The Dartmouth 3/29/18

VOL. CLXXV NO.4

CLOUDY HIGH 49 LOW 39

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

Hanover Police adopts new reporting program

By JOHN FULTON The Dartmouth

OPINION

YUAN: ADVANCED PACE OVER PLACE PAGE 6

RICHARDS: PAWS OFF SPEECH PAGE 6

MALBREAUX: MY FIRST GUN PAGE 7

MANN: NOT THIS TIME PAGE 7

ARTS

INSIDE THE DESIGN DECISIONS OF DARTMOUTH’S REBRANDING PAGE 8

FOLLOW US ON

TWITTER @thedartmouth COPYRIGHT © 2016 THE DARTMOUTH, INC.

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

The Hanover Police Department recently received certification for a nationally-recognized sexual violence reporting program called You Have Options, the seventh agency nationwide to do so.

The You Have Options program is intended to empower victims of sexual assault by offering them a wide variety of choices for reporting their experiences and extensive control over the process, according to Hanover Police captain Mark Bodanza. The program provides

sexual assault survivors with three law enforcement options: an anonymous report, a partial investigation or full investigation.

In the first option, if victims are hesitant to engage with police, they can report their assault anonymously and provide as many — or as few — details as they are comfortable with.

Anonymous reporting gives victims “the opportunity to have a voice and be heard.” It also allows the police to track individuals who might be involved in sexual SEE HPO PAGE 2

Natural gas service approved for Hanover

By JACOB CHALIF The Dartmouth

A March 5 order handed down by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission granted Liberty Utilities permission to provide natural gas service to customers in Hanover and Lebanon. The decision comes after opposition from some town officials on environmental grounds and with regulations to protect ratepayers

AMANDA ZHOU/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Hanover High students walked out of class in the wake of the Parkland, Florida shooting.

Hanover High students protest gun violence

By GIGI GRIGORIAN The Dartmouth Staff

from large price increases.

Liberty, which already provides electricity service in Hanover and Lebanon, filed a petition in December 2016 to expand its gas franchise — the right to provide natural gas — to those areas. The company, which is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the state, currently provides gas to SEE LIBERTY PAGE 5

On March 9, more than 250 students and teachers at Hanover High School participated in a walkout to protest gun violence and fight for school safety. The walkout was organized by students in the wake of the Parkland, Florida s h o o t i n g at M a r j o r y Stoneman Douglass High School, which killed 17 students and staff members on Feb. 14.

During the Hanover High walkout, participants marched from the high school to the post office in Hanover chanting phrases such as “Never again,” “We want change” and “We are the future.” According to walkout organizer and Hanover High senior Sarah Bozuwa, students at the walkout carried boxes filled with over 1,500 postcards to be sent to New Hampshire legislators.

The postcards,

printed with the phrase “#neveragain,” were made available in Hanover High for students to write messages about gun control, violence and safety to their legislators. The postcards were funded by money from the Hanover High student council as well as by individual donations of stamps and other supplies, Bozuwa said.

The Hanover High SEE WALKOUT PAGE 3

Study suggests e-cigarettes are a net harm

By JENNIE RHODES The Dartmouth

Despite e-cig arettes’ potential to help smokers quit smoking, a recent study suggests that they are more harmful than beneficial to the American population.

T h e s t u d y, t i t l e d “Quantifying Population-

Level Health Benefits and Harms of E-Cigarette Use in the United States,” was conducted by researchers from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and the Geisel School of Medicine, as well as the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego; the University

of California, San Francisco School of Nursing; and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The researchers developed a model to estimate how many people would both begin and cease smoking as a result of using e-cigarettes.

The results of the study show that the number of

youth introduced to smoking from e-cigarettes, and thus experiencing shortened lifespans, vastly outweighs the number of years saved from adult smokers quitting through the use of e-cigarettes.

According to Geisel School of Medicine professor and study co-author James Sargent, youths who start

smoking e-cigarettes are three to four times more likely to start smoking real cigarettes than youths who do not smoke e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes also put youth at risk because they are more harmful to health than how they are advertised, SEE E-CIGARETTES PAGE 2

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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

Years lost from e-cigarettes estimated FROM E-CIGARETTES PAGE 1

e-cigarettes.

“It is a different behavior,” according to professor at The Soneji said. “Adult smokers may Dartmouth Institute Samir Soneji, not understand how to charge who was the study’s principal [the e-cigarettes’] USB or refill the investigator. The fruit flavors of e-juice. Vaping can be a challenge.” e-juice, ranging from strawberry to Whereas e-cigarettes are often blueberry-pomegranate, attempt adult smokers’ last smoke, they are to dupe children into thinking also commonly young teenagers’ that e-cigarettes are harmless, he first, which is “the most important said. Much like puff,” according advertisements “There is a myth to Soneji. for cigarettes Due to the among kids that it is in previous increasing decades, those just water or fruit and popularity of for e-cigarettes candy flavoring, but it e - c i g a r e t t e s claim there are and the lack little health risks is not safe.” of regulations to the product, he of the product, said. young teenagers -SAMIR SONEJI, “There is a who would myth among kids PROFESSOR AT THE otherwise not that it is just water DARTMOUTH INSTITUE be exposed to or fruit and candy smoking are flavoring, but it is then introduced not safe,” Soneji to e-cigarettes said. and the sensation of smoking, Soneji The glycerine in e-cigarettes can said. He added that until 2016, stick to the user’s airways, according most states had no age restrictions to professor John Pierce, professor of on purchasing e-cigarettes and that family medicine and public health at since 2014, e-cigarette smoking USCD and a co-author of the study. has exceeded the use of cigarettes Soneji said that e-juice is often among youth. labeled as nicotine-free, but very Many brands specifically target little juice is truly free of nicotine. college-age users, Soneji said.

