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Mobley: Midterm Season

Coffey: Debates Over Public Art

Over the past few years, controversies over the removal of public monuments have raged across the nation and throughout the globe in any place still grappling with the legacies of European colonialism and 19th century scientific racism. Dartmouth is no exception and may even be a bellwether site, for debates over public art on its campus have been frequent and ongoing for the better part of the last century. For those of us, like myself, who have been involved in these debates, change has felt painstakingly slow. However, it is understandable that for those who have not, decisions — like the removal of the weather vane from the tower of Baker-Berry Library — can seem sudden and even rash. This is in part why a working group, which I co-chair, has been convened by College President Phil Hanlon to make recommendations for a more consistent and transparent process going forward.

Opinion Asks: A Disreputable Donor?

After the recent revelations regarding Leon Black ’73’s payments to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, should the Black Family Visual Arts Center be renamed?

Teszler: Who's So Scared of a Carp?

Asian carp, garlic mustard, zebra mussels, lionfish, kudzu vines — the names of these invasive species might sound familiar. The United States is currently home to around 50,000 non-native species, around 4,300 of which are considered invasive. These are non-native species which can inflict significant damage on local ecosystems and overwhelm native species, often despite containment efforts. 

Verbum Ultimum: Oh, the Places You Won’t Go

This editorial is featured in the 2021 Winter Carnival special issue.

Teszler: Nalgene in the Streets, Tons of Trash per Week

This column is featured in the 2021 Winter Carnival special issue.

Arrington: Reopening the Dartmouth Experience

This column is featured in the 2021 Winter Carnival special issue.

Allen: The ’23s Got Suffering Instead of Solutions

In response to the pandemic, Dartmouth assigned each class year either one or two guaranteed on-campus terms for the academic year. Under this framework, many members of the Class of 2023 will not be back on campus until summer 2021. Many ’23s have been vocally opposed to this move, often complaining about the way in which college administrators handled term assignments and other pandemic concerns. In a Jan. 21 op-ed in The Dartmouth, Max Teszler ’23 characterized the dismay of many of his classmates as "pointless quibbling” and argued that the ’23s should be grateful for the chance to be on campus at all. However, many ’23s, myself included, actually voiced legitimate concerns about how the College handled the reopening process. Addressing the reality faced by ’23s and working together to move forward is far more productive for everyone than pointing fingers at classmates for trying to fix the problem.

Mei: Love Actually

This year, Valentine’s Day just won’t be the same. Nobody will fortuitously stumble upon a soulmate at King Arthur Flour or dance with their Marriage Pact match in a fraternity basement. Some will insist on celebrating with a COVID-19-safe platonic get-together, while others will be rushing to secure evening plans for the 14th. Either way, love is in the air — and regardless of our relationship status, we should celebrate love this week by giving to our loved ones without expecting anything in return. 

Verbum Ultimum: Money Does the Talking

Last Friday, College President Phil Hanlon unexpectedly announced that the five varsity athletic teams cut last summer — men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's golf and men's lightweight rowing — had been reinstated. In his email, Hanlon attributed the change to the discovery that “elements of the data that athletics used to confirm continued Title IX compliance may not have been complete.”

Mobley: DIY Winter Carnival

Morin: Competing Obligations

Dokken: Essential and Exploited

When the pandemic began to spread throughout the U.S. last spring, seemingly everyone praised “essential workers” for putting their lives on the line to keep society running. 

Dickman: Amnesty for Honesty

As on-campus students approach the middle of winter term, COVID-19 still maintains a presence in Hanover. The current number of active cases among students sits at 10. This number, while seemingly low, is relatively high compared to the numbers throughout fall term. Even with a vaccine in sight, outbreaks are still possible. Contact tracing — tracking where someone who has tested positive went, with whom and for how long — is often key to mitigating the spread of cases. Contact tracing has always been a part of the administration’s plan to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but with one change, it can become much more effective. In order to best protect the health of the community, Dartmouth should institute an amnesty policy for students involved in contact tracing after a student tests positive.

Arrington: It's Supposed to Be a Living Wage

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 introduced the first across-the-board federal minimum wage in American history. The aim was that the minimum wage — 25 cents per hour at the time — would provide a standard to protect the health and well-being of people in working-class jobs. The thought was that workers should at least be able to support themselves by working full time.

Verbum Ultimum: Physically Unfit

Since the onset of the pandemic, many cherished aspects of the Dartmouth experience have remained on hold. One familiar feature of Dartmouth life, however, has not been sorely missed: the physical education requirement. Often derided as a waste of time at best and a hidden fee at worst, the PE requirement is most notable for bogging down students with mandatory — and often expensive — checkbox-filling activities. Eliminating the PE graduation requirement for the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021 was a necessary move given the pandemic, but it’s time to go further. The College should permanently do away with the PE requirement.

Harrison: The End of an Era

Since German reunification, Chancellor Angela Merkel has led Germany for more time than all other chancellors combined. From November 2005 to the present, Merkel has led not only her center-right party, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, but the largest economy and most populous nation in the EU. She has won widespread praise for her steady leadership in times of crisis: the Great Recession, the European migrant crisis and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic. She has governed as a moderate — and won the support of her fellow citizens in four separate federal elections — even as reactionary politics have gained a foothold in other European countries. 

Morin: Evolution of College Concerns

Mobley: Checks Out

de Wolff: The Right to Be Wrong

How should big tech companies such as Facebook and Twitter weigh preserving free speech against curbing the spread of misinformation? This is a pressing concern of the modern age, especially given Twitter’s recent ban of former President Donald Trump. However, before contending with this dilemma, one hurdle must first be overcome: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a regulation that says providers of interactive computer services cannot be treated as the publisher of third-party content. Thanks to this obsolete law, lawmakers have been unable to determine how liable tech companies should be for regulating what appears on their social media platforms.