Three Dartmouth students were elected to the New Hampshire College Democrats state executive board at the College Democrats of New Hampshire Conference, held Saturday at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. David Imamura '10 was elected president, Brian Shea '10 was elected finance director and Bret Vallacher '10 was elected communications director. Representatives from the College Democrats chapters at Dartmouth, the University of New Hampshire, Saint Anselm, Franklin Pierce and Colby Sawyer College attended the meeting to discuss future collaboration and to participate in the elections. Various state representatives, including Congressman Paul Hodes '72, D-N.H., attended as well. "Issue advocacy and increased collaboration are going to be the key focus," Imamura said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "There are a lot of issues in New Hampshire, such as the same-sex marriage bill and debate over allowing 17-year-olds to vote in the primaries, which we can have a lot of influence over." The New Hampshire College Republicans organization will hold elections at its annual convention on April 25.
Emily Esfahani-Smith '09 was named one of six 2009 Robert L. Bartley Fellows by The Wall Street Journal. The award recognizes individuals with a strong "belief in economic and political liberty" who plan to pursue a career in journalism after graduation, according to a press release. As a fellow, Esfahani-Smith will work as a paid summer intern on The Journal's opinion pages. Esfahani-Smith, a philosophy major, is currently editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth Review. "Given how much the Journal has affected my own thoughts, it was really an honor to be named a Bartley fellow for this summer," she said. "I hope that working for the Journal's op-ed page will teach me how to be a better writer and a sharper thinker, particularly on international issues." The award is named in honor of Bob Bartley, who helped lead the Journal's opinion section for almost 30 years and passed away in 2003.