Additionally, e-cigarettes mimic the Some brands go even further and nicotine delivery of cigarettes and target affluent, highly-educated can easily lead to nicotine addiction. college students in their advertising Breathing in oils from the campaigns, he said, adding that he e-juice may also lead to serious believes this focus on appealing to health consequences, such as lipoid young adults is dangerous. pneumonia — the presence of oil in “Young adults’ brains are the lungs, according to Sargent. not completely developed and E-cigarettes e-cigarettes are increasingly “The harm is negatively becoming a affect brain more popular happening now. It is development,” a n d v i a b l e prudent not to wait Soneji said. replacement He added that [to take action].” to smoking there is a large cigarettes, Soneji concern that the said. Smoking -SAMIR SONEJI, focus on youth, e-cigarettes instead of adults, PROFESSOR AT THE allows smokers will normalize the to inhale nicotine DARTMOUTH INSTITUE consumption of without the e-cigarettes and combustion — will be harmful the tar — that is the carcinogen, he in the long term. added.

Soneji and Sargent both suggested In 2017, ten million adults further regulation of e-juice flavoring attempted and failed to quit smoking, and changing the target audience he said, adding that approximately of e-cigarette advertisements to half attempted to quit through the adults as ways to steer adolescents use of standard methods like nicotine away from smoking e-cigarettes and gum or counseling, while the other potentially also cigarettes. half attempted to quit “cold turkey.”

“The harm is happening now,” Additionally, smokers may Soneji said. “It is prudent not to wait quit smoking entirely after using [to take action].”

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

Hanover Police adopts new sexual violence reporting program FROM HPO PAGE 1

predation in the community, Bodanza said.

The second option involves a partial investigation into the assault in which victims provide only basic details of the event, such as “who, what, when, where, why and how,” Bodanza said.

This stage allows the police department to start a file on the case and potentially obtain physical evidence, but still provides the victim with a great deal of privacy.

The third option is to conduct a full investigation into the matter, which could lead to pursuing criminal charges if there is sufficient evidence.

Once victims choose which option they would like to pursue, they have the ability to change their mind at any time.

“The individual, who’s reporting throughout the entire time, has the option to stop the process or make the process go on to the next step,” Bodanza said. “That really empowers the person through the victim-centered approach program.”

The program, which took several years to come to fruition, also involved extensive training of the Hanover Police Department staff and the introduction of a “soft interview room,” which has sofas and carpets instead of “white walls and hard chairs and metallic tables,” Bodanza said.

The soft interview room allows victims to feel as comfortable as possible, rather than feel like a suspect in an interrogation room, he added.

Bodanza anticipates that more

“This has been such a huge problem victims of sexual violence will report to the Hanover Police Department now historically, that victims don’t feel that the You Have Options program as though they’re going to be wellserved by the system and haven’t is in place. been well-served “We’re already by the system,” seeing people “We’re already seeing Tassel said. “You calling the police Have Options department as a people calling the makes [the result of seeing the police department Hanover Police article [about You D e p ar t m e n t ] Have Options] in as a result of seeing now an agency the Valley News,” the article [about You where they’re he said.

Have Options] in the going to put the Others who needs of victims work with victims Valley News.” first, and that of sexual assault should really in the Upper increase people’s Valley are equally -MARK BODANZA, willingness to enthusiastic about HANOVER POLICE come forward the introduction CAPTAIN and talk of You Have about their Options.

Delaney Anderson, the campus experiences.”

Additionally, according to Tassel, advocate for WISE, which offers support services to victims of sexual You Have Options makes WISE violence, said that the program is a and other organizations like it more crucial development for the Hanover confident that the survivors they refer Police because it gives victims control to the Hanover Police will be served in an effective and sensitive way. Officers in a highly uncomfortable situation.

“You Have Options provides a real have been trained in conducting education and allows for [victims] trauma-informed interviews, which to be in control as much as possible will greatly increase effectiveness, she throughout the process,” she said. “I said.

Due to the impact of trauma, think that provides people with an opportunity to engage in something victims were often unable to provide that they might otherwise feel is not coherent information to police officers, which hurt their credibility in the eyes an option.”

Assistant director of WISE Abby of law enforcement and prosecutors, Tassel said that the You Have Options she added.

“This is [what] we’ve been looking program’s focus on increasing the reporting of sexual violence is needed for so that won’t be happening anymore,” Tassel said. in the Upper Valley.

FOOD FOR THINKING AND LIVING AND LEARNING

CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.

MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Students attend a dinner for living and learning communities in Occom Commons in McLaughlin Hall.

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

PAGE 3

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

High school students walkout and send postcards to legislators “Since we weren’t going to be other student organizers consulted able to participate in the national with administrators to learn about walkout took place at 2:19p.m., walkout dates, we knew that we the potential repercussions for the same time the Parkland shooter couldn’t add to the press coverage students participating in the event. in that way,” Bozuwa According to Bozuwa, the school Nikolas said. “We wanted to did not threaten students with C r u z make sure it was still a any negative consequences for e n t e r e d “[School fruitful demonstration partaking in the walkout.

Stoneman administrators] “We very much foster kids’ [with the postcards].”

