or was denied them altogether. For other students dealing
with similar issues on campus during this time, these situations were not unfamiliar. Maeve McBride ’20, a disability activist who is now attending George Washington Law School, recalls dealing with negative experiences when navigating accessibility at Dartmouth. “I had a difficult time,” McBride said. “I could have really benefited from recorded lectures, but those were often very difficult to receive at the time. I also could have benefited from reduced academic attendance policies, which were usually never on the table for me. When I let my professors know about my accommodations, they would say something like, ‘Oh, you’re one of those kids,’” said McBride. In an external report conducted in response to Manella’s suit, Dartmouth found that their accessibility efforts were lacking, leading the College to review disability services offered and coordinate new training programs for faculty and staff. The efforts, deemed “The Manella Protocol,” led to the College vowing to implement new policies and procedures to address the needs of
students with disabilities at Dartmouth. While the suit propelled change within the administrative level, students were also emboldened to get involved. “During the whole process, [Manella] spoke a lot at the College about accessibility and advocacy and really started a conversation about it on campus,” McBride said. “A couple of us got really interested in keeping the conversation going. That led to the start of Access Dartmouth.” Formed to advocate for students with accessibility issues, Access Dartmouth has grown from an idea to a full fledged force advising both the Dartmouth administration and the local community. Feldman said that Dartmouth still has more to accomplish. “Dartmouth has its ups and downs,” Feldman said. “There are areas that I think it does quite well in with accessibility, and some that still need work. Luckily, so many people with the right attitudes are trying to improve the College, including students like us who are passionate about changing things.” Access Dartmouth has helped provide insight on the College’s
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various renovation projects, such as the process to go through.” renovation of the Hopkins Center for N ow, t h e s y s t e m i s v i r t u a l . the Arts. Students can log in to schedule testing “We did a walk-through of the accommodations for a specific course Hop to help improve accessibility for and access note-taking software. During the renovations,” Feldman said. “And the pandemic, SAS also discussed how recently, we’ve to provide accessible been working routes to class and with a committee “When I let my how to make those that works with professors know about paths more efficient. the Hanover Like Access town planning my accommodations, Dartmouth, May has commission to they would say dealt with similar help renovate the pushback when it something like, ‘Oh, area surrounding comes to changing the the Dartmouth you’re one of those status quo, especially Green. There is a kids.’” when it comes to differenceweliketo large scale projects highlight between like the renovation compliance and - MAEVE MCBRIDE ’20 of Dartmouth Hall. being proactive “ Yo u w o u l d b e about accessibility surprised; some — for example, putting it at the forefront alumni are so concerned about what of your design rather than just an an accessible entrance to Dartmouth afterthought.” Hall looks like,” May said. “But the Another group that works with folks we are consulting with to update students, faculty, staff and administration the building are very attentive to making to ensure the accessibility of campus is the the Hall as accessible as possible while Student Accessibility Services. Headed retaining the design.” by Alison May ’97, who joined the team However, May feels that now, more in the fall of 2019, SAS is primarily in than ever, people are on board making charge of advising, accommodations Dartmouth accessible. and providing auxiliary services. “It was a wonderful outcome of According to May, SAS has become a the pandemic,” May said. “We started crucial resource for students navigating working together to figure out what both their physical and mental health the priorities are for the campus. throughout the ongoing pandemic. As Our end goal is to have a campuscircumstances change, SAS must adapt wide accessibility audit and to have a to keep up with these changes. specialized architect come here and “We are always recognizing that our figure out how to transform the space.” student population is changing, and Wi t h t h e h e l p o f M a n e l l a , as our student population continues student organizations and concerned changing, sometimes that means we administrators — five years after the need to adjust and adapt,” May said. original claims made national headlines One of the most formative changes — the College is slowly, but actively the office made is removing one of changing. While the buildings are still the accessibility hurdles that McBride creaky and somewhat ancient, the agonized over the most: having to tell culture of accommodations is becoming a professor directly after class that they a normalized part of campus. need accommodations. “In the minds of the students and “I would be standing in this long the community, we need to continue line with a bunch of students that had to acknowledge the lived experience questions waiting to tell my professor of people with disabilities here at about my accommodations and it was Dartmouth,” Feldman said. “That’s just… weird,” McBride said. “It was the only way we can keep changing never something you could really do the culture. To say we’re satisfied right over email, and there was never a good now would be a lie. We’re not done yet time to do it in person. It was not a fun at all.”