The Dartmouth Mirror 02/19/16

MIR ROR 2.19.2016

WE THE PEOPLE |2

TIPPING THE BALLOTS | 4-5

BIASED OR BIPARTISAN | 7

TTLG: A POLITICAL EDUCATION | 8 SHUOQI CHEN/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

2// MIRROR

Editor’s Note

We the People COLUMN

Hello, Mirror readers! We hope that you’ve recovered from the festivities of Winter Carnival and/or Valentine’s Day and are staying afloat at this busy time of term. At the very least we hope that, unlike Caroline, you did not wipe out on the ice as you were hurrying to class.

While thinking of a theme for this issue, Caroline and Hayley were stuck. They sat on the beige couches of Robo, their creativity utterly blocked, or perhaps swept away by that bitter wind. Suddenly, Caroline’s gaze fell upon the “I Voted” sticker that she had placed on her Dartmouth water bottle. You can guess what happened next.

“Politics!” she exclaimed to Hayley. The two government major editors beamed at each other.

Combining their favorite academic subject and extracurricular — what could be better?

Despite what Caroline’s failure to complete all the readings for her government class would suggest, she and Hayley are both very passionate about politics. In fact, after brainstorming for the issue, hungry and disinclined to do work, they went rogue and spent the next couple hours at a local Hanover frozen yogurt establishment called Swirl and Pearl.

Over coffee-flavored froyo, your two editors vented their frustrations about certain presidential candidates and the sorry state of politics in Washington.

Then, their intellectualism exhausted, they delved into more age-appropriate topics like how they’d spent their Winter Carnivals and their plans for spring break. (As this outing suggests, working together every week has enormously strengthened the bond between them.)

Luckily, the Mirror writers did not veer off path as much as their editors did. Instead, they wrote incredibly thoughtful pieces touching upon different facets of politics and their influence at Dartmouth.

Enjoy the issue!

follow @thedmirror

MIRROR EDITORS HAYLEY HOVERTER & CAROLINE BERENS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF REBECCA ASOULIN PUBLISHER RACHEL DECHIARA

EXECUTIVE EDITORS MAYA PODDAR ANNIE MA

OVERHEARDS

By Mary Liza Hartong & Andrew Kingsley

You turn on the TV and there they are.

Politicians. Clean cut, well-spoken and devastatingly racist. One of them could be appointing Supreme Court justices and controlling your reproductive rights in 2017. So you’d better think twice before casting that vote. We took to the streets of Hanover to hear from some local voices.

Here are sample conversations from the six most common categories of voter.

The Fashionista Greetings. Hold on, I asked for extra foam for Pookie’s latte, and extra foam I do not see. Do you expect me to vote on a foamless stomach? Anyhow, I’ll be casting my vote as I always do: based on the clothes. I’m certainly not voting for that old wet nurse, Hillary Clinton. Have you seen those pant suits? JC Penney must be her super PAC. But don’t think I’m a Republican. They all dress like oversized Sunday school children. Easter is not year round, people. But there is… someone. Someone who inflames my loins and secured my vote.

He’s so savage, visceral and makes me bern with lust. Bernie Sanders, if you’re reading this, my sandy candy man, I want you to know, mama’s ready.

The Theorist Personally, I’m a utopian communalist, with a dash of Cartesian aesthetics and Montesquieu’s consequentialism. Don’t get me wrong, I dabble in proto-historical materialism. And to tell you the truth, I sometimes flirt with feminism, but they don’t flirt back. Er, I mean it doesn’t. My founding principles are liberté, egalité, fraternité.

Basically, whatever president gets SAE back on campus, that’s my man. I thought it was Carly Fiorina, but I’m putting my chips on Ben Carson now. He’s a stalwart Luxemburgist. I respect that.

The Facebooker It’s just so hard to pick! See, I have a lot of Facebook friends. A lot. Like, easily over 100. And they’re always posting stuff about the election. And the thing is, these people are my friends so I completely and blindly trust them. When my best friend from elementary school says Hillary Clinton is a robot made out of Jamaican jerk chicken, what choice do I have but to agree with her.

Here’s the rub: not all of my friends agree!

So one day I’m a Jeb supporter, because Uncle James says God personally placed Jeb on this earth in order to become supreme ruler, and the next I’m all about Bernie because my mom’s hairdresser says he’s going to make everything in America free.

I’ve been tugged between the elephants and the donkeys all year, so I guess I’ll just check

’18: “Yeah, I’m too lazy to find a Valentine’s Day pic for Instagram, so my girlfriend is sending me options to choose from.”