Douglass While Hanover ability to speak their minds, to H i g h thought that [the H i g h s o p h o m o r e speak out politically and to act out S c h o o l walkout] really lent Lucy Doyle was not politically,” Hanover High social two weeks itself to our school’s at school on the day studies teacher Margaret Caldwell prior with said. of the walkout, a l e g a l l y philosophy with Caldwell she wrote purchased trying to engage “It’s really a l s o postcards to A R - 1 5 minds, hearts and participated New Hampshire important that rifle. the s e n a t o r s a n d [students] have i n A c r o s s voices.” walkout. governors that the nation, a role in the Hanover were delivered students t o t h e p o s t direction of this High social s t a g e d -SARAH BOZUWA, s t u d i e s office during the s i m i l a r WALKOUT ORGANIZER country.” t e a ch e r demonstration. school AND HANOVER HIGH Jonathan Doyle said walkouts Gentine said she believes that -SIMON HERRON, on March SENIOR he attributes the majority 14, but the high of students at HANOVER HIGH Hanover level of Hanover High SENIOR H i g h participation participated students a n d in the walkout decided to en th u s i as m either by hold their for the demonstration earlier because marching in it or by writing event to the during the week of March 14, the postcards.

A c c o r d i n g t o w a l k o u t limited displays of activism he has school had scheduled its March Intensive, a week during which organizer and Hanover High witnessed during his three-year students study a chosen topic junior Ella Chapman, the school tenure at Hanover High.

“Hanover High prides itself in-depth, which may take them administrators “fully supported” on student activism, but there on trips away from school and the walkout. “ [ S c h o o l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ] really hasn’t been a whole lot of Hanover.

S t u d e n t w a l k o u t s a l s o thought that [the walkout] really wide-scale activism,” Gentine preceded the March for Our lent itself to our school’s philosophy said. “I think this was a chance for Lives demonstrations on March with trying to engage minds, hearts [students] to exercise it a bit on a broader platform.”

24, which occurred in Washington and voices,” Bozuwa said.

Chapman said this is the first Before the walkout, Bozuwa and D.C. and around the country.

FROM WALKOUT PAGE 1

large-scale political event that she proposition of sensible gun control, which included can recall during her courses for students to learn about the t i m e a t “Since we weren’t H a n o v e r going to be able to weapons and safety.

The publication H i g h , of the op-ed but hopes participate in the that this national walkout reinforced Caldwell’s assessment that “there walkout dates, we knew that will set a is a surprisingly wide spectrum of points precedent we couldn’t add to for further the press coverage of views on [gun student control]” at Hanover in that way.

We activism in High. the future. wanted to make sure “Most of us “It’s faculty and staff it was still a fruitful r e a l l y thought he did important demonstration [with a really nice job,” t h a t the postcards].”

Gentine said. “After [students] all, Hanover High have a School is all about role in the -SARAH BOZUWA, expressing your ideas direction and being open to WALKOUT ORGANIZER of this sharing them.” country,” AND HANOVER HIGH According to H a n o v e r SENIOR Bozuwa, students were H i g h “really welcoming” to senior Hanchett’s op-ed.

S i m o n “It was really Herron great to have someone said. “It’s vo i c e a n o p i n i o n important that was counter to that young what the majority of people get out there and say what Hanover High feels,” she said. we have to say.”

“Sometimes I definitely feel like it’s On March 19, Hanover High harder for people who are not as junior Dakota Hanchett published left-swinging to voice their opinions an op-ed in The New York Times at Hanover High.” titled “Why I Didn’t Join My Echoing Bozuwa’s sentiment, School’s Walkout.” In the article he Herron emphasized the importance discussed his experience as a gun- of developing “a working dialogue” owning teenager amidst peers who between students who participated passionately protest gun ownership in the walkout and those who chose and use. He also described his not to do so.

BREAKING BREAD

MICHAEL LIN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Students mingle and discus with eachother at a dinner sponsored by living and learning communities.

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DARTMOUTHEVENTS

THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS

REVOLUTION

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

RACHEL LINCOLN ’20

TODAY 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Seminar: “Multiscatter Frontier of Dark Matter Direct Detection: To the Planck Mass and Beyond,” with University of Notre Dame postdoctoral research associate Nirmal Raj, Wilder 202

4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Lecture: “Message in a Bottle,” part of the series “Why the Humanities Matter in the 21st Century,” with director of the Cornell Society for the Humanities Paul Fleming, Silsby 28

8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Performance: “One Woman Riot,” with singer-songwriter and activist MILCK, Common Ground, Collis Center

TOMORROW

8:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.

Exhibition: “Will Carter and the Dartmouth Typeface,” Baker Library Main Hall

7:00 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.

Film: “Phantom Thread,” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts.

ADVERTISING For advertising information, please call (603) 646-2600 or email info@thedartmouth. com. The advertising deadline is noon, two days before publication. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Opinions expressed in advertisements do not necessarily reflect those of The Dartmouth, Inc. or its officers, employees and agents.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

THE DARTMOUTH NEWS

Libery Union receives gas permit FROM LIBERTY PAGE 1

regions in southern and central New Hampshire, primarily Nashua and Manchester.

As Hanover and Lebanon are not connected to its main gas pipeline network, Liberty will have to truck in natural gas in liquefied form to a planned facility in Lebanon, according to New Hampshire consumer advocate Donald Kreis. The company plans to build a pipeline distribution network spreading outwards from that facility, but Kreis said he expects Liberty to initially focus on commercial and industrial customers in Lebanon before expanding its network toward Hanover.

The towns of Hanover and Lebanon have voiced their opposition to the PUC granting Liberty an expansion of its franchise.

Citing Hanover’s “Ready for 100” pledge, which calls for the town to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030 and 100 percent renewable heat and transportation by 2050, Hanover town manager Julia Griffin testified in July 2017 that Hanover is not in support of granting the franchise.

