Dartmouth's Figure Skating team took first place in the first of two national qualifying competitions held at Boston University on Feb. 17 and 18. The top three teams from each division will compete in the National Intercollegiate Figure Skating Team Championships, to be held at Dartmouth in April. The team was awarded five points toward qualifying for the national competition, while 33 out of 35 starting skaters earned points. Eight skaters won their individual events, three skaters won second place, and one skater won third place in two separate events. Some 20 teams competed in the competition, and the University of Delaware and Boston University won second and third place, respectively. Those who placed first in their events were Sarah Alexander '10, Rachel Bloch '07, Tenley Brownwright '10, Hallie Damon '08, co-captain Nicole Newman '08, Holly Ponichtera '07, Tegan Vay '07 and Sarah Zimbler '09. According to team member Kate Schmidt '09 -- who, along with graduate student Cynthia Chen and Holly Ponichtera '07, placed second in their events -- Chen Katherine Kalaris '07 skated a "clean program" in the junior ladies' free skate, and Nicole Newman '08 landed second in the senior ladies' short and long programs. Dan Dittrick '08 ended up with two third places. This year's finals will be held at the College on April 14 and 15 at Thompson Arena.
Dartmouth Medical School pediatrician Susanne Tanski spoke Feb. 12 at an American Medical Association conference in Washington, D.C., where she discussed a study she co-authored that investigates the effect of smoking in the movies on teenagers. Other Dartmouth researchers have shown that teens who view smoking in films are more likely to smoke. Recent research conducted at Mississippi State University showed that 70 percent of adults believe that movies portraying smoking should be rated R, and two-thirds of adults would like to see warnings about the dangers of smoking prior to films depicting it.
A study conducted by Dartmouth Medical School and the Veterans Affairs Outcome Group in White River Junction, Vt., investigated whether reading a brief primer on health risks would improve people's comprehension of the statistics. Over 500 subjects were divided into groups of high and low socioeconomic status, and either given a brief primer on comprehending health statistics or a broader pamphlet on overall health. Despite educational differences, those who read the primer scored higher on a quiz about the material than those who had read the general brochure. Steven Woloshin, a professor at Dartmouth medical school, Lisa Schwartz and H. Gilbert Welch co-authored the report.