’18: “Justin Trudeau is slowly making me gay.”

Facebook right before head into the polls.

I think I’ll end up voting for Marco Rubio.

My crush thinks he’s going to fix the immigration problem. I don’t think the geese are that bad, but whatever!

The Libra One moment, my horoscope says I shouldn’t talk to strangers today. Oh, you’re a Libra too? Well then, I guess our stars have aligned. Election day happens on Nov. 8, which is a dark day for us. Saturn is in retrograde then. I’m supposed to avoid booths of any kind. But if I were to vote, I’d avoid Ted Cruz. He’s a Capricorn, which means he’ll put his job before one-on-one couple time with me. And Marco Rubio is a Gemini, so he can’t handle the compromises of marriage. Hillary is a controlling and inflexible Scorpio, so I can’t raise kids with her. Luckily, Jeb Bush is an Aquarius. We’re socializers and compromisers, and we’ll have great sex. This promises to be one of the best seasons of “The Bachelorette.”

The Teenager Ugh, whatever. My mom just pulled me here. She says it’s my duty as an American.

I don’t even wanna be an American. I hate this place. What has America ever done for me? All I have is geometry homework, acne and no date to the dance. None of these candidates understands me. I don’t even know who these people are. Marco Rubio sounds like a soap opera actor. Jeb? Is that even a name? I beat up a Jeb last week cause he had a dumb backpack and has a date to the dance. I mean, what do I care about foreign policy. I failed my geography quiz last week. Who knew China and Asia were different places? All I care about is boosting my allowance and taking Katie Berkowitz to the Spring Fling. Anyone got a coin I could flip? I already spent my

allowance.

The Everyman Oh hello, I’m glad you asked. I’m still mulling it over. I started as a Kasich supporter since he has a strong background in Ohio and has a solid healthcare plan. But I think his foreign policy is fairly weak, which is why I also can’t get behind Bernie, so Hillary gets my vote there. While I appreciate the frankness of Trump, I think he is far too volatile and would alienate the United States politically. I can’t get behind Carson since he’s so inexperienced but I appreciate his pluck. So I think I’m voting for— An argument breaks out between the six voters.

The Fashionista: “Would you look as his tie/belt combo? The 1980s wants its wardrobe back, mister!”

The Everyman: “Excuse me?”

The Facebooker: “BuzzFeed says he’s probably Lucky Charms, Chandler Bing from “Friends” and belongs in the year 2008. Total Cruz fan.”

The Everyman: “I’m sorry, who are you people?”

The Theorist: “We are merely the proletariat, or as Locke would appellate, the plebiscites.”

The Everyman: “Could someone please tell me why—“ The Libra: “Ugh, so pushy, obviously an Aries.”

The Everyman: “I am just trying to vote.”

The Teenagers: “Wait a minute, that’s Jeb’s dad. Get him!”

CNN Breaking Report: An innocent student was just killed in Hanover, New Hampshire after a crowd of six angry voters pinned him to death with “I Voted” buttons.

’19 on FFB: “Has Coachella become super mainstrean now? Because I definetly want to go if it has. ”

’16: “I saw my girlfriend’s hair and intellectually I saw it was long but in my head, I was like, ‘that hair is short.’”

’17: “AD getting derocognized has done wonders for my sex life.”

’17: “I was actually really into shoplifting in high school.”

//3

Joe Kind: A Guy COLUMN

TRENDING @ Dartmouth

By Joe Kind

ARSON Looks like someone dropped a fire mixtape... into a trash can.

BLACK ICE

My name is Joe Kind. I’m a guy. I love FoCo desserts and long walks on the beach. People say I’m really shy when they first meet me, but once they get to know me they realize how much fun I am!

One Saturday afternoon, in my sophomore year of high school, I took a long walk in the Presidio, a national park tucked in the very northwest corner of San Francisco. I like to think of the Presidio as my urban oasis. Winding, two-lane streets, perfectly paved, weaving through forests of eucalyptus trees and native plants. Conservation sites adorning the many running and biking trails, leading to parks and plazas and marshlands and beaches.

Everything leads to the Golden Gate Bridge like a maze. I practically grew up there. Leisurely activities are integrated so intimately with parks and with purposeful public policy. Yet hints of teenage escapades and secret rendezvous are visible in the corners of the eye. Where there are rules, there are rebels.

That afternoon, I had come home from a tough basketball practice in Marin, tired and hungry. After a shower, a filling lunch and some quality R&R, I began to feel restless. I shifted around on my bed, with my warm laptop heating the palms of my hands.