“Fracked gas just isn’t green enough,” Griffin said in an interview with The Dartmouth, adding that Hanover would not connect any of its public facilities to Liberty’s natural gas service.

Representing Lebanon, city councilor Clifton Below told the PUC in September 2017 that natural gas is inconsistent with the town’s Master Plan, which encourages the use of renewable energies.

Dartmouth executive vice president Rick Mills also penned a letter to the PUC in July 2017 stating that “while the College takes no position on the merits of the request by Liberty Utilities,” the College has no current plans to use natural gas from Liberty.

Given Hanover and Lebanon’s commitments to sustainability, questions were raised about whether Liberty would find an adequate enough demand to justify investing in the infrastructure necessary to provide a gas service, Kreis said.

He added that the New Hampshire Office of the Consumer Advocate, which represents residential utility customers, was worried that Liberty would raise rates on its existing customers if its investment did not pay off.

According to Kreis, the OCA wanted to make sure that rates do not increase for all of the company’s other customers. If their rates increased, they would be paying for infrastructure that does not serve them, but rather serves new customers who have not “materialized in sufficient numbers.”

Addressing these concerns, the OCA, Liberty and PUC staff reached

an agreement in August 2017 that required Liberty to demonstrate that it had enough customer commitments to its natural gas service in the area to cover at least half of the cost of serving these customers. According to Below, this is a more heightened level of risk protection than is usual for most gas franchise expansions. The agreement also set up a risk sharing program under which Liberty would be responsible for covering half of any revenue shortfalls and its new natural gas customers in the area would be responsible for the other half.

Griffin said that in the search for customers to commit to using its future gas service, Liberty is focusing initially on large corporate consumers.

She said some of Liberty’s potential targets include Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, which currently uses natural gas that it trucks in, and businesses in the retail strip in West Lebanon.

DHMC spokesperson Mike Barwell said that the hospital has not yet been approached by Liberty about its proposed gas service.

After Liberty officially submitted its agreement to a PUC commission for review, Hanover and Lebanon were able to submit testimonies presenting their positions on the matter during the hearing on Sept.

7. Both Griffin and Below noted that their towns’ sustainability commitments were goals and not regulations, so they could not prevent private customers from purchasing gas from Liberty.

Individuals in the area also spoke during the hearing, a majority of whom opposed granting Liberty a franchise. Jonathan Chaffee, a retired executive director of the Lebanon Housing Authority who lives in West Lebanon, testified that Liberty will have difficulty attracting customers for its proposed natural gas service. He said he argued that Liberty “misrepresents the actuality of natural gas.”

“It says that it’s clean, it says that it’s green, it says that it will always be cheap,” Chaffee said.

He told the PUC that in reality, the cost of gas is widely expected to increase soon. He said he does not want people to sign up for natural gas now and later suffer large rate increases.

Beyond the economics of gas service in the area, Chaffee said he is extremely concerned with the harm that comes from fossil fuels. He emphasized that hydraulic fracturing, the method used to obtain natural gas also known as “fracking,” often causes harmful chemicals to be released into the ground, potentially resulting in damage to water supplies.

“If we’re using natural gas, we’re aiding and abetting that rape of the landscape where fracking is being done,” he said.

Six months after the hearing, the

PUC handed down its order granting Liberty its franchise expansion. In addition to the original risk sharing agreement provisions, the order includes additional protections for ratepayers. Under the decision, if customer revenue falls to 40 percent of the expected costs of providing natural gas service, Liberty will be responsible for 100 percent of the revenue shortfalls.

PUC spokesperson Amanda Noonan said that the commission did not believe there were sufficient protections for ratepayers.

“They wanted to protect customers in Hanover and Lebanon and they also wanted to protect all of Liberty’s other ratepayers from the costs of this expansion,” she said.

She added that “shareholders have some responsibility and not all the risk and cost is borne by customers.”

Below, Chaffee and Griffin all expressed the belief that the increased risk imposed on Liberty may be enough of a disincentive for the company to drop its plans altogether, or at least pause before proceeding.

Griffin said that if Liberty does go ahead with the project, some small companies might find natural gas to be cost effective and consider using Liberty’s services in the short term.

In the long term, however, she said she sees no downside with forgoing natural gas in the area.

A spokesperson for Liberty confirmed that the company still plans to go forward with the project.

He said that Liberty already has a few large customers lined up.

“We have done a lot of preliminary outreach in these areas and there is a lot of interest,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that although natural gas is a fossil fuel, it is a very clean-burning fuel.

“It has a very small carbon footprint,” he said. “It is much cleaner than fuel oil. We think it is a very strong choice that people can make.”

Chaffee said that he disagrees with Liberty’s position on the environmental impacts of natural gas. He said that natural gas often leaks from pipelines and processing facilities. When it leaks in its natural form, he said, it is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Even if little gas leaked, he worries that if a large portion of the region switches to natural gas, it will delay the push for renewable energy sources.

“To [use natural gas] is to pretend that we have the time to fool around with increased fossil fuel use, but we don’t,” Chaffee said. “The crisis is upon us and every year that we don’t bring our fossil fuel use down is a year that plunges us deeper into climate crisis.”

Before moving forward with the project, Liberty must face the Lebanon Zoning Board to get approval for its processing facility, according to Below.

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SENIOR STAFF COLUMNIST ZIQIN YUAN ’18

SENIOR STAFF COLUMNIST PARKER RICHARDS ’18

Advanced Pace over Place

Paws Off Speech

Dartmouth’s AP policy change unfairly pressures students.

Dartmouth is more difficult than it used to be, and it isn’t because of the professors or the changing student body. Rather, changes to Dartmouth’s Advanced Placement course acceptance policy that were implimented for the Class of 2018 began to truly manifest themselves last year, as the Class of 2017 graduated and the Class of 2018 stepped into their positions for extracurricular and academic activities.

Five years ago, Dartmouth’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted to no longer grant students course credit for qualifying AP scores. Students can still use AP scores to place out of some introductory courses, but can no longer count these scores toward the 35 credits needed to graduate. At the time, then-Dean of faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael Mastanduno stated that “the decision to modify the policy was made to require our students to take full advantage of the faculty expertise and unique academic resources that characterize a Dartmouth educational experience.”

The debate on whether this was an appropriate educational decision is contentious. Some proponents cite an informal study run by the department of psychological and brain sciences, which found that a 5 on the AP Psychology exam did not correlate with actual success in Psychology 1: “Introductory Psychology.” In fact, when the Psychology department tested over 100 students who had scored a 5 on the exam, 90 percent failed. Opponents may argue that this decision, which effectively forces students with qualifying scores to take — and thus pay for — additional classes, can result in additional tuition expenses, disproportionately harming lower income students.

Putting aside its ideological merits, the change forces students to spend more of their time taking classes. Because AP credits no longer count for course credit, students cannot graduate more than one term early; without having to use at least two out three four-course terms allowed. Up until the Class of 2017, students with qualifying scores on five or more AP exams — a plausible feat for students who gained a spot at the College — could easily take two terms off without taking any extra classes. These two terms could be used to help students graduate up to a year early (with the help of a few four-class terms), work extra internships to gain work experience or devote more time to club leadership. Starting with the Class of 2018,

students no longer have that flexibility in shaping their Dartmouth experience.

More insidiously, this change has increased pressure on the student body as a whole.

Dartmouth does not appear to release statistics on the numbers of students who had qualifying scores on AP exams. However, as the number of high school students taking AP exams rises for almost every subject, it is increasingly plausible that a large portion of Dartmouth students have at least one or more qualifying scores, especially since those with lower scores are less likely to have been accepted in the first place. Yet they cannot take advantage of the fruits of this labor. By taking away course credit for AP scores, Dartmouth students now have to work much harder to achieve the same levels of success as students who graduated just last year.

A seemingly obvious solution would be to lower non-academic standards and expectations for all students. If students are spending more time taking classes, they should not necessarily be expected to do as much outside of the classroom as their older peers had been able to. It is much easier, for example, to run a newspaper while taking a two-class term than it is to do so while taking a full course-load; it goes without saying that it is even easier to do so while on an off term covered by AP credits. However, students — especially members of the Class of 2018, who had no other models to judge by — may not be aware of this distinction until it is too late, and thus uphold the standards of previous classes without necessarily realizing the additional work and mental exhaustion that may come with it.

The new system has some obvious benefits.

Mastanduno’s statement alludes to the idea that Dartmouth’s main goal is to provide students with a strong academic experience, and to some, additional off-terms or leadership roles may not translate as directly to a liberal arts education as additional courses may. The new policy also levels the playing field for students entering Dartmouth.

Yet these benefits do not change the reality for many students, which is simply that to succeed in the way their their upperclassmen peers did, they must work significantly harder. Regardless of the pros and cons of Dartmouth’s current AP policy, it may be helpful for students wondering how previous classes achieved all they did to remember that school may just have been a little bit easier.

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ISSUE

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

LAYOUT: Berit Svenson

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.

One cannot defeat fascists by using fascism.

Almost two years ago, a Scottish man named Mark Meechan made and posted a video of his girlfriend’s pug raising its paw in a Nazi salute while he recited hateful and anti-Semitic phrases. Like many, I found his antics offensive.

On March 20, Meechan was found guilty of a hate crime under the Communications Act 2003, a draconian measure in British law that makes it an offense to use public electronic communciations networks to send messages that are “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene, or menacing character.”

This law fundamentally undermines the freedom of expression and has no place in an ostensibly free and democratic society. I was offended by Meechan’s speech — many others doubtless were as well. But being offended does not constitute meaningful harm; it is a personal, emotional reaction.

It is not, in short, reason to prohibit speech, and indeed the criminalization of speech that might off end is a totalitarian and absurd perversion of the basic principles of democratic civil society.

Of course, Britain is not alone in seeking to ban speech that could be offensive. And Meechan’s antics — which he has claimed were a joke — are not alone in raising the ire of many. After the riots in Charlottesville, Virginia this past summer and after other instances of hate, many have clamored for the suppression of speech they deem hateful or offensive. The impulse is a natural one; surely our society would be better, more peaceful, more civil if neo-Nazis had no right to voice their ideas. Surely we would all profit if the Ku Klux Klan could not spew racist vitriol.

But of course, that is not what the fight over free expression is about. It’s much more foundational than that. Because if one carries the argument further, it goes like this: I trust President Donald Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the institutions of the United States government generally to dictate what speech is and is not acceptable. I trust these institutions to tell me what I can and cannot say, what I can and cannot think, what words I can put forth. I trust them to collate the List of Banned Ideas and the Catalogue of Prohibited Thoughts.

Now of course, that is not how the argument is typically presented. Those on the left who seek to prohibit free expression would obviously balk at the concept of Sessions or Trump deciding what might constitute hate speech. But those are the people in power.

And yes, they may be replaced, but the problem with philosopher-kings is that they cannot rule forever. Whatever wise leader might be voted into office — or, as some now hope, installed by revolution — could not rule forever. Perhaps her successor would be just as benevolent. And his as benevolent after. But eventually, another person of poor character and judgment would come to the fore, likely sooner rather than later.