I was well ahead on my homework, and I had nothing to do, so I decided to get out of the house.

I fumbled around my room, messy and dark under thick blue curtains, and saw a Kodak disposable camera in my open nightstand drawer. The top drawer, stuffed with too many papers and pamphlets and who knows what else, was never really used, but almost always open. I took the camera, grabbed my iPod and headphones, my wallet, my phone, my keys and a bag of pretzels from the kitchen, and I headed out.

It was a classic San Francisco sunny

day, when the sun is only just warm enough. That familiar optical illusion frequent in the spring and fall, the bright light and crisp and clear air make it look like it should have been warmer than it was. Those from the Bay Area probably know what I mean.

But it felt so nice to be outside that shorts and a zip-up fleece sufficed.

I did not have a specific place or trail in mind other than the nature in the Presidio. That’s the best part about the national park — there are so many places to go, yet they all blend together so seamlessly.

I spent a good three hours walking through the Presidio that day, disposable camera in hand. I meandered along concrete streets and gravel trails, finding beauty in the blends of nature and machine. I photographed my Vans sneakers on the tan gravel, I photographed bikers and buses framed by sweeping trees and winding roads.

I photographed cargo ships passing slowly through the San Francisco bay.

Focus, click, rewind — and one less photo to take. I soon realized how much every photo counted.

I probably looked ridiculous, in my Vans and cargo shorts, crunching my upper body for a piece of disposable and flashing plastic. I am not very artistic — my sister inheretited most of those genes — but I have my “artsy” moments, perhaps. One of these days National Geographic will be calling me, I’m sure.

My eyes hurt from all the squints into the corner of the Kodak camera, in attempts to set up my perfect shot.

My left index finger was sore from jamming into the shutter. Let alone my calves and poorly supported feet.

I made it all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge and back. I walked close to six miles that day. I got lost in it all, I guess.

Out of curiosity, I promptly developed the photos at my nearby Wal-

greens. I was pleased with the results, but let the photos rest in their envelope, sitting in my nightstand of oblivion for two long years.

I remember packing for my freshman fall and coming across the photos, still in their envelope. One last look through my upper nightstand drawer.

I threw them in my backpack without thinking much of it.

After Trips, in the swirls of excitement of finally being here, I opened my backpack and found my photos. I threw them into my top desk drawer and didn’t touch them. The new desk drawer of death.

Flash forward past the honeymoon phase of that first fall. The San Francisco Giants are on their way to winning their second World Series in three years. My Facebook is unnecessarily distracting. Trying to focus on my work, sitting in front of my blank walls in my room, I opened my drawer.

Restlessly, sitting back in my desk chair, I held the photos in my hands and dropped what I was doing (nothing productive). The blank wall in front of me, yearning for attention that freshman fall like all the other first-year dorm walls, turned into a masterpiece of wannabe artsy photos from home.

The one photo of the Golden Gate Bridge, with the blurry peace sign that was my free hand, was the giveaway for visitors.

For a long time, these photos were the only things on my wall. I didn’t need anything else. But over time I have added bits and pieces of cards from friends and family, as a reminder of the places and people that shape me. Birthday cards, postcards from friends abroad, notes and drawings from supervisors and peers, two of the same Halloween card my grandma sent me two different years here. I have two posters, Christmas lights and a California flag. But I didn’t get any Valentine’s Day cards.

It’s ok, I didn’t want to be upright anyways.

WALKING

First they take our vodka, then they take our hoverboards, but they will never take our dignity.

DEBT

As students, we feel you, Kanye.

We really do.

LAYUP LISTS

16SoDoneWithWork

MIRROR //5

4// MIRROR

Tipping the Ballots: Various presidential candidates visit Hanover hoping to garner student support SPOTLIGHT

By Samantha Cooper

Various presidential candidates have visited Hanover in recent months to give talks. From left to right: Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Hillary Clinton and an advertisement for Chris Christie.

As the multitude of posters, signs and Dartmouth has hosted Bill and Hillary passionate political debates between stuClinton, Bernie Sanders, Chris Christie, dents in the library suggest, Dartmouth’s Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Rand Paul. campus was overtaken by excitement Though I have personally witnessed during last week’s the long lines filled with presidential primary. eager students, I was “I didn’t choose While it would in finding Dartmouth because it was interested be hard for anyone out how much of an in a [first-in-the-nation] to have missed the influence these speeches many canvassing actually have on stuprimary voting state, but students or campus dents’ voting behavior.

I decided I wanted to emails encouragAre these talks changing ing students to vote, skeptical students’ minds become more politically some students might much as the politiaware and educated once as have failed to notice cians likely hope they I turned 18.” one of Dartmouth’s do? most important conThough it seems tribution to election doubtful that, say, a diefervor: the talks given hard Republican would by visiting politicians. decide to vote for SandBy attending a ers after a particularly -SARAH ATAC ‘18 school located in rousing speech, these New Hampshire, we talks may have subtle yet as students have a profound effects on how unique opportunity students vote and, even to see up close and more importantly, how personal the many willingly and knowlpoliticians that come edgeably they engage in to Hanover in hopes of swaying the political affairs. results of the first-in-the-nation priBefore discussing the actual impact mary. In the past couple of terms alone, that talks given by political figures have

on voting choices, it is important to look at the reasons why students bother to attend the speeches in the first place. After all, attending a speech can easily take up an entire evening and inevitably cuts a significant block of time out of a busy Dartmouth student’s day.

Furthermore, I wondered, is there a specific demographic that these talks attract? Are politically minded students more likely to populate these events, or do less informed students choose to attend to gain a basic understanding of each candidate’s policies?

Sarah Atac ’18 came to Dartmouth with only a vague interest in politics, she said, but these experiences of hearing politicians speak in Hanover led to her eventual summer job working on the Clinton campaign.

She noted that Hanover’s political involvement didn’t influence her decision to attend Dartmouth, but the opportunity to see presidential candidates in person seemed too good to forgo.

“I didn’t choose Dartmouth because it was in a [first-in-the-nation] primary voting state, but I decided I wanted to become more politically aware and educated once I turned 18,” Atac said.

“It seemed wasteful not to take advantage

of an easy way to come into contact with outreach for the Dartmouth College your future president.”

Democrats, shared a different kind of Her comments hint at one of the motivation for going to hear candidates main reasons students might go to these speak. He noted that he had little interspeeches. Many of us reach voting age est in hearing Republican candidates with little idea of talk, since he already what we want out knew that he would not “I didn’t want to see any of a president, and be voting for them.

Republican candidates, attending talks is a “I didn’t want to see because it seemed like relatively exciting, any Republican candiand easy, way to dates, because it seemed a very long line for broaden one’s politilike a very long line for something that wouldn’t something that wouldn’t cal knowledge.

However, students benefit or affect my benefit or affect my deciwho have previous sion too much,” Cheese decision.” experience with said. political matters Cheese said he considmay have a different ers the purpose of these reason for attending speeches to be more -AARON CHEESE ‘18 these lectures. While about energizing atit was common tendees than informing for the less politithem. cally knowledgeable “I see the value of students with whom these politicians coming I spoke to simply to speak in their abilattend as many ity to raise excitement politicians’ speeches among their constituthat fit in with their schedule, some stuents, which is still very important,” dents only attend talks of politicians that Cheese said. they’re considering voting for.

Ultimately, if one already has Aaron Cheese ’18 , director of a clear idea of whom they’re voting

TIFFANY ZHAI/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

for, hearing a preferred candidates speech might serve a purely affirmative purpose. For students who come into the talks with more malleable political views, however, they may come to some surprising realizations.

Atac echoed this sentiment, explaining how viewing some candidates’ personal mannerisms changed her perspective on them.

“On the one hand, I though Chris Christie was overly aggressive, it was a turn off to me. But I was very pleasantly surprised by Jeb Bush,” Atac said. “I don’t necessarily agree with his politics but he was a less bombastic speaker, and I came to a deeper appreciation for his method of communicating.”

Students also may leave these speeches surprised by a greater faith in the integrity of candidates from various political parties. Although politicians can sometimes have a reputation for being dishonest or unscrupulous, seeing them speak in person can make them seem more genuine.

Garrison Roe ’18 , who works with Dartmouth for Hillary, stated that although his general opinion of each candidate’s policies didn’t change after hearing them speak, he left the talks

with a greater appreciation for each poli“I knew how I was going to vote going tician’s sincerity. into it, and I’m a strong supporter that “Politicians get the rap of being very you should vote base on policy versus self-interested, but I genuinely thought personality, but after hearing a variety of they believed in candidates speaks, I rewhat they were alized I would respect “Politicians get the rap of any as president,” saying and trying to help, and I think being very self-interested, House said. this was generally Atac stated but I genuinely thought true for all parties,” that she thought atRoe said. “It was tending such talks they believed in what very humanizing.” could prove decisive they were saying and No matter for students who were trying to help, and I think caught between two what realizations students come to this was generally true for candidates with similar after attending one platforms. all parties.” of these speeches, “I think switching all of the students I parties won’t really interviewed agreed happen, but between that the talks didn’t two candidates with -GARRISON ROE ‘18 have a definitive similar policies [the impact on who they talks] can be a decidvoted for in the ing factor,” Atac said. primaries.

Ultimately, Ashley House everyone I interviewed ’18 said that alagreed that, regardthough the talks did less of the effect these not affect who she ended up supporting, visiting politicians had on the name stushe did come to feel more comfortable dents checked off on their ballots, there with the possibility of some other candiis indisputable value in seeing the next dates eventually claiming the presidency. potential president in the flesh.

6// MIRROR

Sam’s Little Larks

COLUMN

By Sam Van Wetter ROGUE: None of it?

ROGUE: I said that already —

DROGUE SAM: Where were you last week?

DROGUE: I mean, no plywood framing. No spotlights. No pirates frantically shoveling.

ROGUE SAM: Where were YOU last week?

ROGUE: And Friday?

DROGUE: Shoulda just said so, I would have gotten it. That was the official sculpture?

Seemed rather, I don’t know, diminutive.

DROGUE: I was searching for the carnival sculpture.

DROGUE: It wasn’t there.

DROGUE SAM and ROGUE SAM are sitting on Collis porch in the mid-winter sun.

ROGUE: You were searching for the carnival sculpture?

DROGUE: Is this week gonna consist entirely of repeat-after-me statements?

ROGUE: This week is gonna consist entirely of repeat-after-me statements.

DROGUE: Seriously? Come on, Sam, Are you obsessed with me or something? I know I say some clever stuff but — ROGUE: Of course I’m not. Like I would say the stuff you say myself anyway.

DROGUE: What’s that supposed to mean?

ROGUE: Nothing! Just that I can verbalize my own thoughts. And they’ll probably sound better than whatever you have to say.

ROGUE: Oh really?

DROGUE: It was a sculptureless Winter Carnival.

ROGUE: Are you sure you didn’t see anything on the Green?

DROGUE: I’m pretty sure.

ROGUE: Nothing that looked vaguely like a sculpture?

DROGUE: Nada. Just a traffic cone.

ROGUE: A traffic cone?

DROGUE: Yeah, it was directing traffic on the Green, probably. Lots of alumni come back, I guess it gets busy.

ROGUE: That was the sculpture.

DROGUE: Oh yeah?

DROGUE: What was the sculpture?

ROGUE: Yeah. Searching for the carnival sculpture? How’d that go?

ROGUE: What you thought was a traffic cone was the sculpture. It was a hat.

DROGUE: It was...largely successful.

DROGUE: Wait what?

ROGUE: Largely successful?

ROGUE: It’s a hat — was a hat. Dr. Seuss?

Cat in the Hat? I guess it looked like a traffic cone, sort of. Or a layer cake. Or a hat. Which is what it was. A striped top hat from the wintry mind of Theo LeSieg himself.

DROGUE: You’re parroting again.

ROGUE: I mean, it’s not like it was a hard job, finding the sculpture.

DROGUE: It wasn’t exactly obvious.

ROGUE: How do you figure?

DROGUE: Well, I checked on Wednesday and it wasn’t there. And then I checked Thursday and it still wasn’t there.

ROGUE: It wasn’t a Winter Carnival snow sculpture because it was too small??

DROGUE: I don’t know, one year they had, like, this enormous functional ship...

ROGUE: Yeah, and one year they got 15 inches of snow in a winter! And one year they had swarms of students vying to carve a snow monument! And one year it was a cupcake and then it melted and turned into a figurative pile of trash on the middle of the green. The sculpture has been many different and wonderful things! And this year is no different! This year it was rogue! Rogue!

That’s what The D called it! This very paper!

A rogue sculpture! That’s not a word you just bandy around! Rogue! Those are militias! And guerilla groups! And nations! Sculptures aren’t rogue. But this one was. And they didn’t even have snow! They didn’t get it delivered from the skiway straight to the Green, practically prefabricated! They gathered that snow! They did it for themselves. They took it in trashcans and cars from the golf course and from the parking lots and from the front lawn of EKT. They turned that snow from its horizontal inertness to a vertical, red-striped form that looks great! It looks legendary! And it’s legendary because it wasn’t meant to be. It took the will of individuals, not the institution. It took the commitment of humans, not hegemony! And it happened! They pulled it off! In the spirit of Dr. Seuss they constructed a hat for the whole world to wear! And the best part? Do you know the best part?

DROGUE: Uh, no. I don’t.

DROGUE: Mind of...who?

ROGUE: No??

ROGUE: Theo LeSieg! (DROGUE shakes his head blankly) Rosetta Stone? (Still nothing) Theodore Geisel?? (A faint glimmer of recognition) Dr. Seuss!

DROGUE: Nope. What’s the best part?

DROGUE: Oh, like Cat in the Hat!

ROGUE: They can’t put it on their resume!

Because they’re rogue! The entire affair was rogue! And how dare anyone put “rogue” on their resume? It would get thrown out immedi-

ately! Employers would see that word and barf in their mouths before ripping up the paper.

Rogue isn’t something anyone wants to be.

DROGUE: But they made the sculpture...

ROGUE: But that didn’t improve them. It didn’t improve their resume, their package, what they’re selling. It was the most “Dartmouth” experience they’d ever had, they said to The D, but it wasn’t like the rest of Dartmouth. In the 1950s and 1960s students would spend entire terms building a cabin!

Or a trail! Now? People won’t take two hours to help with a bonfire. Instead, they are working on themselves. Taking classes.

Finishing homework. Getting internships.

Rushing Greek houses. Joining extracurriculars. Starting extracurriculars. Running extracurriculars. They’re volunteering and socializing and studying but they aren’t contributing to their community. They aren’t leaving things for generations of students to come. They’re myopic. They’re busy. But a brave few of them made a sculpture. And that means there has not been a year without a sculpture since the tradition began. And that is a victory, made possible by those brave few.

DROGUE: Yeah, I guess that is pretty neat.

ROGUE: It is.

DROGUE: So you found it?

ROGUE: My bike?

DROGUE: No, what? That was like, two weeks ago. The sculpture.

ROGUE: Oh, yeah. The traffic cone — the hat. Yep. Sculpture. Check.

DROGUE: A relief.

ROGUE: But, uh, Sam. Where is it now?

They look across the Green. It’s overly green for February, ice-slicked and desolate.

ROGUE: It was rogue. Of course it dipped out fast.

MIRROR //7

Bipartisanship in the government department STORY

By Nelly Mendoza-Mendoza

In the midst of this presidential election They said that the government department year, politics have permeated Dartmouth’s offers courses that expose students to a wide campus. A few weeks ago, our small state of range of ideas, through both readings and New Hampshire held the rapt attention of class discussions, that span the political the rest of the country as its residents despectrum. cided, with ground breaking results, which Freya Jamison ’17 , a government mapresidential candidates would triumph. jor, said that she doesn’t think her profesNow that the primary is over and nasors are trying to influence her politically, tional attention is no longer as focused on but rather that their goal is to expose the New Hampshire, it might seem that politics students to a wide breadth of ideas. She are not as prevalent to students on campus said that one way they try to do this is anymore. However, although attention on through debates. politics brought on by the primary might “Professors intentionally structure the have subsided, political discussions on camclasses in terms of debates,” Jamison said. pus continue.

“So whether or not the professor’s politiWhen thinking about politics, my mind cal views are clear, you are getting multiple immediately turned to my “International perspectives.”

Politics” class. I wondered — how do Government professor Joseph Bafumi professors’ political affiliations influence expressed a similar sentiment. He teaches our government classes in a way department as a that reflects a “In this country, the American whole? Or more wide range of importantly, should ethos, the American idea the ideas, not just politics influence his own singular American ideology is one very it? opinion, he Specifically, I said. much that corresponds with questioned how “We try and individualism and free markets bipartisan Dartoffer both sides mouth is — espeof any issue and and liberty and these kind of cially our governrepresent all the things. We firmly believe that ment department, major point of as the hub of views,” Bafumi these things advance civilizations political ideas on said. and make for better nations campus.

I asked Bafuand cultures of people. So, that With this in mi more specifimind, I went on cally about how element of the American ethos a mission to learn he manages to ends up becoming embedded more about the stay bipartisan politics of the govduring elecin the academic teaching and ernment departtion times, even ment. In particular, research we do, whether we when students I wanted to explore notice it or not.” ask questions professors’ efforts about candito be bipartisan dates and their when selecting stances on -JOSEPH BAFUMI, GOVERNMENT material and while political issues.