And when this occurs, the odious principle that the state has the right, the authority and the obligation to outlaw speech it finds disagreeable would once again be used as a

hammer upon those who at the moment call to suppress speech that, justly, offends them.

No government is more committed to its ends than to propagating itself. Today, that is forgotten by a political left that hopes to ban speech it finds reprehensible or symbols it deems inappropriate. It is also forgotten by a political right that thinks restrictions on the rights of individuals — to self-identify as whatever gender they feel defines them, to love whomever they wish — will bring back the society they believe they have lost.

Bans on expression of all kinds, the product of oppressive regimes spanning the political spectrum in years past and a tactic not remotely abandoned by the political left or political right, have emerged as mainstream thought in today’s societies. The same people who decry, rightly, the same American government that propped up slavery and Jim Crow and that has regularly used its might to oppress minorities now call for that same government to be clothed in the phenomenal power to dictate what speech is acceptable — and what speech is to be prohibited. Why Sessions and Trump seem to those on the left to be good arbiters of a new List of Banned Ideas and Catalogue of Prohibited Thoughts is mystifying to those of us who would not trust either of those men — and many of their fellows in this government and others — to babysit a houseplant.

These are not idle concerns. In 2009, 12 French Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions protestors were tried for hate crimes after criticizing the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip. Despite my personal disagreement with the BDS movement, I find the censorship of their free expression to be odious. But these are the victims of hate speech laws: not just right-wingers and fascists, but the left. The 2009 prosecution of BDS activists is not a stand-alone; indeed, it is increasingly common in Europe for BDS activists to be prosecuted. Even in the United States, which thankfully has stricter protections on free speech than most European states, a 2017 bill that would have made it a crime to support BDS efforts was advanced by numerous senators of both parties.

Sheriff Derek O’Carroll, who presided over Meechan’s trial at a court in Airdrie, said that Meechan “knew that the material was offensive and knew why it was offensive.”

Certainly he did. And it was offensive. And I hope Meechan learns the error of his ways. But to ban speech simply because it offends, simply because some dislike it, is to be totalitarian. Those who would seek to prevent fascism by banning fascist expression are simply employing the fascists’ own tactics against them, and ideas cannot defeat themselves. One can beat the ideas that one does not like if one’s ideas are better, and there are myriad ideas far better than those advanced by racists and anti-Semites. But if instead those ideas are banned, they will only be lent credibility, weaken democratic institutions and ultimately make those ideas more potent and more accepted.

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

PAGE 7

THE DARTMOUTH OPINION

STAFF COLUMNIST TYLER MALBREAUX ’20

GUEST COLUMNIST MATTHEW MANN ’21

My First Gun

Not This Time

Effective gun control arguments need to understand both sides.

Before writing for The Dartmouth, I was an opinion columnist for The Authored Ascension, my high school’s online-only newspaper. Though I lacked the authority to influence much, I had a clear vision for the paper’s direction. Up until that point, most written pieces were schoolspecific. News of homecoming events, sports match-ups and the like were the predominant topics for most writers. Few ventured out to tackle national hot-button issues. As a 16-yearold newly equipped with a driver’s license and many opinions, I planned on changing that.

In September 2014, I wrote a politicallycharged piece titled “Should a 9-Year-Old Fire an Uzi?” The month prior, Arizona gun range instructor Charles Vacca was killed after a nineyear-old girl lost control of an Uzi submachine while firing it on fully automatic mode. Unable to handle the gun’s powerful recoil, the girl allowed the barrel of the gun to veer off where Vacca was standing, striking him in the head with at least one bullet. He later died at a nearby hospital.

As with every high-profile incident before and after, Vacca’s death incited another, albeit short-lived, debate on gun laws. Groups like Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which felt that the accident could have been prevented with common sense, were outraged. State legislators began introducing bills to restrict gun access for those deemed too young to operate them. And in my article from high school, I too appeared to be seething with indignation — “So, theoretically, speaking, a toddler can fire as many rounds from an AK-47 as he wishes as long as his mommy or daddy is in the same room with him.”

Perhaps myopically, I hoped my article for The Authored Ascension would promote serious discussion, at least among the few students who would actually read it. But I was wrong. It was not very popular. Ultimately, few outside of my journalism class even knew it was published.

Looking back, I wonder how much impact, if any, my article would have had on discourse.

I lived in a deeply red state. The parents of the children I went to school with were mostly registered Republicans, which was reflected in their children’s views. Many students, especially the boys, participated in some type of shooting sport. The majority of them learned how to shoot before they learned basic algebra.

If anything, it was I who did not understand the gun issue — I had never shot a gun. Unlike many of my friends, I took no interest in learning how to hunt during deer season. The only thing I owned closest to a gun was a Daisy air rifle my dad bought for me one Christmas when I was younger. I shot it once, put it away and have not seen it since.

My lack of shooting experience changed shortly after high school graduation. One day in June, I went to my brother’s house. Casually set on his kitchen table was a rugged black case holding a Ruger .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol. My brother said that a gentleman who had contracted him to install a speaker system also happened to own a gun store. Rather than repaying my brother with money, he offered to give him a gun. With the shake of a hand, my brother had legally bought a pistol.

We lined up some targets in my brother’s backyard. I handled the pistol clumsily at first, but with a two-minute training session, shooting accurately became light work. In less than ten minutes, I could empty a magazine and reload and hit a bullseye from a few yards.

As I dotted the barrel with quarter-sized holes, I could not help but think about the immense power I held in my hands. Each shot was deafening — foolishly, I wore no ear protection.

Each bullet sliced through thick metal with ease, and firmly lodged themselves in the earth.

It is often said that those who do not shoot guns cannot understand gun culture in rural America. Maybe there is some truth to that.

Maybe there is something titillating about leaving the gun range with the smell of burnt metal stinging your fingertips. Personally, I do not mind taking occasional excursions out to a range. But at no point during my first time firing a weapon or any of the times after that did I ever think, “This seems like a safe activity for children.”

Because despite what the current federal data may claim, children are involved in an unacceptably high number of accidental gunrelated deaths. A New York Times investigation revealed that accidental gun deaths among children are sometimes not recorded accurately when local authorities often consider shooting deaths with two people “homicides.” This means that, while pro-gun activists may claim that accident rates are decreasing, the truth is that the data is ambiguous at best .

Fortunately, things are slowly changing.

A year after his death, Charles Vacca’s four children started an online petition demanding that states create laws that criminalize allowing children access to high-powered weapons. The next year, the family sued the Last Stop shooting range in Arizona where Vacca was killed for negligence. Hopefully, these actions will prompt shooting ranges across the country to adopt stricter policies in lieu of state legislation.

While powerful lobbying interests still control the gun debate in Washington, I am comforted to see that the way in which people think about guns may also be changing in deeply pro-gun communities. On March 16, I checked The Authored Ascension to find an article written by the paper’s current editor-in-chief about the recent protests in response to the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Even at my high school, which is still very much pro-gun — one senior was quoted as saying: “protesting [for stricter gun laws] is stupid and a waste of time.” But there is some sign of change. After receiving news of the shooting, some students went out to the school cross in the courtyard during break to gather for a moment of silence. Others, according to the author, were “reacting in their own ways.”

And unlike the days when I was writing for The Authored Ascension, people may actually be reading the newspaper now. As I scrolled down the page to the comments section, I saw one reader had posted a cute heart emoji.

It is small, to say the least. But it could be a reflection of the bigger national efforts to achieve meaningful compromise. We may be closer to fixing this than we think.

Parkland is my home. This time is different.

I am an alumnus of Marjory Stoneman Never Again movement has gained national Douglas High School and a resident of attention, this is not the first movement Parkland, Florida. This past Valentine’s against gun violence. Members of minority Day, 14 of my former schoolmates and 3 communities across the United States staff members were senselessly murdered have been speaking up about gun violence at the hands of a lone gunman. As a affecting their communities for a long result, my hometown and alma mater have time. Nobody has listened. Not anymore. been tragically affected in ways that are No community is truly immune from the impossible to describe. I cannot understand disastrous effect of guns. what it must have been like for those students There are those that will state that this is to hear gunfire, hide under their desks not a gun issue — that the problem relates and witness the deaths of several of their to mental health or a variety of other factors peers. Although I will admit that Marjory that allow them to ignore the gun. The issue Stoneman Douglas is not perfect, I always at hand is multifaceted and requires an felt safe there. I made equally complex solution friends, enjoyed my that extends beyond classes, played ice hockey “For far too long, the guns. However, part of and had a relatively topic of gun control the solution needs to comfortable and normal directly address guns. high school career. The has escaped the halls After all, all types of gun c u r re n t s t u d e n t s at of Congress, as special violence involve guns.

Douglas do not share this Along these interest groups have experience; their high lines, I would like to make school career has been stalled the conversasomething clear. The brutally tarnished by a tion on gun reform.

Never Again movement terrible act of violence. is not anti-gun. I, like Our school motto is “Be Not anymore.” multiple leaders of the Positive, Be Passionate, movement, have grown Be Proud To Be An up in a gun-owning Eagle.” It is in this spirit that I write. household. However, supporters of the Unfortunately, gun violence has become movement are of the mind that some guns all too common in America. The Washington are made for defense, and some — like Post reports that since 1999, at least 26,000 assault rifles — are not. The latter should Americans under the age of 18 have been not be accessible to the American public. killed by gunfire. Yet little to no action has Furthermore, the aim is not to take away been taken to better the situation. Usually, any American’s right to defend himself or mass shootings — like the one in Parkland herself. This movement instead aims to — have a similar aftermath. There is a implement common sense gun reform that period of mourning in which of individual ensures the safety of all Americans. thoughts and prayers are directed to the Universal background checks, for victims and those around them from all over example, are part of common sense gun the country, Memorials are put up, t-shirts reform. Polls have shown that 90 percent are made, and an all too brief call to action of Americans support universal background quickly dissipates into obscurity. Not this checks on every gun sale, yet politicians have time. This time is different: a movement not implemented them. This is unacceptable has started. Led by students from my alma and undemocratic. For far too long, the mater, the Never Again movement declares topic of gun control has escaped the halls that enough is enough. of Congress, as special interest groups have This past Sunday, I joined over 200,000 stalled the conversation on gun reform. Not Americans in the “March For Our Lives” anymore. to demand change. While marching, I I ask the Dartmouth community to join witnessed widespread support. I passed this movement. Students, staff, and faculty a church giving out water to marchers, alike have a voice that will help to foster listened to speeches by people of diverse common sense gun reform. The NRA, backgrounds, and saw signs such as “Reform as well as members of Congress, have Jews Demand Action,” “Gays Against placed themselves against Never Again.

Guns,” and “Hunters Against the NRA.” Their power will be combatted with votes.

Support for gun reform should be This movement has the ability to vote universal because gun violence affects all out the elected officials that have resisted Americans regardless of what communities reform. Those joining in this fight should they identify with. Although some sign up for an absentee ballot with their communities face disproportionate levels state elections commission or register to of gun violence, its reach extends to all vote in Hanover. A unified movement can areas. In 2017, Parkland was rated the safest ensure that mass shootings do not become city in Florida, yet this did not prevent the our continued reality — citizens can hold shooting. While marching, I saw numerous politicians accountable for their inaction, signs asking, “Is My School Next?” Students and should not stop until the safety of all today are rightfully scared.