PROFESSOR teaching. How does Like Muirthe government head, Bafumi department pay equal attention to both said that the goal is not necessarily to sides when educating students? It sounds be apolitical or avoid discussing current like exhausting work for professors, who all politics, but to be very comprehensive in come to the job having already carved out describing every part of an issue. He said their own political opinions and insights. he makes a concerted effort to do this Remaining bipartisan in a setting where especially when discussing how candidates politics seem omnipresent can, ostensibly, performed during political debates. be hard to achieve. I consulted students and “I try my best to not lean them to one professors to see how successful efforts to do direction or the other, but sometimes we so are. talk about how candidates did in a debate,” Government professor Russell Muirhead Bafumi said. “I always try to do it in a way said that his goal is not to necessarily to be that is fair for all candidates.” apolitical, but to teach students to appreciTara Burchmore ’19 echoed the sentiate bipartisanship and how it contributes to ments of the other interviewees. She noted a deeper understanding of political issues. that in her public policy class, her professor “I teach students to understand partisan- teaches multiple sides of an issue without ship in a broad way,” Muirhead said. “Such expressing his views. that they have a deeper understanding of Muirhead explained that for his part, he both conservatism and liberalism and other does not shy away from revealing his own fundamental ideologies or fundamental political stances, adding that they don’t bias ideas about politics.” the way he presents material.

His goal is for students to be informed “I am not teaching my own political about all perspectives so that they leave his views in the class, but I am transparent class with a comprehensive understanding about them,” Muirhead said. of how governments work.

Students also said their government The students that I interviewed exclasses have not affected their political pressed a similar sentiment to Muirhead. standing, but rather enriched their knowl-

COURTESY OF JOSEPH BAFUMI

Joseph Bafumi is a government professor at the College.

edge about politics.

“It hasn’t changed my leaning in any way,” Jamison said. “It just made me think in a different way about government.”

Clara Wang ’17 , a government major, explained that the academic nature of the government department makes revealing political biases unlikely.

“The government department is very professional,” Wang said. “So I would assume that there isn’t much of a political leaning.”

Zachary Davis ’17 , also a government major, expressed a similar sentiment. He said that the government department offers a variety of courses and that professors ensure students leave their class with comprehensive understanding of the material.

“The government department has been phenomenal,” Davis said. “Just from what I have seen professors really want to make sure that you are getting the most out of their class.”

I asked Bafumi and Muirhead about the process of electing which courses are offered each term.

First, the department establishes who will take basic required courses, and then they can offer their own course ideas based on their individual fields of research. If the department wants to offer a certain course, but none of the current professors are experts in that field, then the department hires visiting professors, Bafumi and Muirhead explained.

Although the department offers a wide range of courses, I have noticed that most of them ­— in the economics department as well as the government department — tend to focus on politics from an American perspective, often focusing on capitalism.

I asked Burchmore, who is pursuing a minor in public policy, if this bothered her at all. She said that she doesn’t mind, personally, since capitalism aligns with what she wants to study.

However, other students said they would like the government department to offer more courses on different political theories, as these theories would enrich their

knowledge about different global ideas of government.

Wang said, for example, that she has become interested in communism because of her time spent in China. She remarked that she would enjoy taking a class exclusively about the system, but such a course isn’t likely to be offered here, From my perspective, if the government department wants to be truly comprehensive, it should more equitably teach economic theories. Why aren’t students staying up until 4 a.m. in the common room, guitar in hand, debating the merits and weaknesses of socialism? Is it the burden of the government department to spur this discussion by offering these courses? I was a bit surprised by the lack of varied classes and I wanted to know whether other students noticed a similar dearth in options.

When I asked Jamison, she said that she is interested in governments around the world. Although the department offers a wide variety of topic, she would like to see more classes offered on the intersection of international ideas, Jamison concluded.

Wang is interested in learning more about different political systems, yet she understands that the content of the classes in the government department makes sense as capitalism and democracy are the prevalent systems in America and other systems are not directly relevant to how the American system works.

Finally, I asked Bafumi about why he thinks the government department doesn’t have more courses on non-capitalist or non-democratic systems.

“In this country, the American ethos, the American idea the American ideology is one very much that corresponds with individualism and free markets and liberty and these kind of things. We firmly believe that these things advance civilizations and make for better nations and cultures of people. So, that element of the American ethos ends up becoming embedded in the academic teaching and research we do, whether we notice it or not,” Bafumi said.

8// MIRROR

TTLG: A Political Education Madeline Cooper ’16 says young people must leverage their political power.

COLUMN

By Madeline Cooper

I was “that kid” who loved politics as a child.

I received my first civic education around my grandparents’ dining room table, discussing local and national politics with my parents, grandparents and cousins, which required me to keep up with the news if I wanted to be able to participate in the discussions. I remember staying up long past my bedtime to watch the returns of the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore and asking my mother what would happen if the election was a tie, a question that was probably a tactic to delay sleep, but one that is humorous and ironic in retrospect.

In third grade, I developed an interest in labor history and in middle school, the feminist movement, attempting to understand history to understand the world around me. In short, even as a child, you could call me a political nerd.

I came to Dartmouth excited to be in the state of the New Hampshire primary, but decidedly convinced that single issue campaigns were the way to create real change, focusing all my energies on specific issues of importance to me. Growing up, I had developed a significant interest in issues of economic inequality, stemming from volunteer work that I had done with my parents and with my synagogue. I decided to spend my freshman summer in Washington, D.C., working on a local campaign to raise the city’s minimum wage to a living wage and guarantee paid sick leave, particularly to those employed in the food services industry. I became interested in community organizing as a strategy, using the power of organized people to create real and incremental change.

At Dartmouth, I also developed a significant interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Growing up as a Jewish American, I felt somewhat inundated with the issue. I remember being asked at 12 or 13 to explain the conflict to my class, a task for which I was not remotely qualified, but one that I was expected to understand based on my identity. Throughout high school, I had been disengaged from the issue, feeling frustrated by the seemingly intractable nature of the conflict. But after arriving at Dartmouth, I decided to engage, becoming involved with J Street U and working to promote discussion of the issue on campus and action within the federal government.

My sophomore spring, I attended a J Street U conference in Baltimore. The United States led peace negotiations that had been announced the year before and had gone on throughout

the first part of 2014 were seemingly coming to a crashing end that week. By the end of the conference, I was exhausted from three long days, and I felt somewhat hopeless and without direction, unsure of what I could do to push for progress. But before the long drive back to New Hampshire, I attended one last lecture, this time with Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards from Maryland.

Edwards spoke for a while about Middle East foreign policy and about the state of the Congress. Yet, there was palpable, restless energy in the room. During one heated moment, a student stood up and asked her why elected representatives do not take the voices of young people seriously. The congresswoman responded that elected officials do not feel responsible to “young Americans,” or constituents of legal voting age under 30, because they do not vote.

The entire nine-hour drive home from Maryland, I continued to ponder what Edwards had said. I had been politically engaged with a number of causes during my first two years at Dartmouth, but I had never really stopped to think about the efficacy of my work. By the time that we returned to campus, I had made a decision to change course, beginning to devote my efforts less to specific issues and more towards ensuring that students vote in an attempt to combat this roadblock that Edwards had described. With the 2014 midterm election rapidly approaching, I decided to join the Dartmouth College Democrats, hoping that there I would find an avenue to work to broadly engage Dartmouth students in the democratic process.

During the past two years, the College Democrats has worked very hard to increase the number of Dartmouth students who vote in an to attempt to combat the lack of serious consideration that officials give to young Americans. We organized and held termly voter registration drives on campus over the course of which we have registered approximately 700 students. Last fall, during the 2014 midterm elections, over 1,000 students voted in Hanover, a record-breaking number and a significant increase from previous midterm elections. I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to accomplish in increasing student turnout.

Dartmouth students have truly come together during the past few election cycles. We have worked with various issue oriented groups and even across party lines with the Dartmouth College Republicans to coordinate voter registration

COURTESY OF MADELINE COOPER

Madeline Cooper ’16 is president of the Dartmouth College Democrats

drives, outreach efforts and rides to the polls.

The recent efforts to get out the Dartmouth vote in the 2016 New Hampshire primary were truly collaborative, with groups with varying interests coordinating what we could to promote our shared goal of ensuring that Dartmouth students who were eligible to vote did so.

In this primary election cycle, college students across the nation are getting involved: attending rallies, volunteering and getting out the vote. As a result, people are beginning to take us seriously as a demographic, proving that if we are an engaged, involved and organized voice, those who represent us will take us seriously. I am excited to see what seems to be the beginning of a national shift in attention to the youth vote, with the media paying attention to the political involvements of students. In the weeks leading

up to the primary elections, campus was flooded with journalists, interviewing students and showcasing student efforts to get out the vote. This year is an incredibly exciting time to be a young person involved in politics, and I am optimistic that this is a trend that will continue and grow.

Although I do not plan to continue with a career in campaigns or in the government, I believe that being involved in political work at Dartmouth has taught me something valuable. I have learned the power of community organizing: that coordinated voices are much louder than a single one. At Dartmouth, we are incredibly lucky to be in a place in which so much attention is paid to our views and opinions on the political process. The challenge is to leverage that power to amplify our voices to create change.

COURTESY OF MADELINE COOPER

Member of the Dartmouth College Democrats pose in front of the Choates to promote student voting.