American students is ensured. Be the change However, there is a more important we wish to see in the world. Be Positive, Be take-away here. Parkland is a highly affluent Passionate, and Be Proud To Be An Eagle. and highly educated community. While the Stay Strong MSD. #NeverAgain

PAGE 8

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

THE DARTMOUTH ARTS

Inside the design decisions of Dartmouth’s rebranding

By SAVANNAH MILLER The Dartmouth Staff

In creating a new visual identity for Dartmouth, designers faced a difficult challenge: balance tradition and history with modernity and adaptability, and convey all this clearly to the eye. The result was a new logo, wordmark and color palette — but perhaps unsurprisingly, not everyone is a fan.

The design of the new identity is meant to reflect the five pillars of a new communications framework that emphasizes the College’s liberal arts focus and unique sense of place, among other qualities.

“We established those pillars, and [they] became the guiding framework for our most important initiatives,” vice president for communications Justin Anderson said. “I think we recognized that we needed to have a clear and consistent narrative about Dartmouth when we were communicating.”

To begin that design process, the College enlisted the help of Original Champions of Design, a New York City design agency, and typeface designer Jesse Ragan.

Anderson said the design was driven by three goals: strategy, digitalization and alignment.

“We need to get organized,” Anderson said describing the starting tenets of the design process. “We need one wordmark, one color. We need a shield or some sort of icon that’s going to work when reduced to a small size.”

The result of the rebranding is the D-Pine, a new logo of a large D encompassing a more rounded version of the famous Lone Pine symbol. The wordmark accompanying the icon is now in a new typeface known as Dartmouth Ruzicka, modeled after the typeface designed by Rudolph Ruzicka in the 1960s that is used on the College’s Bicentennial Medal.

Anderson believes that the logo incorporates the history of Dartmouth while it remains adaptable to different marketing strategies, like ones used on social media.

“That’s what we’re trying to do — really embrace the place and embrace the history and come up with a visual identity system that helps us tell that story and that history,” he said.

Armin Vit, co-founder of graphic design firm UnderConsideration and an author of the fir m’s design blog Brand New, believes that the new communications framework accomplishes its main goals exceptionally.

“The old wordmark, if you shrunk it down, would start to disappear and the thin strokes [would be] hard to render with so few pixels,” he wrote via email.

“Both the new wordmark and the Lone Pine have the density to hold up at small sizes, but their overall silhouettes are detailed enough to still maintain the texture of the pine or the flared serifs of the wordmark.”

Vit also praised the inclusion of the Lone Pine in the new logo.

“It’s the history, traditions and lore behind an institution that set it apart, so using that to inform the identity of the university further enhances the sense of place and belonging,” Vit wrote.

But approval for the new logo is hardly unanimous. In a poll conducted by College Pulse, 80.8 percent of 1,123 surveyed students said they either strongly liked or somewhat liked the old logo. Only 10.6 percent said they strongly liked or somewhat liked the new logo.

Randy Zhang ’20, a student who has studied letterforms and is currently working to digitize and finish old typefaces found in Rauner Library, criticized Ragan’s revival of Ruzicka’s typeface. He described Ragan’s lack of parallel stress axes and overshooting as main faults of the design.

“Typeface design is not about what’s mathematically correct but what’s optically correct,” he said.

“You’re basically playing a game with the eye.”

According to Zhang, the stress axes of the letters are inconsistent in shape or form.

COURTESY OF RANDY ZHANG

Randy Zhang ’20 argues that the new Ruzicka typeface, created by typeface designer Jesse Ragan, is optically inconsistent.

Zhang also took issue with some of Ragan’s altering of Ruzicka’s original typeface, citing the altered serifs on the “T” and capped top of the “M” as a change that goes against the original calligraphic style Ruzicka used.

“When people write calligraphy, they have to make sure they hold the pen in a consistent way,” Zhang said. “Designs have to mimic that, but [Ragan] failed to do it.”

Those particular changes to the typeface were part of an effort to add to the consistency of the overall rebranding, according to Anderson, and the changes to the typeface were intended to remove elements that could distract the eye.

“How it’s rendered here has a bit more consistency,” Anderson said.

Vit referred to the change in the wordmark as a positive addition to

a successful rebranding. “[Both the old and new wordmark] have a scholarly, bookish aesthetic that convey that this is an [educational] institution, but the new wordmark does it in a more visually interesting way that exudes more confidence,” he said.

Overall, Anderson referred to the new rebranding as a very flexible yet consistent way for the College to adapt to social media and unify the publications and advertisements from different institutions within the school. The new framework includes a variety of different colors, typeface styles and ways to use the new D-Pine.

“Dartmouth is a big place with lots of different people and lots of different constituents, and they have lots of different communication needs,” he said.

“One of the things that we were

trying to do was create a system that was flexible so that people did not feel like they were being told what to do. They were being given the tools to do what they needed to do.”

Though the D-Pine will replace the shield on social media platforms and official publications, the shield is not going away entirely.

Additionally, the collegiate-style “D” that has become a symbol of Dartmouth athletics will remain unaltered.

Anderson sees the new framework as a successful culmination of the long process of rebranding a n d a l i g n i n g t h e C o l l e g e ’s communication strategies.

“It looks as good hanging from a banner in Collis as it does on social media,” Anderson said. “It’s a bold, confident representation of Dartmouth.”

EVAN MORGAN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF